Tintin and Snowy (original French language names: Tintin et Milou), a journalist and his canine companion, are a pair of adventurers who travel around the world in The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books drawn and written by the Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, better known as Hergé. The series is one of the most popular comic book series in Europe and the world, especially in Belgium, France, and Germany. Tintin and Snowy, detail of a panel from the book The Black Island by Hergé, 1965 Fair use under US law. ... Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... Casterman is an a publishing company in Tournai, Belgium, mostly famous as the publisher of graphic novels, among which Tintin. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Le Petit Vingtième (The Little Twentieth) was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century) from 1928 to 1940. ... Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... French (français, langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered in speakers only by Spanish and Portuguese. ... For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... The main characters and others from The Castafiore Emerald, one of the later books The Adventures of Tintin (French: ) is a series of Belgian comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé, the pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983). ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Cartoonist Jack Elrod at work. ... Georges Remi Hergé Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 - March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ...

Tintin

Background

Tintin debuted on January 10, 1929, and his 75th birthday was widely celebrated in 2004.^[1] Tintin was largely based on Hergé's earlier character, a chubby boy-scout named Totor. The comics starring Totor, Les aventures de Totor, chef de patrouille des Hannetons (The Adventures of Totor, Leader of the Cockchafer Patrol), appeared in the magazine Le Boy-Scout Belge between 1926 and 1929. is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts/Girl Guides organizations. ... Species M. melolontha (Linnaeus, 1758) M. hippocastani Fabricius, 1801 M. pectoralis Germar, 1824 Wikispecies has information related to: Cockchafer The cockchafer (or may bug, as it is colloquially called, or sometimes billy witch or spang beetle, particularly in East Anglia) is a European beetle of the genus Melolontha, in the... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the later comic book series, Tintin is a young reporter who is drawn to dangerous international intrigues in which his quick thinking and bravery save the day. Almost every adventure features Tintin engaging in some kind of sleuthing or investigation, but rarely does he actually turn in a story.^[2] Although the strip was Belgian, Hergé was inconsistent or vague about assigning Tintin a nationality, depicting him instead as broadly European. In some of early editions of the earliest books, like Tintin in the Congo or The Black Island, a Belgian identity is fairly explicit. In later adventures, as with other aspects of his character's history and family, Tintin's nationality is simply never brought up, though some of the street scenes in The Red Sea Sharks have been identified as happening in Brussels. For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ... Tintin in the Congo (Tintin au Congo in the French edition) is the second of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... The Black Island (LIle Noire) is a one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... The Red Sea Sharks (Coke en stock), is the nineteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... For other places with the same name, see Brussels (disambiguation). ...

Tintin's age is never accurately revealed, with the character described as an 'adolescent' in the character description within the special DVD features, and referred to as 'kid' several times within the television shows. In the cartoon series based on the books, a frame in the episode The Secret of the Unicorn showing Tintin's passport states his birth year as 1929 (the year of his print debut^[1]). Various newspaper articles on the series have recounted his age as being 15,^[2] Time refers to him as a teenager,^[3] whilst the official site Tintin.com lists his age as somewhere between 16 and 18. The comics however treat him more as a worldly young adult, as shown by the absence of concerns like parents or school, as well as by his wide solo travels all over the globe. Tintin's age is static, even though he's been through the Japanese invasion of China (The Blue Lotus, 1931) and has flown in a Boeing 707 (Flight 714, 1962). (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... The Blue Lotus (Le Lotus bleu), first published in 1936, is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... The Boeing 707 is an American four-engine commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. ... Flight 714 (Vol 714 pour Sydney), first published in 1968, is the twenty-second of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

Character

Readers and critics have described Tintin as a well-rounded, yet open-ended character, noting that his rather neutral personality -- sometimes labeled as bland -- permits a balanced reflection of the evil, folly and foolhardiness which surrounds him. His boy-scout ideals, which represent Hergé's own, are never compromised by the character, and his status allows the reader to assume his position within the story, rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist^[4]. Tintin's iconic representation enhances this aspect, with Scott McCloud noting that it "allows readers to mask themselves in a character and safely enter a sensually stimulating world".^[5] Tintin is remarkable in that he is apparently devoid of sexual or romantic feeling, a feature he shares to a certain degree with most of the other characters in the books. Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod on June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and a leading popular scholar of comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium. ...

There is also no mention of other family members: a mother, father or brothers and sisters are noticeably absent in all his adventures. He only ever makes one mention of family when he first encounters Captain Haddock in a typical drunken state, in The Crab with the Golden Claws, and reminds him to think what would his mother feel if she saw him in such a state. It is really the adopted family he builds around him as journeys through each of his adventures that make up his family unit. The Crab with the Golden Claws (Le Crabe aux pinces dor) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

Tintin's character changes in later books, starting with The Castafiore Emerald. In his final episodes, Tintin no longer actively seeks out adventure but is rather pulled along by events that happen around him, similar to the way Captain Haddock gets drawn in to an adventure by Tintin or another character in earlier stories. This is especially evident in Flight 714 and Tintin and the Picaros. Readers and critics have had varying, and often negative, responses to these final adventures, arguing that they represent either a late period of eccentricity, or puzzling disappointments. Hergé commented on this change in the later works: "Tintin has lost control, he is not on top of events anymore, he is subjected to them."^[6] The Castafiore Emerald (Les Bijoux de la Castafiore) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Captain Haddock (Capitaine Haddock) Captain Archibald Haddock (Capitaine Archibald Haddock) is a character in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. ... Flight 714 (Vol 714 pour Sydney), first published in 1968, is the twenty-second of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... Tintin and the Picaros (Tintin et les Picaros) is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

Shortly before his death, former Belgian Nazi collaborator Léon Degrelle created controversy by stating that the Tintin character was originally based on himself. Degrelle had indeed known Hergé during his early career as a journalist, but this allegation is generally considered a fabrication of the notorious self-booster Degrelle.^[2] National Socialism redirects here. ... Collaborationism, as a pejorative term, can describe the treason of cooperating with enemy forces occupying ones country. ... Léon Joseph Marie Degrelle (June 15, 1906 – April 1, 1994) was a Belgian politician, who founded Rexism and later joined the Nazi German Waffen SS (becoming a leader of its Walloon contingent). ...

The earlier version of Tintin was apparently inspired, at least in part, by Hergé's brother, Paul Remi, a career soldier. Tired of being referred to as "Major Tintin" by his colleagues, Paul later shaved his hair and adopted a more Erich von Stroheim look. Hergé subsequently used Paul as the villainous Colonel Sponsz in The Calculus Affair. Tintin and Sponsz, although physically very different, have actually quite similar hair spikes ^[7]. Erich von Stroheim (September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was a filmmaker and actor, noted for his arrogant Teutonic character parts. ... Colonel Sponz Colonel Sponz (Colonel Sponsz) is a character from The Adventures of Tintin series of classic comic books drawn and written by Hergé. Former Bordurian Chief of Police of Szohôd, Sponz masterminded the plot to kidnap Professor Calculus in The Calculus Affair. ... The Calculus Affair (LAffaire Tournesol) is the eighteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ...

However, the inspiration for the clothing Hergé dressed Tintin in lay elsewhere. A fellow student of Hergé's from St Boniface, named Charles, had adopted a similar style of plus fours and argyle socks, which caused him to be the subject of no little ridicule. Harry Thompson notes the inspiration may be tinged slightly, suggesting that if "Hergé had been one of the laughers, an element of guilt was involved."^[8] This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ... An argyle sock The argyle (occasionally argyll) pattern is one containing diamonds in a diagonal checkerboard arrangement. ...

Hergé himself has noted that Tintin existed as his personal expression, and although he recorded in 1947 that that he knew "Tintin is no longer me, that, if he is to go on living, it will be by a sort of artificial respiration that I will have to practice constantly and which exhausts me, and will exhaust me more and more"^[9], he was also fond of stating "Tintin, c'est moi!" ("Tintin, that's me!").^[10]

A severely inebriated Snowy (Milou).

Snowy, detail of a panel from the book The Black Island by Hergé, 1965 Fair use under US law. ... Snowy, detail of a panel from the book The Black Island by Hergé, 1965 Fair use under US law. ...

Snowy (Milou)

Snowy, an exceptionally white wire fox terrier, is Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him. The bond between the dog and Tintin is deeper than life, and they have saved each other from perilous situations many times. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

With a few exceptions, Snowy never speaks (although he is regularly seen thinking in human words), since he is "only a dog". However, he always manages to communicate well with Tintin despite this. Snowy often adds to the story in many interesting ways. For instance, Snowy is the only character in Flight 714 to remember that he was abducted by aliens. Snowy has rescued Tintin (often by gnawing through restraints or seeking help), or gotten him out of a tight spot by biting or distracting a villain, many times throughout the series. WPA poster by Kenneth Whitley, 1939 The talking animal or speaking animal term, in general, refers to any form of animal which can talk or conduct speech. ... Flight 714 (Vol 714 pour Sydney), first published in 1968, is the twenty-second of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... The references in this article would be clearer with a different and/or consistent style of citation, footnoting or external linking. ... This article is about Extraterrestrial life. ...

Like Captain Haddock, Snowy is fond of Loch Lomond brand scotch whisky, and his occasional bouts of drinking tend to get him into trouble, as does his acute arachnophobia. Captain Haddock (Capitaine Haddock) Captain Archibald Haddock (Capitaine Archibald Haddock) is a character in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. ... For other uses, see Loch Lomond (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Arachnophobia (disambiguation). ...

The character of Snowy evolved through the course of the Tintin series, and was most dramatically affected by the introduction of Captain Haddock in The Crab with the Golden Claws. Before Haddock's appearance, Snowy was the source of dry and cynical side-commentary, which balanced out Tintin's constantly positive, optimistic perspective. When Haddock entered the series, the Captain took over the role of the cynic, and Snowy gradually shifted into a more light-hearted role, serving to create comic relief by chasing the Marlinspike cat (they become friends in the end of The Calculus Affair), drinking the Captain's whisky, etc. Captain Haddock (Capitaine Haddock) Captain Archibald Haddock (Capitaine Archibald Haddock) is a character in the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. ... The Crab with the Golden Claws (Le Crabe aux pinces dor) is one of a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. ... This article is about the current understanding of the word cynicism. ... Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy approach Marlinspike Hall. ...

Milou was named after Hergé's first girlfriend, a contraction of the name Marie-Louise ("Malou"), although the character is referred to as male throughout the books. Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Euro coin honours Tintin and Snowy - BBC News, Thursday 08 January 2004
2. ^ ^{a b c} Tintin in the dock - The Guardian, Manchester; Saturday 30 January 1999; page T.008
3. ^ Sweetness & Blight - Time Magazine, Monday 24 November 1958
4. ^ Faces of the week - BBC News, Friday 16 December 2005
5. ^ McCloud, Scott (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. Kitchen Sink Press. ISBN 0-87816-243-7. 
6. ^ Sadoul, Numa; translated by Michel Didier (February 2003). "The Hergé Interview". The Comics Journal 1 (250): 180 - 205. 
7. ^ The World of Tintin Conference 2004 - Doyle, Simon, Saturday 15 May 2004
8. ^ Thompson, Harry (1991). Tintin: Hergé and his creation, First, Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-52393-X. 
9. ^ Hergé & Tintin: Discover a world of Tintinology - Gravett, Paul, originally from The Comics Journal, 2003
10. ^ Farr, Michael (March 2004). "Thundering Typhoons". History Today 54 (3): 62. 

BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... (Clockwise from upper left) Time magazine covers from May 7, 1945; July 25, 1969; December 31, 1999; September 14, 2001; and April 21, 2003. ... BBC News is the department within the BBC responsible for the corporations news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online. ... Numa Sadoul was a Belgian student in the 1980s who interviewed and befriended the famous Belgian comic artist Hergé, famous for his The Adventures of Tintin. ... Harry Thompson (1960-2005) was a British comedy writer and producer. ... Paul Gravett founded Escape magazine. ... The cover of TCJ #115 (April 1987) celebrated their court victory in defending a libel suit. ... Michael Farr is a leading British Tintinologist, that is, an expert on the world of the comic Tintin and its creator, Hergé. He has written numerous books on the subject as well as translating several others into English. ...

Further reading

• Lane, Anthony. "A Boy's World: the Tintin Century". The New Yorker, 28 May 2007, pp. 46-53.

The main characters and others from The Castafiore Emerald, one of the later books The Adventures of Tintin (French: ) is a series of Belgian comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé, the pen name of Georges Remi (1907–1983). ... This is a list of all books, films, and media produced so far in The Adventures of Tintin. ... Comments about Hergé and ideology. ... This is a list of the supporting characters appearing in The Adventures of Tintin. ... The Adventures of Tintin sports a vast array of secondary and tertiary characters. ... The Adventures of Tintin sports a vast array of characters. ... Georges Remi (May 22, 1907 – March 3, 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. ... Tintin, Captain Haddock and Snowy approach Marlinspike Hall. ...

External links

• Tintin (the official site)
• Exhibition Tintin (at the Centre Pompidou in Paris)
• The Cult of Tintin (from Tintinologist.org)
• The unknown Tintin
• Tintin Online
• The Tintin Trivia Quiz
• Spielberg's Tintin - Comics2Film
• Tintin in different languages
• Fictional flags in the Tintin stories
• Tintin in Italy Web site by Gianfranco Goria
• BBC news story about translation of Tintin into Hindi
• Art of Hergé
• BBC news story about the history of Tintin
• all Tintin figurines