The all-time famous comic strip character Tintin immediately brings to mind a globe-trotting boy detective and his faithful terrier Snowy.
The popularity of Tintin has remained undiminished and his adventures have amused readers of all ages through 24 comic books published in over 60 languages. Incidentally, Hergé, the less known creator of Tintin is being honoured this year, on his birth centenary.
Hergé is the pen name adopted by George Remi to sign his art work in 1924. It is the reversed initial of George Remi (RG). Beneath the fame and celebrity of Hergé, we find a turbulent, reticent and reclusive life. Hergé was born in 1907 in Etterbeek, Brussels, in a middle-class family.
Since school days he had a flair for drawing. Without any formal education in graphic art, Hergé started illustrating for ‘Le Boy-Scout’ magazine and just after his secondary education he joined ‘Le Vingegtieme Siecle’ (The Twentieth Century), a Catholic magazine in 1925. He created the character of Tintin and Milou (Snowy in English) in 1928 for ‘Le Petit Vingtieme’, the weekly supplement.
Initially, Tintin was a Catholic reporter fighting against evils and atheism. In 1930, Hergé published ‘Tintin in the Land of Soviets’ in a book form and after its release; Tintin got a huge following in Europe and America.
The adventures of Tintin continued in series like ‘Tintin in Congo’ (1931), ‘Tintin in America’ (1932) and ‘Cigars of the Pharoah’ (1934). Hergé’s friendship with Tchang Tchong-jen, a Chinese art-student, introduced him to Chinese history and culture.
It was a turning point in Hergé’s career as his work became more research-oriented and realistic, as he said, “it was from that time that I undertook research and really interested myself in the people and countries to which I sent Tintin, out of a sense of responsibility to my readers.”
He also became politically aware of the problems of colonialism as it was a time when China was facing Japanese aggression. ‘The Blue Lotus’ (1936) and ‘The Broken Ear’ (1937) are evident of this ideological and stylistic shift.
When World War II broke out, ‘Le Vingegtieme Siecle’ was closed down by the Nazi.
Hergé joined ‘Le Soir’, Brussels’s leading French daily. During the war period, he remained politically neutral and that is the reason he emphasized more on his characters than the plot. He made Tintin visit fictional places and getting less involved in current affairs.
Sometimes, he created an imaginary incident symbolizing a true political event e.g. Tintin’s attempt to defeat a coup in ‘King Ottokar’s Spectre’ is an allegory of Nazi takeover of Austria.
Hergé also created many supporting characters like Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, Thomson and Thompson, Bianca Castafiore, Nestör the Butler, General Alcazar, Dr Muller, Rastapopulous etc.
During this phase, he created adventures like ‘The Crab with the Golden Claws’, ‘The Shooting Star’, ‘The Secret of the Unicorn’, ‘Red Rakham’s Treasure’ and ‘Seven Crystal Balls’. After the war, ‘Le Soir’ was closed down by the Allied Forces as it was considered to be a Nazi mouthpiece.
Hergé was alleged to have Nazi affiliations and was arrested four times but the charges could not be proved. With the moral and financial support from a friend, Raymond Leblanc, Hergé launched ‘Tintin Magazine’ as a weekly publication in 1946. It became highly successful with a circulation exceeding 1 lakh a week. To cope up with the popularity and public demand, Hergé Studio was set up in 1950.
Some of the albums published during this period were a revised version of ‘Land of Black Gold’, ‘Destination Moon’, ‘Explorers on the Moon’, ‘The Calculus Affair’, ‘The Red Sea Sharks’ etc. Hergé revived his friendship with Tchang Tchong-jen through ‘Tintin in Tibet’. During the later years, he created ‘The Castafiore Emerald’, ‘Flight 714’ and ‘Tintin and the Picaros’. Hergé died on March 3, 1983, leaving behind an incomplete work called ‘Tintin and Alph-Art’ which was published in 1986.
By and large, Tintin emerges as an alter-ego of Hergé as he commented once,“Tintin, that’s me !” Tintin’s life reflects the life of its creator. Tintin has no personal and family life that shows the emotional crisis in Hergé’s life.
He divorced Germaine Kieckens after 43 years of childless marriage to remarry Fanny Vlaminck. He suffered from nervous depression for 15 years during the post-war period for being labelled as a Nazi supporter.
His comics were criticized for violence, racial bias and fascist leanings but Tintin scholars have found it unavoidable as Hergé himself admitted, “I was fed the prejudices of the bourgeois society that surrounded me.” That is why Hergé often revised and updated his initial albums to make them politically correct.
Hergé’s unique style sets him apart from others for his simplicity, clear lines and realistic graphics called “ligne clear” drawing style. His meticulously studied details and extensive research elevate the status of his oeuvre to that of literature and art.
In fact, Tintin’s flight to moon 16 years before the American landing was prophetic and the technical details were nearly so accurate that it was acknowledged by the New Scientist. On his 75th birthday, an asteroid was named after him.
Tintin has a universal appeal due to his naivety, humanism and agelessness. He is neither macho (Superman) nor exotic (Asterix). He is an uncharismatic Peter Pan like hero. Tintin’s timeless popularity has inspired merchandising, advertisement and many animated movies.
To commemorate Hergé’s Centenary, many events are taking place across Europe. Release of postage stamps in Belgium and France, an extensive exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), laying of the foundation stone for Hergé Museum in Brussels and announcement of a Tintin trilogy by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are some of the significant events that show the continued admiration for Hergé and Tintin.
In fact, no comic creator and his comic character have ever become so popular worldwide as Hergé and Tintin!
