Tintin: From Violent, Communist-Hating Conservative to Radical Peacenik

Abstract

The comic series about the boy reporter Tintin is one of the most successful comics in history. Starting as a serialized strip in a Belgian Catholic newspaper, it evolved into books which have been translated into 90 languages and have sold 250 million copies globally (Mason, 2015). It has resulted in two TV series and both live and animated films, including the blockbuster CGI feature film, "The Adventures of Tintin" (2011), with a sequel planned (Chitwood, 2018). There have been documentaries, monographs, stage plays, and video games. There is a Tintin Gallery and an Herge Museum, and Tintin features in numerous Brussels murals and even luxurious Tintin-themed rooms. Other signs of its ongoing popularity include ubiquitous Tintin t-shirts, fridge magnets, and a Tintin coin issued in Belgium in 2004 to commemorate his 75th anniversary (BBC News, 2004). A small planet is named "Herge" and an asteroid named "Castafiore," after a notable character (Assouline, 2009: 175).