Tintin Forums

He may ebb and flow in the English-speaking world (a lot of it depends for the younger, PlayStation generation as to whether Spielberg ever makes good on the movie rights, in which case he'll come back in style for all the wrong reasons).

In the French-speaking world, though, I think Tintin is as eternal as it gets. Everyone knows the famous Charles de Gaulle quote ("My only international rival is Tintin"), and to this day in Montreal -- thousands of miles away from Brussels -- Tintin is still ubiquitous on billboards, postcards, in bookstores and trinket shops, not to mention two separate Tintin-themed restaurants (Le Petit Moulinsart and Frite Alors!, both of which feature Belgian-esque cuisine).

See, in the English-speaking world, no one would even think to have a Belgian restaurant, let alone a Tintin one... :) That's a symptom of why I think his popularity will always be at least a little tied to language...

And I still think Tintin looks super-happenin' in his Picaros getup. ;)

See, in the English-speaking world, no one would even think to have a Belgian restaurant, let alone a Tintin one...

There are at least half a dozen Belgian restaurants in London, including 3 Belgos; Central, Zuid and Noord. A Tintin one could just be a matter of time...:)

There are at least half a dozen Belgian restaurants in London, including 3 Belgos; Central, Zuid and Noord. A Tintin one could just be a matter of time...:)

Well, then, I stand corrected! :) But in the non-European English-speaking world, I bet I'm still right... there might be one or two in New York, I suppose, and there might even be one here in Toronto without me realizing it, but there can't be many more.

And to clarify, I'm not referring to places that just serve Belgian french fries... we even had those in Vancouver. :)

I quite like Tintin the way he is.I like the nostalgia of all the old cars, the Nazi-style uniforms (worn by officials) and the fact that most people still wear hats. Not a desk top PC in sight.!
I think he should be immortalised in this '30's to '50's time zone.

For the past week I've been bringing some Tintin books to my high school, and so many times, someone walking through the hall -- a student whom I don't know -- will spot it and their face will light up: "Tintin! I remember him! I loved those books!" I don't think they're going out of style, but stuff like videogames and bad movies and bad music are kicking him out of the scene, not to mention Japanese manga and anime.

I think another problem is that being a (mainland) European creation, they haven't really found favour in the USA, with its already over-saturated comic market. Despite being older than Superman and co., Tintin hasn't really been accepted, and so remains a bit of a cult figure.

A lot of character exposure, at least in the UK, is gained through the animated cartoons when they're screened on television - that's how I discovered Tintin, way back when the Ellipse-Nelvana cartoons were first broadcast. It's currently not on in the UK at least, but whenever The Adventures of Tintin is rebroadcast, it will gain more fans who seek out the books.

In French speaking countries, however, a large amount of people have grown up reading Tintin albums, and as he is part of their culture, will know about him through their parents, television, Internet, newspapers etc. In the UK, we obviously don't have that, and although he got a bit of coverage for the 75th anniversary, and the exhibition at Greenwich, it wasn't enough to cement him in UK culture - and probably he never will be, due to his strong Belgian-French roots.

But ultimately, Tintin's quintessentially francophonic atmosphere are part of the captivation of the stories. Would we really want Tintin and Haddock driving up the M6 to Liverpool in their Rover to stop the kidnappers of Professor Calculus, only to find they actually weighed anchor at Hull ?

Tintin is very continental and I think a bit exotic, due to his Franco-Belgian roots. At least that's what I thought when I read the books as a kid. Continental street scenes were so different from your average English High Street. The cars were too - I used to marvel at the beautifully and accurately drawn Citroens,even though, for a long time I thought that Marlinspike was somewhere in the idyllic English countryside!

Tintin will certainly not be going out of style in the near future. Many of the issues raised by Tintin continue to be relevant today (for example, "The Land of Black Gold" discussed politics in the oil-rich Arab states). It covered various other major historical issues, and people would be eager to save Tintin as commentary on the major forces that guided people during the Twentieth Century.

Even if (an extraordinarily distant possibility) that Tintin is no longer a commercial success, historians and collectors will certainly continue to study Tintin. But given the various pirated editions of Tintin that keep appearing (like "Tintin in Thailand") and the continual creation of animations, Tintin is clearly here to stay.

Tintin? Boy he'll never go out of style in my eyes! He's the best! His quiff and plus fours rock! Personally, I think more people now days should start a Tintin trend! Plus fours, quiffs, and those nice shirts he wears. I think Tintin will be remembered by everyone and there isn't a chance of him going out of style!

Thanks, Gandalf.

Just picked up "Black Island" and "Picaros" tonight. I'll have to hit another location to get "America". "Soviets", "Congo" and "The Castafiore" Emerald" don't appear to be available in any of the local Chapters/Indigo stores - I'll have to order them online. I'm reading "Prisoners of the Sun" now - as the 2nd part to the story in "Crystal Balls" I've wanted to read it for a long time. I really enjoyed "Cigars", "The Blue Lotus" and "The Broken Ear" - I intended to limit myself to one a day but I just couldn't help myself. I can see why "The Blue Lotus" is so highly regarded - a really good, complex plot in that one.

Oops, have I gone off-topic, now?