Tintin Forums

Tried to connect to Tintin.com - the site has changed for English speaking fans. Very colourful and interactive with shop (posted from the UK) and emphasis on the film. Looks like a great development.

However I had to connect through the global site to the French speakers' site for the familiar news (looking for events and interesting snippets). Hoping other tintinologists have seen the site and will have insights and maybe eventually we can input, or leave comments like the french fans do on their site.

Overall it looks quite promising. Obviously aimed at younger readers.

Nonetheless, something is amiss. It seems that for the team responsible Tintin is a "brand" and a "franchise". For me, he is first and foremost a bande dessinée hero.

QUOTING FROM THE SITE (emphasis mine):

The Director of Moulinsart S.A., Nick Rodwell, has commented on the upcoming Tintin website:
“One of the biggest challenges of my existence was to help create a new website for all English speaking countries. Choosing the right team made this all possible.”
The new site has been developed and executed by the San Francisco office of global agency Euro RSCG in conjunction with Moulinsart S.A. Euro RSCG CEO Alan Burgis:
“Any time you get to work with one of the world’s truly great global entertainment brands is a great day for Euro RSCG. The Tintin franchise is such an opportunity. We believe the site we created is both true to the brand’s traditional audience base and yet an exciting destination for all of those new fans that will be created by the movie launch, which is a Spielberg/Jackson collaboration. Nice company for us to keep!!”

True, Luinivierge. But this is Nick Rodwell we're talking about. He's hardly one to understand the integrity of Tintin, just the cash flow Herge creations bring in.

That said, the new site looks great. It's more comprehensive and clearly-presented than before. More images are used and the written-English is generally well done.

I disagree that Rodwell is being disrespectful. Rodwell is talking about the series. By describing it as a "property," he is merely pointing out that somebody owns the rights to the characters, images and stories. (Unlike Robin Hood, for example, who is a folklore hero that nobody owns, so anybody can use him however they wish.)

As for calling it a "franchise," I believe that refers to all the different media that the Tintin stories have been adapted to (movies, television, stage plays...)

It seems to me that Rodwell is acknowledging that Tintin has a large fan base and the website needs to accurately represent the character. I'd think that it would especially tricky to adequately create an English language site because so much of Tintin's charm could so easily be lost by a poor translation.

But the English translations were approved by Herge. They were the only translators to meet up with him and discuss their translations with him. I think that accounts for such a great translation.

I think you’ll find they are talking about the translation of material for the Tintin.com site, which of course wasn’t even thought of when Hergé died… :-)

Not to mention the death of Michael Turner, so they wouldn't have been able to consult with him either.

I'v been on that site before. I think its okay, but its not the best. Of what I know of it, you can't type anything. And also as luinivierg2010 said, It is aimed at young readers. Also, In the part of the site were it gives an overview of the books, they seem to lack some information. If I was to suggest which site is better, Tintin.com or Tintinologist.org, I'd suggest this site.