mct16:
Well, for one thing it would be interesting to know if Nick Rodwell, the head of Moulinsart, has come down a peg or two.
Now I'm not certain what you're getting at – "down a peg or two" from where?
The term â"down a peg or two" is used to suggest that someone is dealt a reversal of fortune by another party, and I can't see how it applies here.
As it stands, Mr. Rodwell - and Moulinsart - are in exactly the same position as ever they were.
While it's popular to demonize them, Moulinsart grant use of the books and images for all sorts of purposes
all the time; presumably they also refuse requests too.
Where they become reactive is when images are used without permission - but even then, they no doubt have to be selective about which issues they take on.
mct16:
A few years ago he was involved in a great deal of controversy over the limitations he imposed regarding Tintin products: attacking some journalists to the point that his blog had to be removed from Moulinsart's site.
That's a bit of a red herring: the issues are not the same, as the question then was what he saw as journalists making attacks on him and his wife - entirely different from the actual use of the copyright property.
mct16:
If he hasn't made a fuss that might suggest that he's moderated his attitude a bit.
No, as I said, Moulinsart grant usage all the time - they did then, and do so now.
mct16:
What I find rather odd is that the artist of the cover used a scene from "Cigars" as a model for his own work, instead of actually scanning the page, extracting the picture of Tintin and inserting it into his fake cover
That wouldn't be covered by parody or fair-use; plus the artist isn't going for a slavish duplication of Hergé's style, and anyway probably wanted to do the whole thing himself - there's no need for him to scan and reuse.
mct16:
as has been done countless times.
The exhibition illustrations are images done by Moulinsart, not by a third party illustrator, so it's hardly the same.
They actually apply very strict guidlines to how they use the images, and take great pains never to combine items to create the appearance of new pictures.