Hergé, the father of Tintin

Even after the death of Herge in 1983 his beloved character Tintin is still very popular. People keep applying to this curious journalist and recently he even has appeared in the new movie by Steven Spilberg. What makes him so special?

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But Tintin was not the first and only character of Hergé. He started his artistic career in a scouting magazine, Le Boy-Scout Belge, with the character Totor, a predecessor of Tintin.

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For the first time Tintin appeared in the pages of Le Petit Vingtième in the story of his adventures in “The Land of the Soviets”. Hergé had strong anticommunst views and he drew an utterly dark and unpleasant picture of the Soviet actuallity, although he had never visited the land.

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Hergé's "clear line" style has been inspiring artistist throughout the world for already 80 years. He was first to draw in such a manner and use "speech bubbles" in his comic books.

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The adventures of Tintin present a number of well realised characters in distinctive settings. The series has continued being loved by both readers and critics alike for over 70 years.

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Actual narratives of Hergé's stories were very strong well-constructed. An important point is that Hergé did it all himself. He was a perfectionist with total control over his creation. That is the reason why he didn't want anyone to continue his work after his death.

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The Blue Lotus (1934) is considered to be the most remarkable book of Tintin's adventures. It was prepared in a close cooperation with a Chinese student Chang Chong Chen. Hergé was delighted to learn about China through his new friend.

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Chang would come every Sunday, Hergé would give him his latest drawings for The Blue Lotus, Chang would write in the Chinese symbols and they would have long discussions about art and philosophy of China.

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The result was a masterpiece. Tintin appeared in extremely realistic manner. We can see Shanghai exactly as it was in 1934. It is beautifully drawn by both of them, Hergé and Chang. Hergé suggested Chang to put his name as well on the title page, but he declined.

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Those, who knew Hergé personally say that he loved people and had an outstanding sence of humour. "If you didn't meet Hergé, you wouldn't realise how funny he was – he saw the humorous side of almost everything" − says his fan and explorer Michael Farr.

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The Museum dedicated to Hergé's life and work was founded in 2009 in Louvain-La-Neuve, small and nice university town near Brussels.

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From Georges Remi to Hergé

Georges Remi − Hergé was his pen name and derived from the initials backwards (“R.G.”) − created Tintin, when he was only 22. He set off with. Since that moment his name was inseparably bound with the marvelous adventures of a skillful journalist and his friends.

Hergé was born in Brussels on May 22, 1907. He was a city boy with itchy feet and like many other Catholic boys joined the boy scouts. This experience greatly influenced his personality and he transferred it into his main hero Tintin, who was often compared with the stereotype of a boy scout. In fact, during his lifetime, Tintin carried many features and even life situations of his inventor.

Tintinology

The “clear line” drawing of Hergé was his outstanding know-how and his style was copied by a great number of artists later on. That is one of the reasons why he is often considered to be the most influential European comic artist ever. There is a great museum dedicated to Hergé’s life and work in Louvain-La-Neuve, a little bit outside Brussels, that some people consider as a cathedral. Moreover, a mere ardour for stories about Tintin’s adventure became almost a science − Tintinology, as students actually write dissertations about it.

Indeed, books about adventures of Tintin are not only a great examples of illustrative art − they are also a very good literature. It is a perfect combination of remarkable drawing and a high-quality narrative. Besides, these stories are full of nice details and his creator’s humour. “If you didn’t meet Hergé, you wouldn’t realise how funny he was – he saw the humorous side of almost everything. He was visually terribly aware, he didn’t miss anything he saw”, says “Tintinologist” Michael Farr.

It goes without saying, that Hergé’s books are more than just funny stories, it was a mirror of the history of XX century. Tintin’s adventures always reflected contemporary events, and through his travels around the world Hergé uncovered deep and complicated links between countries and nations. Tintin also is a very moral figure, an example of good behaviour and a good approach to life. The wonderful thing is that you can read a Tintin adventure any number of times and always find something new.