Tintin (The Adventures of Tintin)

Tintin is a cartoon character created by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé, protagonist of the series The Adventures of Tintin. His adventures began to be published in installments in the magazine Le Petit Vingtième in 1929.

It is about an intrepid young reporter who, accompanied by his inseparable dog Snowy, will embark on a series of adventures that will take him to the five continents, often facing a whole group of villains (Rastapopoulos, Allan Thompson, the doctor Müller, etc.) surrounded by his friends, whom he will get to know over time, such as Captain Haddock, Professor Tornasol or the unfortunate detectives Hernández and Fernández, among others.

Hergé named his character after the Benjamin Rabier album Tintin Lutin, which appeared in 1897, and Tintin's outfit resembles that of another character from the same album, Onesimus. In Rabier's album, 'Tintin' he is the hypocoristic of the name Martin, although it could also be of Augustin. As for his & # 34; personality of him & # 34;, Tintin can be considered as the & # 34; descendant & # 34; of Totor, a precedent character created by Hergé in 1926.

Evolution

Tintin appears for the first time in Le Petit Vingtième, the children's supplement of the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century), on January 10, 1929. In the first cartoon, Tintin is accompanied by a white fox terrier dog named Snowy.

He is originally a reporter for Le Petit Vingtieme. Later on he will continue to be a reporter, although it will not be said for which publication, and in fact we will almost never see him act as such. At first his companion is only the dog Snowy, but from the fourth album, Los cigarros del faraón, he will meet the policemen Hernández and Fernández, from the ninth, The crab of the pincers de oro, Captain Haddock will also accompany him, and occasionally other secondary characters, such as Professor Calculus and Bianca Castafiore. Until Red Rackham's Treasure , the protagonist lives with his dog in an apartment located at 26 Calle del Labrador, in a poorly defined city, although it is clearly Brussels. From the mentioned album, he moves to the castle of Moulinsart, residence of Captain Haddock.

Description

Palle Huld, during his trip around the world in 1928, almost certainly influenced Hergé to create Tintin.

Physical

Tintin is young, blond, of medium height, and has a characteristic quiff. His age is difficult to determine: he is not a teenager but he is not an adult either (it could be estimated that he is around 20 years old.) As is often the case with comic book characters, Tintin hardly changes over the years. From 1929 to 1976 he will maintain his youthful appearance and his outfit will vary little, just the color of the socks or the color of the shirt. Only in the last of his published adventures, Tintin and the 'Rogues'' , will he trade in his bloomers for the more fashionable bell-bottoms.

Character

In terms of his character, he embodies perfect goodness, he does not smoke, he does not drink, except on very few occasions, more than water. He does not seem to have any particular hobbies or practice any sport, although he likes walks in the countryside and on some occasions we are shown doing home gymnastics and later yoga. He is extremely intelligent and resourceful, has much more physical strength than he appears, an incredible facility for languages, and knows how to drive all kinds of vehicles, including planes and tanks. He is also a good shot. He is very sensitive to injustice and capable of sacrificing himself to help the weak. In Tintin in Tibet a lama will say that he has a "pure heart".

One of Tintin's best friends is Tchang Tchong Yen (apart from Captain Haddock and Snowy), a Chinese teenager whom he meets in The Blue Lotus, his fifth adventure. In this, he is indeed an alter ego of Hergé, since Tchang is based on a real friend of the author, also separated from him by various circumstances.

Tintin always appears with the same name, which necessarily has to be his last name (otherwise you would not receive mail under the name of "Mr. Tintin"). Unlike other characters in the series, the reader will never know his full name (as is the case with the evil Rastapopoulos).

Skills and abilities

From the first volume onward, Hergé described Tintin as adept at driving or repairing any mechanical vehicle he came across, including cars, motorcycles, planes, and tanks. Given the chance, Tintin is comfortable driving any car, has driven a moon tank, and is comfortable with all aspects of aviation. He is also a trained radio operator with knowledge of Morse Code. He packs a solid punch into a villain's jaw when necessary, demonstrates impressive swimming skills, and is a keen shot. He proves to be a capable engineer and scientist during his adventure to the Moon. He is also an excellent athlete, in excellent condition, able to walk, run and swim long distances. Hergé summed up Tintin's abilities thus: "a hero without fear or reproach". More than anything else, Tintin is a quick thinker and an effective diplomat. He is simply an all-rounder, good at almost everything, which is what Hergé himself would have liked to be.

Personality

Grafiti de Tintin on Rue de l'Etuve 37, Brussels. The scene belongs to the comic The Tornasol affair.

Tintin and Milú at Paul-Henri Spaak Avenue, Brussels

Tintin illustrating the theme of diving in the halls of the Lovaina-la-New Sports Center with scenes of the album The Treasure of Rackham the Red.

Tintin's personality evolved as Hergé wrote the series. It was reported that in the early adventures, Tintin's personality was "incoherent", as he was "sometimes foolish and sometimes all-knowing, mockingly pious and then unacceptably aggressive", ultimately instance only serving as a "narrative vehicle". Hergé's biographer Pierre Assouline noted that in the early Adventures, Tintin shows "little sympathy for humanity." Assouline described the character as "obviously celibate, exceedingly virtuous, chivalrous, brave, defender of the weak and downtrodden, never looking for trouble but always finding it, witty, risk-taking, discreet and non-smoker".

Michael Farr regarded Tintin as an intrepid young man of high moral standards, with whom his audience can identify. His rather neutral personality allows for a balanced reflection of the evil, madness and recklessness that surrounds him, allowing the reader to assume Tintin's position within the story rather than merely following the adventures of a strong protagonist. The iconic portrayal of Tintin enhances this aspect, with comics expert Scott McCloud noting that the combination of Tintin's iconic, neutral personality and Hergé's clean-line style, "unusually realistic," allows the reader to hide in a character and enter a stimulating world.

In 2009 The Times columnist Matthew Parris speculated that Tintin was homosexual, based on a number of reasons such as the absence of female characters other than the opera singer Bianca Castafiore and Tintin's zero interest in them while he does show a deep friendship for the young Chinese Tchang, for whom he risks his life in Tintin in Tibet or for Captain Haddock, with whom he lives in the Moulinsart Palace from The Treasure of Red Rackham.

Character occupation

From Tintin's first adventure, live the life of a campaign reporter. When he travels to the Belgian Congo, he devotes himself to photojournalism. Sometimes Tintin is the one who is interviewed, as when a radio reporter asks him for details "in his own words". But apart from a few examples, Tintin is never seen consulting with his publisher or delivering a story.

As his adventures progress, he is less often seen reporting and is more often seen as a detective, pursuing his own investigative journalism from his apartment. Other characters refer to him as Sherlock Holmes, as he has a keen intellect, an eye for detail, and powers of deduction.

Tintin's occupation shifts further in later adventures, abandoning any pretense of reporting the news and instead doing so in his role as explorer. Clearly free from financial worries, after Red Rackham's Treasure he is invited to live as a permanent guest in the majestic Moulinsart palace with the retired Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus. Tintin spends all his time with his friends, exploring the bottom of the sea, mountain tops and the surface of the Moon (sixteen years before astronaut Neil Armstrong). Through it all, Tintin finds himself drawn into the role of international social crusader, standing by the underprivileged and caring for those less fortunate than himself.

Tintin in the cinema

The character has been portrayed in the cinema by Jean-Pierre Talbot in Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece (1961) and Tintin and the Mystery of the Blue Oranges (1964), and by Jamie Bell (in motion capture) in the film directed by Steven Spielberg The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011).