Tintin, Hergé and Chang(thewire.in)
thewire.in
Tintin, Hergé and Chang
https://thewire.in/books/tintin-herge-and-chang-a-friendship-that-changed-the-world
173 comments
> Every protagonist is a normal person, though sometimes extremely competent.
Or extremely incompetent! Gaston LaGaffe springs to mind, it's one of the most endearing and nice comics that I've had the pleasure to read.
And in a way Asterix is a superhero.
What strikes me about European comics from that era is that they are in general much more interesting culturally.
Or extremely incompetent! Gaston LaGaffe springs to mind, it's one of the most endearing and nice comics that I've had the pleasure to read.
And in a way Asterix is a superhero.
What strikes me about European comics from that era is that they are in general much more interesting culturally.
asterix heros are kind of brilliant like that. asterix is like superman but superman has superpowers that can be thwarted by kryptonite while asterix is simply the cleverest gauleois that makes the most out of getafix’s potion (wait, get a fix?? is that a pun I just discovered after 20 years?)
On the other hand obelix is a big dummy that always has the potion superpowers (by virtue of falling in a coldron of it when he was young) and is terrible at using his superpowers without the help of the cunning asterix.
I grew up on Asterix, but translated to Spanish. The names were all different, but usually good puns too. Admirable that they made that work in every language they translated them to!
The English translators did a great job. This page always stuck in my head for the wordplay:
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/ZRlllWCKGjl9aKUy7F_WhgF4-B9fo74LY9...
Most of the joke is the same as the original, but the 'mild and bitter' part is an addition by the translators. Here's a blog post on them with a comparison of this and a few other pages
https://auntymuriel.com/2012/12/23/asterix-in-translation-th...
I knew it would be this page before I clicked. Was not disappointed. This is the most amazing wordplay ever.
As a kid discovering the puns over time was a delight. I still remember revisiting an issue after I had fractured my arm, and doing a happy double-take coming across a couple called Ulna and Radius (these are the bones in the forearm [1])!
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radius_(bone)
[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radius_(bone)
> getafix
Half the names are like this. My favourites are Dogmatix, Vitalstatistix and Impedimenta.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters
Half the names are like this. My favourites are Dogmatix, Vitalstatistix and Impedimenta.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters
Note that the names of many characters are changed from the original French, with different plays on words.
And sometimes the English ones are better! And I say it as a French who grew up on Asterix. In my opinion, the original names are good, but not great, and the translators did an outstanding job.
For example, the original French name for Dogmatix is Idéfix, which conveys the same idea, but without the "dog" pun.
For example, the original French name for Dogmatix is Idéfix, which conveys the same idea, but without the "dog" pun.
> wait, get a fix?? is that a pun I just discovered after 20 years?
If it's like in the French original (where Getafix is Assurancetourix, i.e. assurance tous-risques, full-coverage insurance), every single character name is a pun; so keep searching if you're missing some ;)
If it's like in the French original (where Getafix is Assurancetourix, i.e. assurance tous-risques, full-coverage insurance), every single character name is a pun; so keep searching if you're missing some ;)
> where Getafix is Assurancetourix
Panoramix*
Panoramix*
All the names are puns, even the translated ones. They're also super funny if you finally get it.
Warning : you may spend several hours here...
http://asterix.openscroll.org/
There are annotations which explain all the name puns, Latin translations etc.
Eg, in Asterix and the Big Fight, the character Cassius Ceramix - Ceramics: baked clay, earthenware. Cassius is a Roman name. Also a play on Cassius Clay, which was Mohammed Ali's given name
http://asterix.openscroll.org/
There are annotations which explain all the name puns, Latin translations etc.
Eg, in Asterix and the Big Fight, the character Cassius Ceramix - Ceramics: baked clay, earthenware. Cassius is a Roman name. Also a play on Cassius Clay, which was Mohammed Ali's given name
A podcast on this topic that I enjoyed: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06txxmq
After growing up with Astérix and learning half my French from it (the other half from Tintin) there was a pun that I finally got only now, many years later, thanks to a French colleague.
In "Le Domaine des Dieux" (The Manions of the Gods) there is a character called "Oursenplus". This always registered to me as saying "And a bear" ("ours" is "bear" and "en plus" is like "one more" or "on top of that").
Then I asked my colleague: "I don't get this Oursenplus pun from Astérix, can you tell what it means?".
My colleague hadn't read the issue so he didn't immediately catch what I said, but he replied "Comment? Ours en peluche?"
Which, said quickly with a French accent sounds very much like "oursenplush" (with a "shh") and means ... "teddy bear" ("peluche" is "felt"; a plushy).
In "Le Domaine des Dieux" (The Manions of the Gods) there is a character called "Oursenplus". This always registered to me as saying "And a bear" ("ours" is "bear" and "en plus" is like "one more" or "on top of that").
Then I asked my colleague: "I don't get this Oursenplus pun from Astérix, can you tell what it means?".
My colleague hadn't read the issue so he didn't immediately catch what I said, but he replied "Comment? Ours en peluche?"
Which, said quickly with a French accent sounds very much like "oursenplush" (with a "shh") and means ... "teddy bear" ("peluche" is "felt"; a plushy).
I have this kind of epiphany regularly with pop songs that I've known since childhood. I hear them again and my English is so much better now than it was back then that I realize I completely misunderstood the lyrics.
> wait, get a fix?? is that a pun I just discovered after 20 years?
You must be kidding ! Readymix just doesnt cut it. My favourites are dubbelosix, squareonthehypothenus and dogmatix.
You must be kidding ! Readymix just doesnt cut it. My favourites are dubbelosix, squareonthehypothenus and dogmatix.
Dogmatix is an especially brilliant one, since the original is Idéafix (stubborn, single-minded, literally "of fixed ideas"), and the translation not only manages to preserve that meaning but also add "Dog" to it :)
The original name would work in English too though. In the Danish translation the dog is is just idéfix which works just as well in Danish.
English does have the loanword https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/id%C3%A9e_fixe#English but I think this is often considered technical vocabulary (per Wiktionary, in psychology and music composition) that most native speakers would probably not recognize.
I meant that idea and fixed are both English words, so it should be possible to associate ideafix with "fixed idea" - a bit more obscure though than the original.
Exactly! The translators did such a fantastic job over all. I would have imagined that kind of humor to be untranslatable.
Idéfix, not Idéafix! "Idea" is "idée" in French. It comes from "idée fixte" which means fixed idea, like you say, or in other words, an obsession.
Oops, you're right! I was mislead since in my native language, in which I read the books as a child, he is called Ideafix :)
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Not to mention Lucretia, the young woman who married the wealthy old man (Lucre)
Good find ! had missed that one.
Dubbleosix is "zerozerosix" in the original. Maps one-to-one, I'd say.
He even looks like Sean Connery!
There's much much more. Hope you enjoy some of these below.
https://www.everythingasterix.com/news-and-views-content/201...
https://www.everythingasterix.com/news-and-views-content/201...
You will find Paul McCartney too. When I read them as a kid in India I missed many of these, not the Beatles or Dubbelosix.
I have read every one of the 'originals' (Goscinny and Uderzo ones) so many times, but even now when I re-read them in my late 40s I discover something that I had missed before. Usually something happening in the background -- mark of stellar writing and drawing.
https://www.everythingasterix.com/news-and-views-content/201...
https://www.everythingasterix.com/news-and-views-content/201...
You will find Paul McCartney too. When I read them as a kid in India I missed many of these, not the Beatles or Dubbelosix.
I have read every one of the 'originals' (Goscinny and Uderzo ones) so many times, but even now when I re-read them in my late 40s I discover something that I had missed before. Usually something happening in the background -- mark of stellar writing and drawing.
The comics code authority neutered American comics for 4 decades. It's only when its grip started faltering that American comics got interesting again.
There are basically no European comics from the silver age period that wouldn't violate the CCA code in some way. American comics were samey precisely because the formulaic stories they told were basically the only ones that were allowed.
There are basically no European comics from the silver age period that wouldn't violate the CCA code in some way. American comics were samey precisely because the formulaic stories they told were basically the only ones that were allowed.
Gaston LaGaffe is finally available in English as Gomer Goof for those who can't read French (or any of the many other languages, including minor ones like Norwegian, who got translations long before English)
Tintin and Asterix are pretty popular in the UK and India. Easily found in most bookshops. Beyond those series, it’s much harder to find other Franco-Belgian comics. Even the Adventures of Jo and Zette isn’t that well known.
But Tintin and Asterix are very easily available. India has local language translations of Tintin and Asterix as well, example[1].
[1] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tintin+bengali&t=fpas&iax=images&i...
Anecdotally the quality of the Asterix translations are pretty good, too, complete with the funny character names.
But Tintin and Asterix are very easily available. India has local language translations of Tintin and Asterix as well, example[1].
[1] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tintin+bengali&t=fpas&iax=images&i...
Anecdotally the quality of the Asterix translations are pretty good, too, complete with the funny character names.
I was born in northern France, spent my childhood reading "comics", visited the "comics museum" in Bruxelles multiple times and never heard of the Adventures of Jo and Zette before your comment.
So I can understand why it's not well known in anglosaxon's countries.
I spent my recess in the school library reading Tintin and Asterix!
> not a single comic (at least the ones written before the Marvel movies began dominating the culture) is about superheroes
I would argue that Rork - one of my favorite Franco-Belgian comic characters - counts as one. He would not feel very out of place at DC's Vertigo as Constantine's colleague of sorts.
And then there are Asterix and his friend Obelix, who having access to powers unavailable to regular humans, go around solving problems by punching people particularly hard - just like a regular Marvel/DC character would. ;)
I would argue that Rork - one of my favorite Franco-Belgian comic characters - counts as one. He would not feel very out of place at DC's Vertigo as Constantine's colleague of sorts.
And then there are Asterix and his friend Obelix, who having access to powers unavailable to regular humans, go around solving problems by punching people particularly hard - just like a regular Marvel/DC character would. ;)
I have found Blake & Mortimer [0] to also be a very interesting series. The graphical style is very similar to Tintin as the author (Edgar P Jacobs) worked together with Hergé in some capacity and later became a friend.
---
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_and_Mortimer
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_P._Jacobs
---
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blake_and_Mortimer
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_P._Jacobs
I never understood US obsession with people fighting in ugly pajamas.
Because all of them are metaphors of social and personal struggles, and Europe has the 90% of them solved.
You might wanna ask the north part of Marseille about that at the moment
> and Europe has the 90% of them solved.
I highly doubt that.
I highly doubt that.
Can you elaborate on the metaphors bit?
X-Men: black people and minorities struggling for civil rights.
Superman/Batman: Metaphor on politics. Control vs freedom.
Spiderman: Corageous journalism can end crime.
New Titans: Family issues thru generations, mostly.
Superman/Batman: Metaphor on politics. Control vs freedom.
Spiderman: Corageous journalism can end crime.
New Titans: Family issues thru generations, mostly.
Franco-belgian comics are popular everywhere except for the English-speaking world. It wasn't rare for a comic to be translated to a dozen languages, and English wasn't one of them.
The really big ones (Asterix, the Smurfs, Tintin) of course exist in English, but they're not all that popular, especially in the US. Niche US comic book publishers like Fantasy Flight periodically try to market some of the less-known but good looking F-B comics, but they rarely have the commercial success to have a whole series translated.
Franquin once made a joke about it, in one of the Marsupilami books there's a parodically evil American assassin who claims one if his victims was a Mr. Gagman who made the mistake of trying to introduce French comics to the US market.
I think that to many Americans, Franco-Belgian comics code as "children's comics" due to the drawing style. But most of them are directed at teens or older, just like US superhero comics.
The really big ones (Asterix, the Smurfs, Tintin) of course exist in English, but they're not all that popular, especially in the US. Niche US comic book publishers like Fantasy Flight periodically try to market some of the less-known but good looking F-B comics, but they rarely have the commercial success to have a whole series translated.
Franquin once made a joke about it, in one of the Marsupilami books there's a parodically evil American assassin who claims one if his victims was a Mr. Gagman who made the mistake of trying to introduce French comics to the US market.
I think that to many Americans, Franco-Belgian comics code as "children's comics" due to the drawing style. But most of them are directed at teens or older, just like US superhero comics.
In the UK, Kaufje (TinTin), Asterix and Suske & Wiske (Janet & John) are well known
So is the little rabbit thing I forget the name of.
They are predominantly children’s books, of course.
Now… Rooi Oortjes isn’t known.
So is the little rabbit thing I forget the name of.
They are predominantly children’s books, of course.
Now… Rooi Oortjes isn’t known.
Close, close... It's "Kuifje" and Rooie Oortjes" (Red Ears). I can't figure out the rabbit one you mention?
Miffy.
Konijntje in Dutch, if memory serves.
And The Smurfs.
I'm probably mistaken, but do you mean Marsupilami when you say "little rabbit thing"?
Sadly, they're not popular in the U.S., but I love them. I switched my comics reading habit after nearly 30 years to European comics and haven't looked back. I prefer Asterix over Tintin, but I think reading Tintin with some of the historical background in mind might help. One of these days...
For anyone in North America looking for European comics to read, I review them at PipelineComics.com - there's something in European comics for everyone, from humor to action to drama and everything else.
For anyone in North America looking for European comics to read, I review them at PipelineComics.com - there's something in European comics for everyone, from humor to action to drama and everything else.
Asterix is more aimed at children, compared to Tintin. Also, one of the best/funniest parts of Asterix is the constant wordplay, which often does not translate well (though the translators do try).
> not a single comic (at least the ones written before the Marvel movies began dominating the culture) is about superheroes.
Um... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdupont
Um... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superdupont
You've proved the parent's general point. From that page:
> It is a spoof of American super-hero comics that sends up French national attitudes.
> It is a spoof of American super-hero comics that sends up French national attitudes.
Regarding 2., in the 1950-70s, these comics used to be published in weekly magazines first, and only published as albums a bit later.
Thorgal was pretty big here in Poland because up until 2018 the illustrator was Grzegorz Rosiński, who is Polish.
I remember Franco-Belgian comics being more popular around here - partly because those few American comics which you could see on store shelves usually contained a lot of gore, so they were appropriately labeled.
I remember Franco-Belgian comics being more popular around here - partly because those few American comics which you could see on store shelves usually contained a lot of gore, so they were appropriately labeled.
I have no source for this so anecdotal, but I read in some comic anthology that boycotting American superhero comics was an intentional act to preserve the local comics legacy.
It didn't resist Manga equally well, though.
Nonsense, you could buy them but they were pretty boring and shallow compared to the French/Belgian/Dutch stuff.
Tintin is a superhero whose superpower is luck. It's hard to suspend disbelief when reading the stories without adding this pinch of salt, IMO.
As a Belgian, it is always a surprise to see people from all around the world mention Tintin! I think a lot of us grew up with it as well as The Smurfs, Lucky Luke or "Spirou" and it's only when I was in my teens that I realized most of those were known internationally! Even though I'm in my twenties, I feel like this is one of the truly inter-generational piece of culture we share in a somewhat divided country.
Don’t forget Yoko Tsuno, Achille Talon (they were my dads I didn’t understand them), Agent 212, les 4 as, Blake and Mortimer, le chat, and so many more. Most of these are ligne claire style and I think that’s herge’s influence.
Yoko Tsuno and Blake&Mortimer were amazing sci-fi for a kid like me. Definitely big imagination-boosters.
Definitely, as a little kid Yoko Tsuno was much more understandable. But even though Blake and Mortimer was tougher, the art itself is amazing.
> tougher
So much text, more like an illustrated book :)
Btw, did you know that Jacobs helped Hergé redrawing the backgrounds of some of the Tintin comics after the war? And Leloup (Yoko Tsuno) also worked for Hergé before starting his own series. There is an interview with him on youtube.
So much text, more like an illustrated book :)
Btw, did you know that Jacobs helped Hergé redrawing the backgrounds of some of the Tintin comics after the war? And Leloup (Yoko Tsuno) also worked for Hergé before starting his own series. There is an interview with him on youtube.
> So much text, more like an illustrated book :)
Speaking of walls of text, remember the explanation of the inner workings of an atomic reactor in Destination Moon? That's how 5 y.o. me discovered nuclear physics :]
Speaking of walls of text, remember the explanation of the inner workings of an atomic reactor in Destination Moon? That's how 5 y.o. me discovered nuclear physics :]
Just checked, you are right. Not only the explanations of the reactor, but from the moment they arrive at the secret research facilities, the dialogs become unusually long. I don't remember well that one, probably skipped the pages as a kid :)
I did not! Thanks for the pointer, I’ll check it out!
Yes!! Yoko Tsuno is my all time favourite, plus De Minimensjes (Les Petits Hommes)
I also really liked Gaston Lagaffe. I find it even more interesting now because of its 60s-70s world.
You should checkout the Fantasio series also by Franquin. It’s almost all in the 50s and 60s. It’s great! Interestingly, internationally, Franquin’s biggest success seems to have been the marsupilami. The art is amazing and he’s fun. I just wish it had been Gaston. M’enfin!
Spirou & Fantasio was an instrumental part of my childhood :) They even went grimdark at a certain point (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine_qui_r%C3%AAve) though that wasn't very well received. That and Le Petit Spirou.
And the little jokes in every signature.
I remember TinTin from high school in India in the 1970’s.
Tintin was, and still is, immensely popular in my part of India. My parents were fond of Tintin while growing up, and they introduced me to it as a child in the mid-2000s. I loved reading the comic books; in fact, I read some of them many times over. One thing I found out later was that the names of the characters are changed across translations. For instance, in Bengali (the language I first read it in), Tintin's pet is called Kuttush, while in English it is Snowy. Anyways, it's interesting to think that one of the things I share in fondness with my parents is a comic book series from a country that is very far away from my own. Art can indeed transcend boundaries.
I travelled to India and Nepal right after high school from Los Angeles in 1982. I bought a copy of Tintin in Tibet in India and it is still on my bookshelf all these years later. Really nice to read the backstory about Chang.
I read them in India in the 90s and 2000s. IIRC the books were imported (price was printed in GBP) and made from very high quality paper, so they were too expensive for us to buy. But the book store owner was a school friend of my parents so he let me read them for free :D
Oh man this brings back memories. Internet was not a thing and I couldn't afford to buy them. So we had these makeshift "libraries" where you can "rent" books. Id pester the owner of the rental to get me particular Tintin/asterix books that my friends had read before me!!
It's pretty cool, that these comics have been read so far and for so long. Being from a bit later, I had no idea they were already famous all the way to India.
I rank it equally with Astérix le Gaulois. They are part of a larger comic category, Bande dessinée. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bande_dessin%C3%A9e
Indeed, Astérix is French though! Other recommendations I can make are "Les Tuniques Bleues" (the Bluecoats) or Mélusine the Witch. For adult readers, "Largo Winch" or "XIII" are both excellent comics.
I'm not sure the French/Belgium split is that relevant for several reasons (correct me if I'm wrong, I'm French and don't want to wrongly appropriate Belgium culture):
- most if not all of those characters are french speaking
- lots of collaboration on those characters by French and Belgium author. For example Goscinny worked on Lucky Luke with Morris, the character of Spirou was created by Rob-Vel who is French, then worked on by Jijé and Franquin, etc
- though many were published in "Spirou", there were "Pilote", "Pig Gadget" and all which are French.
I think the whole concept is named "Bande dessinée Franco-belge" (at least here in France, maybe the point of view is different on your side of the frontier ^^)
- most if not all of those characters are french speaking
- lots of collaboration on those characters by French and Belgium author. For example Goscinny worked on Lucky Luke with Morris, the character of Spirou was created by Rob-Vel who is French, then worked on by Jijé and Franquin, etc
- though many were published in "Spirou", there were "Pilote", "Pig Gadget" and all which are French.
I think the whole concept is named "Bande dessinée Franco-belge" (at least here in France, maybe the point of view is different on your side of the frontier ^^)
Culturally speaking I think there's very little difference and you're right. Historically speaking though, many people associate the French language with France and we get told all those cartoons/comics are French which ruffle our Belgian feathers! Not a big issue to be frank, mostly that old rivalry between neighbors where we are the little guy =)
In one book, there is a contest of potions that panoramix goes to and there is a Belgian Gaul whose potion gives him the ability to remove fries from hot oil with his hands
Internationally they are mostly known as Franco-Belgian comics as far as I know. When people speak of specifically Belgian comics I tend to think more along the lines of Flemish Willy Vandersteen (Suske & Wiske).
From your username I guess you're dutch? Which may be relevant context to why you / people you know refer to the non-Flemish Belgian comics (and perhaps things other than comics?) as 'Franco-Belgian' if using French language while assuming that 'Belgian' without the specifier means Dutch language?
I.e. the same way we all, wherever we're from, add extra words to define stuff that's not our default expectation ("a new neighbour moved in" if they're someone from the same place as us vs. "a new dutch neighbour" moved in if they're from that other country; or buying cheese in the shop vs. buying french cheese), just as a (subconscious often) time saving measure that there's no need to give the adjective when it fits the normal expectation.
Not that I'm an expert on the international nomenclature of bande dessinée comics - though anecdotally, as a Brit (England, not Brittany haha) who grew up reading Asterix and above all Tintin, I thought of them (and think my parents called them) separately as French and Belgian respectively.
I.e. the same way we all, wherever we're from, add extra words to define stuff that's not our default expectation ("a new neighbour moved in" if they're someone from the same place as us vs. "a new dutch neighbour" moved in if they're from that other country; or buying cheese in the shop vs. buying french cheese), just as a (subconscious often) time saving measure that there's no need to give the adjective when it fits the normal expectation.
Not that I'm an expert on the international nomenclature of bande dessinée comics - though anecdotally, as a Brit (England, not Brittany haha) who grew up reading Asterix and above all Tintin, I thought of them (and think my parents called them) separately as French and Belgian respectively.
I grew up reading Asterix and Tintin in the UK. Plus a lot of other French/Belgian comics which I've since forgotten. And of course British classics like Dandy and Beano.
The thing with the French/Belgian comics is that the stories weren't just short skits but real stories. Self-contained in the case of Asterix and Tintin.
As an adult I discovered manga and have never looked back. I've been reading one series for 20 years now (One Piece) and have finished countless others.
The thing with the French/Belgian comics is that the stories weren't just short skits but real stories. Self-contained in the case of Asterix and Tintin.
As an adult I discovered manga and have never looked back. I've been reading one series for 20 years now (One Piece) and have finished countless others.
Also British, and old to boot. I read Tintin extensively as a child and a bit of Asterix. Strangely I never really thought of them as comics before this discussion here, precisely because they were a single long form story per book. I actually remember most Tintins I read being proper hard back affairs loaned from the library.
I read the Beano weekly which is my understanding of what a comic is, lots of two to three page skits as you say.
I never really got into American comics such as Marvel, I guess they fit somewhere in the middle in terms of being a periodical but with a substantial storyline?
I read the Beano weekly which is my understanding of what a comic is, lots of two to three page skits as you say.
I never really got into American comics such as Marvel, I guess they fit somewhere in the middle in terms of being a periodical but with a substantial storyline?
There was an animated series that ran on Nickelodeon, a popular US kids' channel in the 90's, so I'd imagine that many Americans (like myself) are familiar with it for that reason. It also got me to read the comics which then lead to some questions about why my local library didn't carry certain ones.
Hello fellow Belgian! It's always been tough to maintain the collecting overseas, what with expensive shipping costs. I've always found it peculiar that scanned francophone comics are not as prevalent as both American and Japanese comics.
I feel like any graphic novel fan would eat up our classics like XIII
I feel like any graphic novel fan would eat up our classics like XIII
The lacking scans might be because you can get them for free in most libraries round here. I borrowed loads of them at my local library in our tiny town, great comics! They were even translated to Swedish so I could start on them very early in life.
And you too, fellow Belgian. But.. what are scans? You mean using a scanner instead of buying them?
What I meant is that there's a large electronic reading scene for both American and Japanese comics. Both have had large pirate scenes for decades, but recently more and more legal avenues have popped up too for reading electronically.
I'm not aware of such a culture around francophone comics.
And to the sibling comment: I'd say in the origin countries the same is true. In Japan, kids buy physical manga at the convenience store. In the US, we go to the comic book store and pick up a batch of new releases. Yet somehow both of those have large communities of people scanning/translating/occasionally licensing the works. I wonder why it's different with French ones!
I'm not aware of such a culture around francophone comics.
And to the sibling comment: I'd say in the origin countries the same is true. In Japan, kids buy physical manga at the convenience store. In the US, we go to the comic book store and pick up a batch of new releases. Yet somehow both of those have large communities of people scanning/translating/occasionally licensing the works. I wonder why it's different with French ones!
It's one of the most translated series of books in the world! Certainly one of the most well-known BD/comics ever.
I was at the Hergé exhibition at the Gulbenkian Foundation a few months back and there was a wall with Tintin album covers in every language. It was quite a big wall!
I was at the Hergé exhibition at the Gulbenkian Foundation a few months back and there was a wall with Tintin album covers in every language. It was quite a big wall!
They were the first french books I'd read. I loved Snowy and wanted to have a pet dog just like him.
Tintin is surprisingly portable across generations, cultures, and genres.
Tintin is surprisingly portable across generations, cultures, and genres.
Growing up in India, I had been a huge fan of Tintin. Reading books, and buying them, you had to be at least middle class, it wasn't accessible as libraries in the West. But still, was popular as I recall amongst the well educated since at least the late 90's and early 00's (when I grew up) I think.
Comics is literally the only thing I know Belgium for.
It always confuses me that such a small country is so prolific. If you tell me mthat the us or japan produce a large fraction of the world's comics, that's not surprising as they have large fraction of the first world's population. But Belgium, how do you explain that?
It always confuses me that such a small country is so prolific. If you tell me mthat the us or japan produce a large fraction of the world's comics, that's not surprising as they have large fraction of the first world's population. But Belgium, how do you explain that?
Both Tintin and Asterix are appreciated surprisingly much by younger kids. I find them a bit awkward for loud reading, since you have to do so much pointing and so many voices to keep it coherent, but it is a good burden to carry.
The great Belgian treasure is Peyo’s Johan et Pirlouit, which of course gave us the Smurfs. It’s sad only the latter ever achieved global notoriety, as the former is among the greatest heights of cartooning.
Just be thankful they didn't get modernized and mangled like the Smurfs. They ought to smurf whoever is responsible for that.
Agreed, but the Smurfs were easier to adapt to various themes and that's what made the series live.
Including some hilarious ones like the smurfstrijd/taalsmurf, a play on the Belgian issue of language.
Including some hilarious ones like the smurfstrijd/taalsmurf, a play on the Belgian issue of language.
Peyo apparently struggled with the Smurfs adaptations, however, as Americans (in their typical fashion) tried to make every plot about money:
> "One key problem," said Delporte, "was motive. The Americans might envision a Smurf inheriting money, which then filled the other Smurfs with envy. Or they would picture a Smurf finding some treasure and these riches causing problems in the village. Or… a Smurf would try and sell Papa Smurf's secret formula. Everything they proposed, every plot, revolved around money."
Peyo tried explaining that, for his characters, gain and greed were not even concepts. But these explanations were received as unthinkable. Says Delporte, "All they did was mutter behind Peyo's back. The view was 'This is all so sweet it's giving me cavities.'"
https://www.tcj.com/behind-the-blue-the-story-of-peyo/
> "One key problem," said Delporte, "was motive. The Americans might envision a Smurf inheriting money, which then filled the other Smurfs with envy. Or they would picture a Smurf finding some treasure and these riches causing problems in the village. Or… a Smurf would try and sell Papa Smurf's secret formula. Everything they proposed, every plot, revolved around money."
Peyo tried explaining that, for his characters, gain and greed were not even concepts. But these explanations were received as unthinkable. Says Delporte, "All they did was mutter behind Peyo's back. The view was 'This is all so sweet it's giving me cavities.'"
https://www.tcj.com/behind-the-blue-the-story-of-peyo/
Culture clash. The Smurfs were originally just a sideshow, much like the Minions today. What's interesting is that the Smurfs world is already quite rich in and of itself and all of the characters are super funny without bringing in more elements from our own world. It's clear that they live more than a few hundred years ago. The way they interact and the various story lines as Peyo put them out probably simply don't appeal all that much to an American audience. Just like the Marvel/DC Comics universes (and everything that gets dragged into it, it's like a black hole) don't appeal all that much to me.
I loved Pirlouit, especially biquette.
I still watch Tintin's animated series and the movie from time to time. They're just so well made, such amazingly adventurous stories.
Idealistic guy, always standing up for righteousness, not afraid to be in difficult situations for people who are close to him. Many great moral lessons can be found in Tintin.
They're on YouTube so whenever I feel like watching the 'Uncharted before Uncharted was a thing', I put up Adventures of Tintin (1991).
Idealistic guy, always standing up for righteousness, not afraid to be in difficult situations for people who are close to him. Many great moral lessons can be found in Tintin.
They're on YouTube so whenever I feel like watching the 'Uncharted before Uncharted was a thing', I put up Adventures of Tintin (1991).
Just don’t read the original version of the Congo one. Even the corrected version to be honest.
Quite the opposite. It's very interesting so see how his point of view on strangers and especially black people changed.
In an interview, he told his story wasn't racist on purpose ; he truly believed that was how black people were based on the very few informations he had at the time - he never traveled outside of Belgium.
When he made the next one with a chinese person, he contacted a student who was originally from China to educate himself on how Asia really was, the culture, the people, etc. And that's how he came up with one of the best books of this career.
In an interview, he told his story wasn't racist on purpose ; he truly believed that was how black people were based on the very few informations he had at the time - he never traveled outside of Belgium.
When he made the next one with a chinese person, he contacted a student who was originally from China to educate himself on how Asia really was, the culture, the people, etc. And that's how he came up with one of the best books of this career.
From the above article.
>Hergé met Chang Chong-Ren for the first time in Brussels in 1934 at the urging of one Abbé Gosset. Gosset, the chaplain to a group of Chinese Catholic students at Louvain University, had been concerned about the racist stereotypes in Hergé’s first two hugely popular Tintin books, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo, and urged him to ‘do a little research’ before embarking on his next book, The Blue Lotus, set in China.
>Hergé met Chang Chong-Ren for the first time in Brussels in 1934 at the urging of one Abbé Gosset. Gosset, the chaplain to a group of Chinese Catholic students at Louvain University, had been concerned about the racist stereotypes in Hergé’s first two hugely popular Tintin books, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo, and urged him to ‘do a little research’ before embarking on his next book, The Blue Lotus, set in China.
Totally agree, but this context is important, the book in a vacuum is not the complete picture. The corrected version is much better, but there is still a lot of white saviorism. But Chang is indeed not a caricature.
This is why the most immediately jarring thing of the Congo comic, in my opinion, is not even the strong racism. It's the relentless animal-brutality-based “comedy”. The racism is not so much meant as the butt of the joke, more just a shoddy world view.
+1
This was the one Tintin my mum wouldn't let me have as a child - at the time I thought it grossly unfair, and argued that surely she could just point out the aspects that were offensively racist the way she'd point out problematic aspects of anything else she might read to me / introduce to me to read myself.
I don't remember the specifics, as it's the only Tintin story I've only read once rather than many times, but when I did read it in my early 20s I immediately told her that I no longer disagreed with her decision to keep it out of the hands of her children.
This was the one Tintin my mum wouldn't let me have as a child - at the time I thought it grossly unfair, and argued that surely she could just point out the aspects that were offensively racist the way she'd point out problematic aspects of anything else she might read to me / introduce to me to read myself.
I don't remember the specifics, as it's the only Tintin story I've only read once rather than many times, but when I did read it in my early 20s I immediately told her that I no longer disagreed with her decision to keep it out of the hands of her children.
I think its bad to censor these types of things. People need to see how we evolve as society and not hide this just because it could upset someone today.
> Just don’t read the original version of the Congo one. Even the corrected version to be honest.
I think adults can manage reading things they disagree with and consider inappropriate.
people literally watch horror movies.
I think adults can manage reading things they disagree with and consider inappropriate.
people literally watch horror movies.
I know, I was saying that in jest, so as not to shatter the parent comment’s view of Tintin.
As an adult, you should read it and see the evolution in Herge.
Quite the opposite. It's very important to (1) know what the accepted (in fact, majority) views were not that long ago, and (2) to witness an example of how a man could so clearly change his worldviews despite being educated and mentored in the Catholic ultraconservatism that gave him his former views.
I remember reading those comics as a kid. They always felt special in a way that e.g. Spirou didn't. I think the article is right that the relatively higher amount of realism was one thing that set these comics apart. Also their "international" approach, with Tintin traveling around the world to investigate. Some of them were written like action/crime thrillers aimed at adults.
The TV series was also pretty good. I still remember the dramatic intro with Tintin jumping from a train on a bridge into a river:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=APrxbp3zpBw
The more recent Tintin movie by Spielberg was also great. It had blockbuster vibes entirely comparable to Spielberg classics like Indiana Jones, but he kept it close enough to the source comic. Unfortunately Peter Jackson never made the second part.
The TV series was also pretty good. I still remember the dramatic intro with Tintin jumping from a train on a bridge into a river:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=APrxbp3zpBw
The more recent Tintin movie by Spielberg was also great. It had blockbuster vibes entirely comparable to Spielberg classics like Indiana Jones, but he kept it close enough to the source comic. Unfortunately Peter Jackson never made the second part.
Fun fact, Herge’s real name was George Rémy and his initials backwards are RG or Herge.
A friend of my mother in Peru had those books. I'm fond of my memories about Milú (the dog, not sure about the spelling), the captain, the scientific, the silly detectives, and Tintin. Specially the book about the travel to the moon (in those years the moon was a hot topic.)
Snowy is the name of the dog, in English at least.
It’s Milou in the original French.
I was big into Tintin as a kid as well in 2000. I checked out library books and eventually began to purchase my own volumes every time we went on a family road trip. My nephews recently found them at my parents and I’m happy to see they are enjoying them as much as I did.
IMHO Tintin is at his best when dealing with international politic like in Le Lotus bleu, L'Oreille cassée, Le Sceptre d'Ottokar, L'Affaire Tournesol, Au Pays de l'or noir.
I remember really liking that the different areas were really different. Not where everything is basically a copy of Los Angeles.
Several Tintin stories were re-drawn and updated by Herge to be more modern, some of them multiple times.
The article mention Tintin in Congo, one of the earliest stories. It was later redrawn to tone down the “white mans burden”-vibe, but the redrawn version is still pretty racist by modern standards. And Tintin blows up a rhinocerus with dynamite.
In “The Black Gold”, Tintin travels to British Palestine and gets kidnapper by zionist terrorists. In the updated version, it is changed to a fictional Arab country, and there are no Jews involved.
The article suggest Chang cured Herge of racism, but this is simplistic. A later album, The Shooting Star, drawn during the Nazi occupation of Belgium, contains some strongly antisemitic stereotypes (obviously removed in the re-drawn version, which also changes the evil Americans into a fictional country).
Herge worked for a newspaper friendly to the Nazis, and this was close to destroying his career after the war.
Tintin is a brilliant series and I find it fascinating how the changing values and politics are reflected in it.
The article mention Tintin in Congo, one of the earliest stories. It was later redrawn to tone down the “white mans burden”-vibe, but the redrawn version is still pretty racist by modern standards. And Tintin blows up a rhinocerus with dynamite.
In “The Black Gold”, Tintin travels to British Palestine and gets kidnapper by zionist terrorists. In the updated version, it is changed to a fictional Arab country, and there are no Jews involved.
The article suggest Chang cured Herge of racism, but this is simplistic. A later album, The Shooting Star, drawn during the Nazi occupation of Belgium, contains some strongly antisemitic stereotypes (obviously removed in the re-drawn version, which also changes the evil Americans into a fictional country).
Herge worked for a newspaper friendly to the Nazis, and this was close to destroying his career after the war.
Tintin is a brilliant series and I find it fascinating how the changing values and politics are reflected in it.
Redrawing means erasing the racist history, little by little. Just like they've started to rewrite novels (see the recent Penguin controversy for example). Over time, without the majority noticing, this becomes reality:
>Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute.
>Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute.
You can still get the original versions. The market for Tintin completionist is big enough that you can purcase basically every iteration of the Tintin albums.
Btw the redrawing were much more than just toning down racism. Eg in The Black Island all backgrounds were redrawn based on careful research to be more realistic and detailed, and cars and trains redrawn to more contemporary models. This was part of Herges evolution from an initially more cartoonish style to the detailed “ligne claire”-style. (Fans debate which version is best)
The earlier stories were initially published as newspaper strips, but was later colorized and edited to fit in album format.
Note that all edits and redrawings were done by Herge, or by his assistants under his oversigt. After the death of Herge no modifications have been made. Herge didn’t want anyone to continue Tintin ater his death, and amazingly the estate have respected this.
Btw the redrawing were much more than just toning down racism. Eg in The Black Island all backgrounds were redrawn based on careful research to be more realistic and detailed, and cars and trains redrawn to more contemporary models. This was part of Herges evolution from an initially more cartoonish style to the detailed “ligne claire”-style. (Fans debate which version is best)
The earlier stories were initially published as newspaper strips, but was later colorized and edited to fit in album format.
Note that all edits and redrawings were done by Herge, or by his assistants under his oversigt. After the death of Herge no modifications have been made. Herge didn’t want anyone to continue Tintin ater his death, and amazingly the estate have respected this.
Shout out to Bric-a-Brac series from Gotlib https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubrique-%C3%A0-Brac?wprov=sft... and an American one called The Spirit from Will Eisner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_(comics_character)?wpro...
Wikipedia entry: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Chongren
“Zhang had been a street sweeper during the Cultural Revolution,[1] before becoming the head of the Fine Arts Academy in Shanghai during the 1970s.”
“Zhang had been a street sweeper during the Cultural Revolution,[1] before becoming the head of the Fine Arts Academy in Shanghai during the 1970s.”
My mom would read these to me when I was a kid in Argentina. I’m surprised to see it here. It was something I had almost forgotten about. Now I’m curious about how my mom got to Tintin in the first place.
What else is there?
The Phantom is more male orientated. Asterix was kinda comical. Marvel and DC to be frank are garbage with no coherent story line. Disney have proven that.
Since Tintin was syndicated in newspapers that might be an entry point. But it's huge world wide, it had to be translated from French to English so the system to translate was already set-up. The Tintin store in Singapore is cool.
The full set, minus Tintin in the Congo which has to be bought separately, is on Amazon etc - https://www.amazon.com/Tintin-Paperback-Boxed-Set-titles/dp/...
The Phantom is more male orientated. Asterix was kinda comical. Marvel and DC to be frank are garbage with no coherent story line. Disney have proven that.
Since Tintin was syndicated in newspapers that might be an entry point. But it's huge world wide, it had to be translated from French to English so the system to translate was already set-up. The Tintin store in Singapore is cool.
The full set, minus Tintin in the Congo which has to be bought separately, is on Amazon etc - https://www.amazon.com/Tintin-Paperback-Boxed-Set-titles/dp/...
The closest adventure stories were the “good duck artist” Scrooge McDuck comics - Carl Barks. Followed by Don Rosa’s which may actually be better adventure stories sometimes.
Ooh, Tintin is one of the first comics I was introduced after Donald Duck (the Carl Barks stories are still as good as then!)
Luckily the Franco-Belgian comics have been readily available in Finland and usually with good translations as well although not all jokes can be translated.
From what I've heard, Asterix is notorious on the French wordplays that cannot be translated.
There's so much more ideas and humanity in those compared to Marvel/DC stuff (which I happen to read occasionally as well but they are repeating the same stuff from decade to decade). The Franco-Belgian comics are the reason why I'm contemplating on learning French enough to be able read them in the original language.
And don't forget that the Metal Hurlant comics anthology affected quite a lot of English comics as well.
Luckily the Franco-Belgian comics have been readily available in Finland and usually with good translations as well although not all jokes can be translated.
From what I've heard, Asterix is notorious on the French wordplays that cannot be translated.
There's so much more ideas and humanity in those compared to Marvel/DC stuff (which I happen to read occasionally as well but they are repeating the same stuff from decade to decade). The Franco-Belgian comics are the reason why I'm contemplating on learning French enough to be able read them in the original language.
And don't forget that the Metal Hurlant comics anthology affected quite a lot of English comics as well.
> (the Carl Barks stories are still as good as then!)
>.. with good translations as well although not all jokes can be translated.
Funnily enough I prefer reading the Barks and Rosa comics in german translations. One of the original translators put some wordplay and literary allusions into her translations – making them slightly different, but, I think, better:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Fuchs
>.. with good translations as well although not all jokes can be translated.
Funnily enough I prefer reading the Barks and Rosa comics in german translations. One of the original translators put some wordplay and literary allusions into her translations – making them slightly different, but, I think, better:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erika_Fuchs
>Carl Barks stories
Don Rosa is a worthy successor and by far the absolute best duck artist. All his stories are an absolute delight to read.
No wonder he is extremely popular in many countries in Europe (Sweden, Italy), and almost unknown in the US :_
Don Rosa is a worthy successor and by far the absolute best duck artist. All his stories are an absolute delight to read.
No wonder he is extremely popular in many countries in Europe (Sweden, Italy), and almost unknown in the US :_
I've always thought Carls Barks and Don Rosa stories became much more important in Europe than in the US because they struck the same chords as do Tintin.
Let's not forget the Donald Duck comics from Italy. They were huge in France.
I read a lot of Disney comics when I was 12-15.
I don't know in what format people read them overseas but in France I was subscribed to two things :
"Le journal de Mickey" (Mickey's newspaper) Which was a weekly 30-35 pages book with two Disney comics and some articles.
"Mickey Parade Géant" (don't know a good translation sorry) which was a monthly ~200 pages pocket-sized Book aimed more at 15+ children, it had the best stories imo with reccuring ones.
Both of these contained a lot of translated comics from Italy, Spain, etc...
But Mickey Parade Géant always had a page before a story which indicated where it was from and a couple of facts about it's authors, sometimes even small interviews !
These stories remind me of all the multiverse stuff going on in movies nowadays, because each time it was the same characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy...) With (often) the same personalities but in different roles and times !
I remember one where they were all superheroes (Ultra heroes I think), another where Mickey was a reporter in a big city, or one where he was a doctor ( and a bit unfriendly) in a parody of Dr House.
I should re-read them all in the correct order someday !
I don't know in what format people read them overseas but in France I was subscribed to two things :
"Le journal de Mickey" (Mickey's newspaper) Which was a weekly 30-35 pages book with two Disney comics and some articles.
"Mickey Parade Géant" (don't know a good translation sorry) which was a monthly ~200 pages pocket-sized Book aimed more at 15+ children, it had the best stories imo with reccuring ones.
Both of these contained a lot of translated comics from Italy, Spain, etc...
But Mickey Parade Géant always had a page before a story which indicated where it was from and a couple of facts about it's authors, sometimes even small interviews !
These stories remind me of all the multiverse stuff going on in movies nowadays, because each time it was the same characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy...) With (often) the same personalities but in different roles and times !
I remember one where they were all superheroes (Ultra heroes I think), another where Mickey was a reporter in a big city, or one where he was a doctor ( and a bit unfriendly) in a parody of Dr House.
I should re-read them all in the correct order someday !
Super Picsou géant içi
My wife is surprised by the fascination with donald and scrooge comics Europeans have.
My wife is surprised by the fascination with donald and scrooge comics Europeans have.
In germany as well, mainly in "Lustiges Taschenbuch" which still exists (new issues being released, still mainly translated from italian i believe).
When my family moved to the US when i was 10, i was shocked that no equivalent existed! And hugely disappointed by the US comic book culture because, although 10 year old me really liked the images, it felt impossible to know what was going on without access to all the volumes.
When my family moved to the US when i was 10, i was shocked that no equivalent existed! And hugely disappointed by the US comic book culture because, although 10 year old me really liked the images, it felt impossible to know what was going on without access to all the volumes.
… and from Denmark. Those pocket books were huge in my childhood in the 80s and findable in multiple european countries so I was surprises to learn later that they weren’t really a thing in the Duck’s origin country.
You can just get the name puns translated, they're not very far fetched (child level). The bard is Assurance-tout-risque = insures all risks, which is funny cause he gets beat up all the time.
Yeah, translated Asterix is just not the same.
It's not, but it was a fantastic stepping stone to learning other languages. You already had the story from your own so then you could learn to read in some other language and see if you got the jokes and if you could understand the story.
There even were Latin editions.
There even were Latin editions.
Tintin is fantastic, as a little kid I learned so much about the world from those.
On related note, anyone here familiar with the following Italian comic book series? I grew up reading these, esp. Zagor:
* Martin Mystère - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Mystère
* Mister No - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_No
* Zagor - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagor_(comics)
On related note, anyone here familiar with the following Italian comic book series? I grew up reading these, esp. Zagor:
* Martin Mystère - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Mystère
* Mister No - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_No
* Zagor - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zagor_(comics)
I remember borrowing Tintin books from my local library in rural Manitoba, Canada! I would get every one that I could transferred to my branch. That was in the early ‘80’s
Likewise I did so with my local library. There was a natural rotation of the books but some were definitely harder to get transferred!
Tangential observation:
"I don't understand why diversity in higher education admissions is important."
Imagine if Hergé had met a Congolese student before writing "Tintin in the Congo". The atrocities committed in the Congo Free State (which many credibly term a genocide) were in living memory at the time of publishing; the youngest survivors would have been in their twenties. This is an example of how universities often serve a public good for humanity as a whole, far and away from the notion that they exist simply to grab the highest-scoring domestic students possible and shove knowledge and elite connections down their throats. As TFA tells it, Sino-Western relations were altered for the better by Hergé and Chang's encounter and subsequent friendship.
"I don't understand why diversity in higher education admissions is important."
Imagine if Hergé had met a Congolese student before writing "Tintin in the Congo". The atrocities committed in the Congo Free State (which many credibly term a genocide) were in living memory at the time of publishing; the youngest survivors would have been in their twenties. This is an example of how universities often serve a public good for humanity as a whole, far and away from the notion that they exist simply to grab the highest-scoring domestic students possible and shove knowledge and elite connections down their throats. As TFA tells it, Sino-Western relations were altered for the better by Hergé and Chang's encounter and subsequent friendship.
Hergé never had any higher education. The argument is also questionable in general, because why bring up children segregated and then force "diversity" later? Why don't people push for diversity in kindergartens? By the time someone is grown up they can already be a well developed racist.
Also on that note there were certainly plenty of Jews around when Hergé grew up and still he stereotyped them with the typical antisemitic stereotypes of the time. Just because he had a Chinese friend doesn't mean he was any less racist for it. That's a misconception, that's exactly what the US gets terribly wrong these days. Diversity is almost like a religion over there, yet some of the most racist things I've heard were from people that went to those kinds of universities.
Racist or not depends on the upbringing, the ideology one follows and generally if one subscribes to the pseudoscientific idea that there are separate human "races". What color people you know does not directly influence that. Else the world's racism could be cured by everyone knowing someone with a different skin color. South Africa is another sad example for how that doesn't work.
Also on that note there were certainly plenty of Jews around when Hergé grew up and still he stereotyped them with the typical antisemitic stereotypes of the time. Just because he had a Chinese friend doesn't mean he was any less racist for it. That's a misconception, that's exactly what the US gets terribly wrong these days. Diversity is almost like a religion over there, yet some of the most racist things I've heard were from people that went to those kinds of universities.
Racist or not depends on the upbringing, the ideology one follows and generally if one subscribes to the pseudoscientific idea that there are separate human "races". What color people you know does not directly influence that. Else the world's racism could be cured by everyone knowing someone with a different skin color. South Africa is another sad example for how that doesn't work.
Your contrarianism and pessimism is contradicted plainly by TFA; it is a positive example of higher education playing a crucial role in bringing together people of disparate and diverse expertise and background, who otherwise likely would not have met.
I assume that something about my comment has caused you discomfort, and in being unable to argue against its central holding, you've instead invoked several tangentially-related tropes as straw men. I invite you to instead introspect wrt what about my comment caused you such discomfort that you felt compelled to write your reactionary reply.
I assume that something about my comment has caused you discomfort, and in being unable to argue against its central holding, you've instead invoked several tangentially-related tropes as straw men. I invite you to instead introspect wrt what about my comment caused you such discomfort that you felt compelled to write your reactionary reply.
> The argument is also questionable in general, because why bring up children segregated and then force "diversity" later?
Are you claiming people who are pro-diversity (in adults) are also pro-child-segregation? Or just that they are indifferent to it? If it's the latter, isn't it analogous to asking "I see you're raising funds for a chemotherapy charity, but why aren't you raising awareness for frequent screening and early detection?"
Are you claiming people who are pro-diversity (in adults) are also pro-child-segregation? Or just that they are indifferent to it? If it's the latter, isn't it analogous to asking "I see you're raising funds for a chemotherapy charity, but why aren't you raising awareness for frequent screening and early detection?"
All this love for comics from Belgium and nobody mentioned the great Michel Vaillant?
>Fans of the Adventures of Tintin comics by Hergé will remember the opening scene in Tintin in Tibet. Tintin has dozed off during a game of chess with Captain Haddock in a crowded café. He suddenly yells, “CHANG!!” so loudly that everyone in the restaurant jumps!
Hah. I just reread Tintin in Tibet recently and that panel is genius. Everyone in the restaurant jumps out of their seat with the exception of Professor Calculus who is course too deaf to hear.
Hah. I just reread Tintin in Tibet recently and that panel is genius. Everyone in the restaurant jumps out of their seat with the exception of Professor Calculus who is course too deaf to hear.
How is The Wire news publication(India) still in business after their Meta/Facebook fake news debacle last year ?
https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23425377/the-wire-subjec...
Probably for the same reasons that most research institutions continue to exist after a researcher commits major academic fraud.
If you read through entirety it, the journalist was thrown under the bus and the editor was saved. Classic VW vibes.
King Ottokar's Sceptre is a good one in the Tintin series.
I'm a 30 year old male and I still read Tintin comics.
IMO here are the main differences between Franco-Belgian and American comics:
1. not a single comic (at least the ones written before the Marvel movies began dominating the culture) is about superheroes. Every protagonist is a normal person, though sometimes extremely competent. This results in much more variety in the industry. I'm not sure why they didn't even try to copy the American model if only for business reasons, but I'm thankful for it.
2. Each comic usually gets a single 50-page issue per year. (Seriously, there's a series I've been reading since I was 8, and you can marathon it in a few sittings.) I think this reduces the amount of "filler issues" or low quality churn, as the author has lots of time to get things right.
3. Most of the time the comics are written by the same author, usually the creator of the characters. They're not getting pimped out to every author out there for a run. It makes things more cohesive IMO.
My favorite series is Thorgal, by the author of XIII and Largo Winch. It's a fantasy series set at the time of the vikings, with light sci-fi and magical elements. Think of it like Conan but with a non-violent hero. Read issue 9, The Archers, for an standalone story that can give you an idea of what it's like before you commit. It's been running since the 80s, but once the author retired a decade or so ago, some younger guy took over the writing, and you can see the quality of the writing drop off, so I never kept up. But you got 30 years worth of good books, about 35 issues IIRC.