TINTIN 639
Second, each installment had to capture the attention of the reader with a mixture of
suspense and entertainment. Hero and reader were driven forward in the face of hostile
forces by a certain “will to know,” giving heed to both short-range enigmas (revealed
from week to week) and the promise of a long-range uncovering of secret information
(deferred until the very end). At the same time, compelling depictions of foreign lands
provided a note of exoticism while unsettling themes were everywhere held in balance
with knockabout routines reminiscent of the commedia dell’arte.
As the stories gained in artistic complexity during the 1940s and the 1950s, Hergé
increasingly drew inspiration from a personal archive of magazine articles, newspaper
cuttings, and a variety of reference books. Borrowings can also be identifi ed from a wide
range of classical literature, popular novels, theater, silent cinema and travel writing
(some via suggestions from Hergé’s friends and collaborators).
Critics occasionally take Hergé to task for his treatment of race, gender, and pol-
itics, but the books are overwhelmingly positive and little seems to undermine their
continued relevance. Indeed, there is something almost universal about Tintin. He is
frequently described as a hero without qualities, his ageless neutrality facilitating reader
identifi cation, regardless of gender or nationality. While there is certainly some validity
to this argument, his more distinctive attributes should not be overlooked.
Above all, Tintin is the personifi cation of a dynamic principle—neatly symbolized
by his raised forelock—and expressed through a capacity for purposeful action. Any
task, quest, or duty he undertakes is carried through to completion and readers are
compelled, at least in imagination, to raise themselves to his level of skill. Th is goes
some way toward explaining the broad and lasting appeal of the series, which has been
translated into over 60 languages, and which traces out a fascinating developmental arc.
Th e early books, from Tintin in the Land of the Soviets to King Ottokar’s Sceptre
(1939), serve almost as a play-space within which readers vicariously experience the
hero’s passage through trials and dangers. Younger readers are thus provided with an
opportunity to achieve mastery over common fears and anxieties while safely living out
an impulse for adventure.
Th e intermediate books, from Th e Crab with the Golden Claws (1941) to Tintin in
Tibet (1960), remain concerned with problem-solving and journeys of discovery—
including a mission to the Moon—but are more intricately composed and place a new
emphasis on the emerging group of secondary characters. Captain Haddock in par-
ticular, raising laughter with his immoderate love of whisky and a unique repertory of
extravagant curses, takes on a very prominent role.
Th e later books, from Th e Castafi ore Emerald (1963) to Tintin and the Picaros (1976),
present a more ironic postmodern Tintin, less liked and frequently misunderstood, yet
deserving of equal attention. Th ey engage in sophisticated games with the constitu-
ent elements of the Tintin universe, almost in the manner of experimental fi ction, yet
at all times within a medium designed to reach a mass audience. Th e fi nal unfi nished
adventure, Tintin and Alph-Art, would have combined Hergé’s two artistic passions: the
contemporary art scene and the comic strip world of his fi ctional hero.
