Tintin Forums

I really appreciate the facsimile versions of the albums, but what I would really like to see is Tintin books based entirely on the original pencil drawings, printed on decent paper. I'm surprised it hasn't been done. Herge's pencil work has an energy and vibrancy that is lost in the final inked line.

Are there any books which feature the original drawings?

I have Benoit Peters 'Tintin and the World of Herge' which features some copies of the original pages.

regards,

mat

There are quite a few very nice pencil pages from Tintin in Tibet reproduced in Hergé and Tintin - Reporters, a big, highly illustrated book mostly written and compiled by Philipe Goddin and translated by Michael Farr, which came out a few years after Hergé's death - a sort of tribute book really. I'm not sure how hard or expensive it is to get hold of these days. I bought mine when it came out, and it seemed expensive enough then! Well worth having, though.

I agree with you that Hergé's pencil drawings and roughs have great vitality. I don't quite agree that this vitality is lost in the penning - I think one of Hergé's great strengths is how dynamic and alive the final ink pen line is - but I agree that his pencil roughs certainly have their own unique energy and vibrancy, and great beauty too. I also find them extremely interesting and instructive in terms of seeing how he planned and changed page layouts and frame composition. Like you, I'd certainly buy versions of each book made up of the pencil pages.

Thanks Balthazar for your very interesting observations, I'm glad someone else would like to see Tintin albums made up of Herge's pencil drawings - maybe we could petition Moulinsart! I really think they are missing a trick here.

I agree that the vitality is retained in the ink line, but that there is a lot more energy going on in the pencil work, especially in the compositional integration, between characters, objects and the environments. The frames are positively bursting with life!

I will definitely keep a lookout for the book you recommend by Goddin.

I'm also intrigued to see the 'Chronologie d'une Oeuvre' volumes, that are currently being published as a staggered series, by the same author.

regards,

mat