Tintin, a lad of 14 or 15 with blonde hair, runs on a dirt road with his white fox terrier, Snowy
© Hergé/Moulinsart 2020

The Adventures of TintinHergé

Style

The masters of Japanese anime imitated Hergés “ligne claire” style, featuring clearly delineated characters drawn against a more realistic background, just as Hergé learned from Japanese woodblock artists especially the seascapes of Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Controversial ideology

Le Vingtième Siècle where Hergé worked, was staunchly Roman Catholic, ultra-conservative, and pro-fascist. Hergé’s work was anti-capitalist, anti-consumerist, embodying Boy Scout ideals, and later accused of being racist. Tintin was a reporter and Hergé’s work expressed political views until Belgium was invaded by Germany, whereupon Tintin became an explorer. Nevertheless, the character of Tintin the intrepid reporter and explorer, translated into over 110 languages, is timeless, capturing and inspiring both the young and the old.

Becoming a hero

First you perform some magic, pronouncing your initials, G. R., backwards in French. Second, you invent an eternally young reporter, good at all he does, whose dog and sidekicks can get him out of trouble. Then how easy it is to stumble into an adventure, get knocked on the head, be accused by the secret police, escape from your captors, and prove the villains are fools. Thus the subconscious makes heroes of us all.