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Captain Haddock's and Tintin's relationship

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robbo
Member
#41 · Posted: 8 Jan 2013 17:10
Hi Gayboy,

I think the reason Tintin is open to so many differing interpretations is because the themes are so universal and the character of Tintin so undefined.

I see the development of the relationship between Haddock and Tintin in the Picaros as a direct reflection of Herge's life itself; it has been suggested that he increasingly identified with Haddock in later age. In this sense Tintin and Haddock reflect different sides of Herge's own character and could also explain why their relationship is a-sexual.

As regards their relationship developing in that way, if anything in Herge's last album Alph Art is the first hint of any romantic relationship for Tintin with Martine.

As for what fan art does is up to those fans but is of no relevance to Tintin as an oeuvre.

mat
Gayboy
Member
#42 · Posted: 8 Jan 2013 18:14
robbo

We really don't know for a fact if Herge had any plans on Tintin/Martine because he did not make any outlines, plus what makes me think that the possibility for a Tintin/Haddock romantic relationship also is the close relationship with Chang Herge had. Rodier who actually did a verstion of Alph-Art made Tintin act awkwardly when Martine invited him for dinner to meet her parents, of course that is not the official version as there really never will be because none of us really know what Herge truly thought or felt and never will.

Of course we don't know that for a fact either so either of us could be right. I really believe personally that Herge and Chang were more than friends but because of his religious beliefs and the times he did not allow himself to pursue such a relationship. I think Tintin in Tibet was a great ode for his feelings for Chang.

Again, this is speculation too. So I guess we can conclude as far as the fan art and writers go-- we are free to explore all of the possibilities, and believe me all of them are. I think the fact that so many fans are doing so much stuff about Tintin would flatter Herge if he were alive to see it.
Tintinrulz
Member
#43 · Posted: 9 Jan 2013 04:57
Two words - Platonic Friendship.
Gayboy
Member
#44 · Posted: 9 Jan 2013 05:30
Tintinrulz

Everyone is entitled to see them how they wish.
SakuraT5
Member
#45 · Posted: 13 Jan 2013 13:22
Tintin and Haddock relationship is purely platonic and asexual because, as Hergé himself mentioned once, that women and sex have nothing to do in the world of Tintin.

Maybe that's the reason why Tintin is so popular around the world for so long among such a wide ranged target audience and did not die out despite the growing popularity of DC comics or manga.
Gayboy
Member
#46 · Posted: 13 Jan 2013 17:07
SakuraT5
Nothing in the stories sexual ever happens, but the context of what can be assumesd one can say either way what 'could' be between them. It's a toss up between friendship and lovers allowing us to see a non or the other. Writers have to protect their characters marketing appeal. To make the stories sellable writers will say what the public wants 90% of the time. The 70's weren't exactly a good time to talk about sex in a comic even if it was hetero...like we have today in Mangas and all which is probably when Hergé gave the interview. The good thing about seeing asexual in it is that we are free to interpret it as we wish.

On a side note I am definitely happy to see they allowed a gay character like the Green Lantern in DC to finally make take the forefront in the DC Universe.
mct16
Member
#47 · Posted: 13 Jan 2013 21:37
Gayboy:
I am definitely happy to see they allowed a gay character like the Green Lantern in DC to finally make take the forefront in the DC Universe.

Yes, but if they have Batman kissing Superman in bed then I'll bomb the DC offices with Kryptonite and the Joker's laughing gas! There is such a thing as going too far. Without wanting to sound homophobic, it is one of the things that put me off from watching the "Dr Who" spin-off "Torchwood" when all the main characters appeared to be gay or bisexual.

It would have been interesting in knowing Herge's view on current comics and how he would have handled such a theme in the modern era. Many current Belgian comics aimed at children do feature scenes of characters in bed together and it's clear what they have been up to. There is a strip called "Tamara" by Zidrou (Benoît Drousie, writer) and Christian Darasse (artist) about an overweight teenager and her search for love. It also looks at issues like racism and teenage sexuality. I believe that there is a sub-plot about a boy coming to terms with being gay as a result of a crush on a handsome fellow pupil. Such themes would have been unthinkable back in the 1950s and 60s when Tintin's success was at its eight.

Seriously, would he have ever come up with a scenario dealing with gays in much the same way as "Sharks" deals with slavery or "Emerald" with bigotry towards gypsies? or would he have thought that such a theme had no place in a family-oriented strip such as his? The current "Blake & Mortimer" books do not appear to do so, so maybe that is a pointer.
Gayboy
Member
#48 · Posted: 15 Jan 2013 20:13
I know someone writing a fanfiction about Torchwood who is supposedely attracted to aliens and robots... I'm like ok... well hey whatever lol.
They way I see it, I think a good story needs a good mixed bag of different characters to make the story interesting, unless you read about French poet Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. Very interesting story...

Anyways as far as what Herge would say, "I think" despite what he may have said publically... he seemed to be quite knowing about homosexuals or connected to them in some fashion if not, a closet bisexual himself.

With the times as they are now I think he would probably ask, what is your target audience. Now days they have a children's story I read once about a prince who didn't want a princess because he was gay.

I think Herge could identify with is as long as it was not smut, which my tintin fanfiction I write is not smut but Haddock/Tintin are lovers.

Such themes exist in Herge's writing, Tintin in the Congo another example of the product of its time. I don't think there's anything wrong with being true to reality and adding depth to characters. Herge made Tintin Ambigious enough that people kept coming back and didn't cater to either the hetero or the gay crowds... he kept it neutral with only slight innuendos which was probably the best decision.

I think it's the way you deal with issues like that which can make or break a story.
SakuraT5
Member
#49 · Posted: 18 Jan 2013 16:56
Gayboy
If the story would have headed in the 'queer' direction, then what would be the difference between Tintin and the-famous-for-its-notoriety "gay" and "Boy's love" manga in Japan?

Be it Tintin-Chang or Tintin-Captain, the relationship was pretty much friendly and "without-any-strings-attached". Maybe that was the essence of Tintin. Western comics like Tintin don't emphasize or highlight family or relationship issues like manga.

If Tintin would have been illustrated and written in the form of DC or manga, there would have been queer pairings apart from the Captain and Tintin like Tintin- Castafiore, Tintin- Mrs Clarkson and who knows what else.
mct16
Member
#50 · Posted: 18 Jan 2013 18:02
Tintin and Castafiore????????? Now we're entering toyboy territory! Brrrrr...

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