Tintinesque

Merry Christmas!

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 20:24:27 -0500

It has been a long time since any major update here. Let's hope I can write more in 2009. Menawhile, I wish you a great year and Merry Christmas!

Yeti may yet exist!

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:09:31 -0500

According to this article, there is new evidence that yet may really exist!

Cigars of the Pharaoh

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:29:23 -0500

This may be common knowledge to everyone but myself, but I have never seen it mentioned in any of the fan websites or even books about Tintin. In such books it should come under the sections titled "Continuity". Have you noticed that as late as "Flight 714", Rastapopoulos is still smoking the "Cigars of the Pharaoh"? They have the mark of Kih-Oskh on them. Have a closer look:

Herge, prisoner of his own characters

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 23:42:11 -0500

Herge might have had taken some time off during the writing of the "Land of Black Gold". Here he is shown arrested by his own characters and forced back to work to finish the story. I cannot read what Segneur Oliviera da Figuera is saying, but the rest are loosely translated as follows (clockwise, from the left):

Haddock: "Blistring barnacles! You must fill these pages fast, dude!"
Oliviera:"..." [something about the servants of Professor Smith].
Thomson: " No more fun, my son! Back to work!"
Dr. Mueller: "Damn, he is going to send Tintin after me again!..."
Thompson: "To be precise: No more sun!"
Emir Ben Khalish Ezab: "Are you finally going to let Tintin rescue my darling Abdallah?"
Tintin: "That's right, my firends! Herge has been found! We are finally going to know the rest of "The Black Gold""!
Snowy: "How upsetting! I was quite enojying the break! He will be sending me again on new adventures"
Calculus: "I always said that you would find him if you look towards the west..."

Original ending to "The Shooting Star"

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:57:59 -0500

Here is the original ending to "The shooting Star", omitted from the books. Capitan Haddock, Professor Calys (renamed Phostle in the English edition) and Tintin are interviewed on the radio after returning form the North Pole about the significance of their trip. Herge plays a joke on his editor and the paper shortages during the war: Tintin's says in the last frame "There is a lot more I would like to say, but our editor tells me there is no more paper." This is adopted from the controversial book "Tintin mon copain" by Leon Degrelle. More will be coming from this book.

Chrismas card by Yves Rodier

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:52:22 -0500

From the year 1994:

Breaking Free

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 16:13:26 -0500

Here is a new entry in my favorite category of Tintin albums by people other than Herge. This book called 'Breaking Free' shows Tintin and the captain as anarchist construction workers in Britain, challenging their evil employer and the workers union. Many other characters from the Tintin universe drop in during the story which is a few hundred pages long!

I don't know the author's name for sure; it has been listed as 'J. Daniels' online. So drop me a comment if you happen to know. The whole book can be viewed at Breaking Free.

Tintin and Thermezero

Mon, 08 May 2006 14:30:04 -0500

Here is another example of the works of the Canadian Yves Rodier, who is most famous for having completed 'Tintin and Alph-Art'.

In my opinion Rodier deliberately distorts the lines drawn by Herge in his reworkings to make the drawings 'his'. Compare Tintin's innocent face in Herge's drawing and the angular lines in the same face redrawn by Rodier in the bottom left frame. Many thanks to a correspondent who prefers to stay anonymous.

'Tintin and Thermezero', page 4, as redrawn by Yves Rodier :

The original drawing for that page by the master himself, Herge:

Tintin arrives in Quebec

Mon, 13 Feb 2006 14:40:46 -0500

A heads up to Tintin fans in Canada:

"Musée de la civilisation" Québec city, QC will host the first major Tintin exhibit to visit Canada since Montreal's « Le musée imaginaire de Tintin » in 1980. According to the Tintin official website, the exhibit "In Peru with Tintin" will stay there from October 2006 to January 2008.

One of my best Christmas presents ever!

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 15:34:19 -0500

Photo from store.tintin.com.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 15:22:12 -0500

Original page of 'The Seven Crystal Balls'

Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:44:47 -0500

An alternate version of the scene near the end of "The Seven Crystal Balls": Tintin accidentally sees General Alcazar who informs him of Chiquito's disappearance. Click on the image to enlarge.

The absence of captain Haddock is strange. Unlike the final version, where Gen. Alcazar states that Chiquito has never talked to anyone other than him (correct me if I am wrong), here he names 'Fernando Ramirez', the major exporter of Guano (fertilizer) as a frequent visitor of Chiquito. We of course remember the bags of Guano on the pier where Pachacamac is supposed to dock in 'Prisoners of the Sun'.

Herge had published the story in "Le Soir" newspaper during 1944 under German occupation. With the end of the war, Le Soir stopped publishing and Herge started his famous "Journal Tintin" after a short while. He continued the story there. This is the last page published in "Le Soir".

The Syldavian Language

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 02:41:44 -0500

Here is a very interesting linguistic article about deciphering the Syldavian language based on the fragments in different Tintin books. Most interesting is the translation of the ancient text about the significance of the sceptre in Ottokar's time. It really means something!!

Tintin in Congo

Mon, 10 Oct 2005 17:04:10 -0500

The color edition of Tintin in Congo has become available in English for the first time. The reason for its unavailability in the past has been said to be its racist overtones in the way Herge ridicules the Africans. It should soon be found on www.store.tintin.com

Tintin at Sea

Mon, 05 Sep 2005 19:54:23 -0500

The National Maritime Museum (Greenwich, LONDON) in association with Moulinsart have put up a very interesting exhibition of items related to Tintin's adventures at Sea. They have a nice website showing Herge's working steps and nice Tintin games. My favorite part of the exhibit was a map of the kingdom of Khemed, drawn by Herge to help him think the moves of the several different ships and aircraft in "The Red Sea Sharks". Have a look: