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''The Adventures of Tintin'' ('''''Les Aventures de Tintin'''''), drawn and written by the Belgian writer-artist Georges Remi a.k.a. Hergé , is one of the most popular European Comics of the 20th century. According to BBC magazine, over 200 million copies of the comic books have been sold to date, with translations into over 58 languages. The hero of the series is a young reporter and traveller named Tintin, aided by his faithful dog Snowy, Captain Haddock and a variety of colourful supporting characters. The comic book series has long been admired for its clean yet expressive drawings executed in Hergé's signature '', Mysteries , Political Thrillers , and Science Fiction . All the titles in the Tintin series include plenty of Slapstick humour, offset in later albums by dashes of sophisticated Satire and political/cultural commentary. Tintin lives in Brussels , the capital city of Belgium and the birthplace of Hergé . This is evidenced most notably in '' Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets '' where the text states that Tintin arrives in Brussels as he returns home after his adventure, and in '' Tintin In Tibet '', where the letter sent to Tintin by his friend Chang is addressed to Brussels. There are other more subtle hints in some of the other books, such as recognisable locations, car numberplates, etc. However, after '' Red Rackham's Treasure '', Tintin moves into Marlinspike Hall , whose geographical location is debatable. It is to be noted though that Marlinspike's original name is Moulinsart, the -sart ending being typical of the Walloon Brabant region - we are still probably in Belgium. A perennial question concerning Tintin is his age: It is far from clear whether he is a teenage rookie reporter, or a senior journalist in his Thirtysomething years. While his manner of dress suggests the former, the high-profile stories he covers (not to mention his apparently bottomless expense account) strongly implies the latter. The matter has never been resolved. CHARACTERS Tintin ''(Tintin et Milou)'']] See Also: Tintin and Snowy Tintin is a young Belgian Reporter (as well as an accomplished Fighter and Pilot ) who becomes involved in dangerous cases in which he takes heroic action to save the day. Almost every adventure features Tintin hard at work at his investigative reporting, but he is rarely seen actually turning in a story. He is a young man of more or less neutral attitudes and is less colourful than the supporting cast. The earlier version of Tintin was apparently inspired, at least in part, by Hergé's youngest brother Paul Remi, a career soldier {Link without Title} . Hergé later became estranged from his brother and depicted him as the villainous Colonel Sponsz in '' The Calculus Affair ''. Tintin and Sponsz, although physically very different, have quite similar hair spikes. Captain Archibald Haddock (''Capitaine Archibald Haddock'') ''(Capitaine Haddock)'']] See Also: Captain Haddock Captain Haddock is Tintin's best friend, a seafaring captain who was introduced in '' The Crab With The Golden Claws .'' Haddock was initially depicted as a weak and alcoholic character, but in later albums he became more respectable and genuinely heroic. The Captain's coarse humanity and sarcasm acts as a counterpoint to Tintin's often implausible heroism; he is always quick with a dry comment whenever the boy reporter gets too idealistic. Haddock uses all sorts of words as insults and curses to express his feelings, such as "blistering barnacles", "thundering typhoons", " Bashi-bazouk ", " Kleptomaniac ", " Anacoluthon ", and " Pockmark ", but no words that are actually considered Swear Word s (see List Of Exclamations Used By Captain Haddock ). Haddock is a hard drinker, especially of Whisky of the '' Loch Lomond '' brand, and his bouts of drunkenness are often used for comic effect. Haddock's surname was derived from a conversation that Hergé had with his wife, in which she mentioned that the Haddock was a "sad English Fish ". Hergé chose this name accordingly. Haddock remained without a first name until the last completed story, '' Tintin And The Picaros '' (1976), when the name ''Archibald'' was suggested. Professor Cuthbert Calculus (''Professeur Tryphon Tournesol'') ''(Professeur Tournesol)'']] See Also: Professor Calculus Professor Cuthbert Calculus is a distracted, hard-of-hearing professor, who invented many objects used in the series, such as a one-person Shark -shaped Submarine , the Moon Rocket and an Ultrasound weapon. Calculus seeks to benefit Mankind by inventions such as a pill that cures Alcoholism by making Alcohol taste horrible to the patient. Calculus's , and carries a Pendulum for that purpose. Calculus first appeared in ''Red Rackham's Treasure'', and was the end result of Hergé's long quest to find the archetypal '', and Prof. Alembick in ''King Ottokar's Sceptre''. NOTE: A literal translation of his French name would be ''Tryphonius Sunflower''. Snowy (''Milou'') See Also: Tintin and Snowy Snowy, an exceptionally white 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. Like Captain Haddock, Snowy is fond of Whisky of the '' Loch Lomond '' brand, and his occasional bouts of drinking tend to get him into trouble, as does his raging Arachnophobia . Thomson and Thompson (''Dupont et Dupond'') ''(Dupont et Dupond)'']] See Also: Thomson and Thompson Thomson and Thompson are two clumsy Detective s who, although unrelated, look like Twin s with the only discernible difference being the shape of their moustaches. They provide much of the Comic Relief throughout the series, as they are afflicted with Spoonerism . They are thoroughly incompetent, and always bent on arresting the wrong character, but in spite of this they somehow get entrusted with delicate missions, such as ensuring security for the Syldavia n space project. When they get into a terrible mess (like falling over) they come up with lazy excuses such as 'Well I was following you' to make themselves seem less idiotic. The detectives usually wear bowler hats and carry walking sticks, except when abroad, when they insist on wearing the " National Costume " of the country they are visiting so as to blend into the local Population , but in general only manage to find some ridiculous folkloric attire that makes them stand apart. The detectives were in part based on Hergé's father and uncle, identical twins who wore matching bowlers. Minor characters ]] ]] ]] ]] ]] ]] ]] ]] Some of the notable characters are:
FICTIONAL COUNTRIES Hergé devised several fictional countries later in the series. Syldavia in particular is described in considerable detail (history, customs, language etc.).
The Flags of the Tintin Fictional Countries RACE AND COLONIALISM The earliest stories in ''The Adventures of Tintin'' have been criticised for Racist and Colonialist leanings, including caricatured portrayals of non- Europe ans. However, Hergé changed his views sometime between these early works and '' The Blue Lotus '', published in 1936. This story, set in China during the then-current Sino-Japanese War , was the first for which he did extensive background research. It criticised Japanese and Western Colonial meddling in China and helped to dispel popular myths about the Chinese people (though it does contain flagrant stereotyping of Japanese people, who are portrayed as sinister and cruel). From then on, meticulous research would be one of Hergé's trademarks. Some of the early albums were altered by Hergé in subsequent editions, usually at the demand of publishers. For example, at the instigation of his American publishers, many of the black characters in '' Tintin In America '' were re-coloured to make their race white or ambiguous. ''The Shooting Star'' originally had an American Villain with a Jewish name, who was changed to an American with a less ethnically specific name in later editions, and subsequently to a South American of a Fictional Country . '' The Broken Ear '' depicted a tribe of "head-shrinkers", which Hergé originally named the Bibaros in reference to the real-life Jivaros ( Shuar ) people. The Explorer Ridgewell has lived among them for many years and has still not given up trying to teach them to play Golf . See Also: Ideology of Tintin STAGE ADAPTATIONS Herge himself helped to create two Tintin stage plays - Tintin in India: The mystery of the blue diamond and The disappearence of mr. Boullock. A Musical based on ''The Seven Crystal Balls'' and ''Prisoners of the Sun'' premièred on 15 September 2001 at the ''Stadsschouwburg'' (city theatre) in Antwerp , Belgium . It was entitled ''Kuifje - De Zonnetempel (De Musical)'' and was broadcast on Canal Plus , before moving on to Charleroi in 2002 as ''Tintin - Le Temple Du Soleil'' . The Young Vic theatre company ran a musical version of '' Tintin In Tibet '' at the Barbican Arts Centre in London from December 2005 to January 2006. {Link without Title} MEMORABILIA The Belgian Post issued a Tintin stamp in 1979 to celebrate the day of youth Philately . This was the first in a series of stamps with the images of Belgian Comic Heroes to be issued in later years, and was the first stamp in the world to feature a comic hero. ]] The Royal Dutch Post released a set of Tintin stamps on October 8 , 1999 which sold out within hours of release. Belgium minted a limited edition (50,000) silver 10- Euro commemorative coin to celebrate the 75th birthday of Tintin in January of 2004 . MERCHANDISE Universal Studios has licensed the rights to ''Adventures of Tintin'' Merchandise in North America . IN THE FUTURE
IN POPULAR CULTURE
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