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Tintin: Why do characters not seem to age?

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miloumuttmitt
Member
#1 · Posted: 15 Sep 2004 02:34
Sponsz and Müller look different in the different Tintin books. They look aged, but Tintin and Haddock look no different.

And Carreidas says that he stole a pear at 4, in 1905, which puts his birthdate at 1901. He looks like he is in his 60s, but if Tintin hasn't grown to full adult 18 books after Tintin in America (which takes place in 1931), that puts Carreidas at 30.
jock123
Moderator
#2 · Posted: 15 Sep 2004 08:14
I'm not certain where you want this thread to go, or if it is just a general observation. As has been discussed before (see here) there is no consensus here on the age of Tintin or Haddock, so as to whether they age or not it is difficult to say.

Tintin looks different between, say, Soviets and Red Rackham/ Unicorn, and between then and Tibet, and between Tibet and Picaros – that might be characterised as "aging".

I certainly think that the diferences between the main characters and Sponz and Müller is about the same.

As for the arithmetic on Carriedas, I'm sorry, I didn't follow your point at all.
jockosjungle
Member
#3 · Posted: 15 Sep 2004 16:03
I think MMM is basing his sums on the fact that Tintin is permanently in 1931.

But as for aging, hardly any cartoon characters ever age, except I think the Rug Rats grew up and The Simpsons occasionally do a future episode.

But Tintin doesn't age at all, he will always be the boy reporter.

Rik
finlay
Member
#4 · Posted: 15 Sep 2004 17:31
There's a spin-off show of the rugrats where they're all grown up (that's the name of it), based on one episode where they look to the future.

The future episodes of the Simpsons are a bit weird, and even though Maggie has become an incredibly rebellious teenager with an out-of control hairstyle she still never speaks.

Also, the Simpsons occasionally mention dates, as in "in nineteen ninety-one Sideshow Bob did this, in nineteen ninety-two he did that", based on the date when the episode they're referring to was aired. Even so, in "nineteen ninety-one" and "nineteen ninety-two" the characters are the same age. And Homer's age sometimes increases while his children's doesn't.

Anyway, these kind of only worked because the characters are children, and Tintin, while he is quite young, isn't really a child; he could just as easily be in his twenties.

I think the differences in Tintin's appearance between earlier and later books could better be described as Hergé's drawings maturing, rather than Tintin himself maturing.

I believe that the original looks of Sponsz and Müller were more "evil", in some way; especially Müller's pointy goatee in The Black Island.
I've also noticed that the shape of Müller's head also seems to change, and in many ways I'm surprised Tintin recognises him in the Land of Black Gold.

Another interesting point about dates is when they visit Aristides Silk, the pickpocket; here the dates on the wallets are all nn-nn-53; ie. this adventure took place in 1953, 21 years after Tintin's American adventure was due to take place.
OJG
Member
#5 · Posted: 15 Sep 2004 21:48
finlay said:

I think the differences in Tintin's appearance between earlier and later books could better be described as Hergé's drawings maturing, rather than Tintin himself maturing.

I think that's spot on, mate.
jock123
Moderator
#6 · Posted: 15 Sep 2004 22:49
I entirely agree with Finlay; he indeed boils down what I was trying to imply obliquely – although I think the character is more mature as a personality by the end of the series too, even if he isn't (much) older.
kirthiboy
Member
#7 · Posted: 30 Nov 2004 20:08
But as for aging, hardly any cartoon characters ever age, except I think the Rug Rats grew up and The Simpsons occasionally do a future episode.

I know one more character who ages by one year by every book released: Harry Potter (and his co-students).
After all, they are attending the school and each adventure happens in each session of the school.

Aging a character also often makes him loose an identity. Logically, an aged Tintin would act differently than the current one.
However, just for joke you can say Tintin matured a lot from his Soviets and Congo adventures to the later Castafiore Emerald, Picaros ones!!!
jockosjungle
Member
#8 · Posted: 30 Nov 2004 20:14
Well i can think up many characters in books who age, books are slightly different to cartoons as it is easier to age the characters with descriptions. Whereas cartoons are almost always set in a static world.

Rik
Jyrki21
Member
#9 · Posted: 1 Dec 2004 06:09
I have a print, given to me by a friend, of Tintin as an old man, wrinkled and grey, pushing Snowy in a wheelchair. The picture is labeled "Tintin '99"... has anyone else seen this?
jock123
Moderator
#10 · Posted: 1 Dec 2004 07:23
jockosjungle said:
i can think up many characters in books who age, books are slightly different to cartoons as it is easier to age the characters with descriptions. Whereas cartoons are almost always set in a static world.

I think that's a generalization too far myself - it depends on what the author tries to achieve. I grant you that there are far more sagas (for want of a better word) in literature than in comics, which set out to cover the story of generations, in which characters are born, age and then die, but the saga is just that, a literary form, and has been around for, well, ages.

It really depends on the author's intention - are they creating a history or a character?

However, recurring characters who do not age, or at least who age in a way which does not reflect the passage of time in reality are rife in literature as well as comics. These characters can often look back at their child-hood or school-days, we may even get a brief glimpse into their future, but the now remains with us.

Hercule Poirot was a veteran of the first world war, retired from the police, and then had a loooooonnng time in middle age, before rapidly aging and dying all in one book.
Philip Marlowe never aged appreciably, likewise The Saint and even Sherlock Holmes and Watson.
Jennings aged about a year and a half, then stuck, even though each book marked the passing of a term at school; William and Molesworth never aged at all.

Rebus is unusual as a detective, as he is deliberately aged by his author, Ian Rankin, the books forming a log of his career in the police; but then the cast of Gasoline Alley get old and die (leastways they did at the begining - don't know if they still do).

Tintin is character driven, not saga driven, so largely he stays as he is, and the world and time race by.

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