TinTin is a popular comic character that is known and loved the world over. But TinTin is not widely known in the US yet. That is about change soon! But, first, here’s a brief introduction to TinTin.
Belgian artist Georges Remi (1907–1983), who wrote under the pen name of Hergé, created the immensely popular comic series titled “The Adventures of TinTin”.
The TinTin comic series first appeared in French in 1929. The series was so successful that it was then collected into a series of twenty-four albums, spun into a successful magazine and adapted for film and theatre. This series is one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. It has been translated into more than 50 languages and more than 200 million copies sold.
The hero of the series is TinTin, a young Belgian reporter, who is aided in his adventures by his faithful dog, Snowy, a fox terrier. The comic series is known for many things:
1. Beautiful, clean drawings
2. Excellent, well-researched plots
3. The adventures that have elements of fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, and science fiction
4. Lovable slapstick humor
5. Rich political satire and commentary
TinTin, the young reporter, is usually involved in audacious adventures in far-off lands with crazy characters in each of these wonderful comic books. TinTin is accompanied by a crazy, yet lovable crew of characters in his adventures: Snowy, his faithful terrier, Captain Haddock, the ever-swearing, grumpy sea captain, Professor Calculus, the eccentric genius, Thompson and Thomson, the bumbling policemen twins, and a bevy of other memorable villains and odd ball characters. TinTin’s many adventures takes him to far off lands like Tibet and even the Moon.
It is this potent mix of drawings, plot, adventures, characters, humor and satire that have made TinTin a world-wide comic phenomenon. TinTin comics are not well known in the United States, but that is about to change in a big way soon.
The reason?
Acting on a 25-year old passion to do a film based on TinTin, Steven Spielberg is set to deliver to America its first exposure to TinTin. It is called “The Adventures of TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn”, slated to be released in 2011.
After decades-long journey of spreading fun and adventure around the world, TinTin (mistakenly written as Tin Tin sometimes) is finally set to storm America. With Spielberg’s movie, TinTin is set to win the hearts of children of all ages in the US, as he has done with children the world over.