Tintin Forums

I wonder why the author waited for 6+1 tintin series to introduce captain haddock.It would have been wonderful if he had made a debut in CONGO or atleast The Broken Ear where a major scandal was about to be exposed ?

Because he didn't come up with the Captain until around the time of Crab with the Golden Claws. Its all very well saying he should have debuted earlier, its another to see how that is possible.

Just think: if Herge hadn't been forced to switch from writing Land of Black Gold (contentious because of its Germanic villain) to a less controversial subject, i.e. drug smuggling, he might never have created Archie at all...

*shudders at the thought*

I don't want to think about it, Karaboudjan!!! Ack!
It's hard not to love Haddock--he's got this gruff exterior, but in the end he has a very big heart. He's also a character ahead of his time, when you just didn't talk about alcoholism at all...and here we have someone, a good, honest person, who's dealing with it.

Courtney

I admire the fact Herge never makes light of his addiction. The early scenes where he grapples with his demons are really quite frightening (but then the Master never believed he should protect his readers from disturbing scenarioes and/or characters, did he?)

hadn't been forced to switch from writing Land of Black Gold (contentious because of its Germanic villain) to a less controversial subject, i.e. drug smuggling

Strange: wasn't "Land of Black Gold" made after "The Crab with the Golden Claws", where Haddock makes his debut? I'd like to be enlightened.

but then the Master never believed he should protect his readers from disturbing scenarioes and/or characters, did he?)

Some potentially grotesquely violent scenes - like really bloodied people: I wonder what Rastapopoulos would have looked like after falling off the cliff in "Cigars of the Pharaoh?
Not to mention that Tintin was not severely bleeding after being attacked by piranhas in "The Broken Ear", which could have been fatal from severe blood loss (in fact, that scene had a comic element with two fishes biting at Snowy's tail).
I think the Master respected many sensitivities - I heard somewhere that Tintin was made for youngsters "from 7 to 77" (don't know the exact quote).
Long story short, the Master definitely had self-censoring tendencies to protect readers.

Long story short, the Master definitely had self-censoring tendencies to protect readers.
I don't know, to be honest I would say it was just trying to keep the ligne claire living up to its name. Too much detail and you can't make out what's what.

Either way, I'm glad he didn't sugar-coat Haddock's alcoholism--that's a real problem that many people deal with on a daily basis, and it should have been brought up.

Courtney

that's a real problem that many people deal with on a daily basis, and it should have been brought up

Even the Captain's alcoholism, however destructive, is also sort of farcical (think: the Captain's behavior on the moon rocket in "Explorers on the Moon"). It is arguable that he is not really an alcoholic; real ones can be very destructive on a very regular basis. The Captain still manages to control himself, and when he is sober, he can do a lot!

BTW, should this thread be renamed: "Captain Haddock: General Discussion", or should the last several posts be removed?)

Anyway, if one can ask why the Captain came by so late, then it also begs the question as to why Professor Calculus didn't show up until much later in the series...

Strange; wasn't "Land of Black Gold" made AFTER "The Crab with the Golden Claws", where Haddock makes his debut? I'd like to be enlightened.

It was originally started before the Belgium occupation but had to be abandoned. This is why the Captain seems shoe-horned into the story- in the first draft, Tintin had not yet met him (or the Prof for that matter).

With the Captain coming in, Snowy and Tintin were deptived of a lot of the limelight, so probably Hergé must have pondered over it before including the Captain in the adventures.
I prefer the non-Captain adventures more than the ones with the Captain in them.