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Friday, September 3, 2010
Joyeux Anniversaire!
Rachel looks back on 75 years of TINTIN
Last Saturday, January 10, 2004, was a very special day. A certain world-renowned someone turned 75 years old. No, not Superman or Archie or even Dick Clark (he will be turning 75 in November). This international man of mystery and adventure is their elder, yet he has kept his youthful looks and entertainment value incredibly intact – far more than, say, Dick Clark. Last Saturday was a very special day for the boy reporter-sleuth, Tintin. Like many favorite French inventions, Tintin actually hails from Belgium. His first appearance was in the Brussels Le Xxme Siecle newspaper on January 10, 1929. His creator, Georges Remi (more recognizably known as Hergé), was not yet 22 when Tintin set off to kick Communist fesses in “The Land of the Soviets”. Right from the beginning, all the elements were there: the young idealistic boy with unlimited bravery and his little white dog, Snowy, traveling to an exotic locale and getting involved in dangerous exploits. Tintin would eventually come to make England his home base, residing with the salty sailor, Captain Haddock. They never stayed there long, though; too many adventures in too many countries beckoned the boy on. Of course, his faithful dog had no choice but to tag along. Tintin’s companions – who would come to be aforementioned Captain Haddock, the incompetent detectives, Thomson and Thompson, the infuriatingly deaf scientist, Cuthbert Calculus, and the dreaded diva, Bianca Castafiore – would join him whether they liked it or not. Or in the case of Castafiore – whether the rest liked it or not. While each adventure could be read on its own, with an accessibility uncommon these days, various allies and enemies would reappear periodically giving a sense of a broader continuity to regular readers. The eternally battling dictators, Generals Tapioca and Alcazar, their Arab counterparts, Emir Ben Kalish Ezab and Shiek Bab El Ehr, Captain Haddock’s former first mate, Allan, and Tintin’s eventual arch nemesis, Rastapopulous, all were introduced, then revived frequently as they proved their durability. Even a minor appearance, such as one from General Alcazar at the beginning of “The Seven Crystal Balls”, could precipitate the main mystery, while their familiar presence lent a sense of credibility to Hergé’s universe, the concept that these characters still existed even after their adventure was done. Tintin was well-researched, well-written and beautifully drawn. Like Carl Barks with Donald Duck, Hergé created believable portraits of different countries and peoples. The “peoples” part got a little tricky occasionally, as he sometimes ventured more into the portrayal of stereotypes at times, and even could be flat-out racist. This was a constant problem in many great comic books and strips developed back in the day. Even Will Eisner was not immune with the horrible Ebony White in The Spirit and Chop-Chop in Blackhawks. What’s funny about Hergé was he wasn’t constantly racist in his depictions – “The Blue Lotus” is fairly respectful of the East Indians and the Chinese, and even mocks the outdated stereotypes held by the Europeans and the Chinese about each other. But in that same story, the Japanese are drawn in more typical caricatures of that time period. Granted, they are the bad guys of that tale, but it is interesting to have such huge differences of enlightenment and prejudice in the same book. His depictions of Africans, sadly enough, were just outright bad and never seemed to improve. Racial problems aside, Hergé did well in relating his stories to current events and trends. The sabotage of the South Manchurian railway and the eventual succession of Japan from the League of Nations depicted in “The Blue Lotus” were real events. He wasn’t above pushing a certain agenda or commenting on certain issues. A particularly snarky sequence in “Tintin in America” has Tintin accidentally discovering oil on an Indian reservation. Within one day, big business men have bought the land from the tribe for far less than its worth, called in the US Troops to boot the natives off the property, and built a huge city, surrounding Tintin in traffic. And while Tintin and his core companions retained a timeless appearance, Hergé allowed his settings to progress with the times. Compare the postwar tranquility of England in “The Secret of the Unicorn” with the hippies wandering around the festival in “Tintin and the Picaros”. Hergé didn’t reject the progression of the times, nor did he abandon the integrity of his cast. He was a real genius at balancing his compositions on many levels. In fact, “balance” may be the hallmark of his talent. His visual compositions were incredibly well proportioned, his figures realistic with only a slight touch of caricature here and there, and the writing was as smooth as his art. Hergé wrote 23 books that were simultaneously held together by a broad continuity and instantly accessible to a new reader no matter which book was chosen. He balanced a large cast of characters, wrote long, complex adventures, provided resolutions at the end of each adventure, and perhaps most importantly, wrote in a style appreciated by kids and adults alike. In many ways, Hergé’s work was the ideal of sequential art. He did it all, and he did it with style, smarts and humor. It is true in the later books, the shtick becomes more frequent and less subtle, and the work suffered a bit. The Thompson Twins became guaranteed to don outrageous costumes, get hopelessly lost and break their bones. Captain Haddock would swear bizarrely, drink despite resolutions not to and fall down. Snowy would steal food and Bianca Castafiore would sing the “Jewel” song from Faust. Sometimes, Hergé seemed to recognize this predictability as in “Destination Moon” when Professor Calculus loses his temper at Captain Haddock’s insults and tells him off. The usually doddering scientist throws a fit at the Captain’s doubting ways and his penchant for accidents, and manages to shut the sailor up with the impressive spaceship waiting to take them all to the moon. It didn’t curtail the wacky antics, but it certainly was a shining moment for one of the more annoying characters. Sadly, Hergé passed away twenty years ago, putting an end to any more adventures. Nonetheless, Tintin remains an international hit and deservedly so. There are some misguided people who do not love Tintin as he deserves. These people are lame and not to be trusted. Tintin still sells well all over, and has been translated into 55 languages. Including Esperanto. Tell me that doesn’t scream quality. In honor of their beloved boy wonder, two papers in Belgium were fully illustrated with Tintin cartoons last Friday. His appeal remains the same as his stories – timeless, classic and completely deserved. Unlike, say, Dick Clark. Joyeux Anniversaire, Tintin! --Rachel Gluckstern
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April 22, 2008:
February 4, 2008:
November 20, 2006:
A Comic-Con without the Captain
