Aug
19
2008

Tintin and a certain caterpillar

That very clever and sometimes hungry Caterpillar will be on Dublin’s Q102 radio tomorrow to talk about the great Tintin debacle - the one where Tintin is depicted as a ‘voracious lover’.

I’m not a huge fan of the cartoon, it just never registered on the radar when I was younger, so I read the Irish Times piece today with a chuckle and little else - it should make for an interesting chat. Looking forward to hearing the Caterpillar’s thoughts…

Wednesday 20 August at 5.15pm - click here to listen live

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Written by david. in: childrens books | Tags:

6 Comments »

  • Tin Tin always gave me the creeps. There was something all to Aryan about him.

    Comment | August 19, 2008
  • Jumping in here to stick up for Tintin. Herge was a superb draftsman, a terrific visual storyteller, and the undisputed king of the French/Belgian “ligne claire” style. Anyone interested in the mechanics of comic books - the flow of (and relationship between) sequential panels - could learn a lot from the great man.

    The enormous popularity of Tintin is wholly deserved in my opinion.

    Comment | August 19, 2008
  • Hi John - nice to see you (to see you nice)

    I can’t argue that Herge wasn’t technically brilliant - his influence over comics beyond Tintin was huge. All that said - despite my best efforts - I never did manage to read much of it.

    Time for a revisit I think…

    Comment | August 20, 2008
  • I think I read them all - many times. I even read them in French in giant omnibus editions that my (French) aunt had. Essential parts of my comic book education.

    A side note - Tintin must be one of the most frequently knocked out characters in the history of fiction! He was constantly getting bopped on the head.

    Comment | August 20, 2008
  • I wonder what the medical effects of so many bops would be? More than a mere concussion…

    Comment | August 20, 2008
  • The dizziness/concussion was elegantly suggested by a little swirly line over his head. The same head was also often used as a battering ram. Tintin would find his hands tied behind him but would improvise an escape by bending over and charging head-first at his enemies (hitting them square in the bread baskets).

    Herge had “head issues”…

    Comment | August 20, 2008

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