The Disturbing History of the Beloved European Comic, Tintin 

Same is true for us in Bangladesh

And TinTin was translated in Bengali, directly from French...

Tintin and Satyajit Ray made our childhood wholesome for us bengalis.

So true..

Same in the UK. Still the most popular books in the middle school library. Was the same in my dad's generation, in mine, and my son's! Pretty well known Herge was a dodgy geezer over here and a few titles have rightly been, cough, retired.

It's probably no coincidence. The creators of Indiana Jones were inspired by old cinema adventure serials of the 1920s and 1930s and I imagine Hergé was probably inspired by these in creating his adventures, or at least he was inspired by the same Boys Own adventures that inspired the serials.

@@Gmackematix Also, Steven Spielberg is a massive TIntin fan. He eventually directed and produced the Tintin feature film in 2011.

@@Gmackematix hah, the British Boys’ Story Papers and Picture Libraries deserve a shared spot in history for how quintessentially British they are!

Tintin and Duck Tales were a great inspiration for Indiana Jones

@@MetalSonicBricks I'd rather say he tried to destroy Tintin with that film...

The issue with this is that the man who manage the Hergé estate is a businessman pretty well known for his shitty practice about copyright (even fanart is forbidden for the most part). The guy isn't even from Hergé family but married Hergé widow some years before her death to allegedly get all righs on Tintin.

so the magazine were based in Dutch? not Belgium? why the Dutch courtcase?

@@revolvency Moulinsart, the company that holds the rights to Tintin (or "Kuifje" in the Dutch speaking world), sued the Dutch fanclub for using images in their newsletter. The judge sided with the fanclub and actually said that the rights were with Casterman, the publisher and not Moulinsart.

@@ferdylijftogt3880 thanks 👍

@@ahok1937 What's the guy's name? Just curious about it, Hergé's estate is famous for threatening anything resembling a Tintin tribute with lawsuits (including parodies, which are technically protected), but I've never heard about this specific person.

He didn't even want to do TIntin in the Congo but was forced by his boss he originally wanted to do American instead

Yeah Africans are clearly hyper advanced and enriching every society they move to.

S.P.Q.R. Sono Pazzi Questi Romani!

@@arx3516 Ils sont fous, ces Romains !

Same here in Brazil. Asterix, Tintin , Hagar and others were fairly popular. Ironically enough people here hate Mafalda because every grammar teacher puts a comic strip of her in tests. XD

Yea i hope comic tropes does asterix

Lucky Luke after that.

Yes, please

I'll also ask for more Asterix.

Never read Asterix .

All he has to worry about now is that god damn "Tintinimaginatio" ( previosuly known as Moulinsart Corp) . 😏

You intrigued me. Did you ever considered these comics as racist in any way? I'm from Portugal, and I never did...

Only way this is "good" is that it exists, so even illiterates can find this info in video form... and be subjected to some ridiculous "current political climate" of your own. Like the joke of mocking Russians for NOT having functional colonies in the banana plantations completely going over your head. Instead, it is smoothed over with the usual "the older generations jsut didn't get it, man, they had patriarchy and stuff so they wouldn't bother to do research". Start everything with the progressive bias and go on from there, with a one-sided narrative always placing the current western bleeding hearts as the "correctors", of all the wrongs in the dustbin of history. Meanwhile the CORRECTION will be a bunch of Nestle and Apple forced labor around the world, in countries that actually do something productive, alongside bellyaching that if they ONLY practiced some more smug liberal grandstanding they could make all the world's problems disappear. Like all the excess food production in USA's controlled population could magically turn into erasing world hunger, rather than another lysenkoist nightmare if they tried accounting for it with raw numbers like that and "just grow bananas for everyone". What, like the child labor, that is left when everyone old enough LEAVES the platantion, and starts knocking at the door of illegal immigration. That's HOW we get that "we are able to feed 11 billion already" number. What is racist, is that next to crude drawings Americans are still offended by watermelons, chicken, and the DOMESTIC word for the practice of slavery, that doesn't dehumanize SLAVS. It "dehumanizes" everything named after the Latin root word for "black", so that entire section of the dictionary is BANNED. Stalin was more subtle than that. Being offended of drawings IS HORRENDOUSLY offensive MArie Antoinette grandstanding by rich US privilege groups.

@@mykas0 As a Belgian, I've always considered them as obviously racist, but not maliciously so. As in, definitely not OK, but to be placed in context.

@@celettu , very good point. Of course they contain a bit of... let's say, strange things in them, things we wouldn't perhaps portray in the same way today, but don't see them as evily 'racist', just as a product of their time, as a recognition that things change, and that the "evil" aspect is not on the author himself, but in how we see his art. Anyway, thanks for the clarification!

Clearly Steven Spielberg had no issues with making a Tintin movie.

Possibly, I think it's a matter of acknowledging it was there too, but Chris did provide good context for the times. I do agree with your belief in Herge's character in later years, although I am biased as a lifelong Tintin fan (& struggling artist), I could see how Herge could have been "friendly" enough with his shady boss at the magazine just to get work. This wouldn't be a first for artists, how many great works of art were commissioned by the Medicis? To me, it's also telling he didn't contribute to the hate and propaganda (I'm sure he was asked to) by remaining politically neutral and providing some much needed escapism. I've personally turned down a hefty advance for an art partnership from someone who I thought wasn't a good person. I'm still poor and unknown, but I have my pride. Is that all I'll have in the end? Would getting success or influence through shady connections justify the means if you later use your finances for good? These are difficult questions.

He was in a tight spot, no doubt. While my maternal grandfather essentially hid from the Nazis during WWII (he was contacted and asked to work for them as a botanist, but he refused on principal), Herge was somehow able to fool the Nazis into believing he was compliant and kept his integrity in tact and flexible to progressive change over the decades. It's a shame he was blacklisted, but considering how horrible the Holocaust was, I can understand they didn't want to take any chances. Makes me hope that, when we confront the renewed fascist movement in our respective countries, we're not that dickish over it, but it's wishful thinking on my part 😔

Yes, it's good when someone acknowledges that they were wrong and have learned better. Interesting too that his later representations of east Asia avoided crass cultural stereotypes because he was getting his views from an actual Chinese person - an early case of an authenticity/sensitivity reader?

And his sympathy for the occupied Chinese which was rare even for white anti-fascists at the time. Herge was a good guy.

Yes as a Canadian in Winnipeg I also remember seeing the Asterix Obelix comics and being totally enthralled . Couldn’t read all the French but I tried

@@bobbyhulll8737 Thankfully, most of the popular titles have been translated into English, though these are usually done in the UK with its own linguistic particularities that might throw off some North Americans in minor instances. But they’re still good enough to open up these titles to English readers around the world.

Je suis un Franco-Ontarien et depuis ma tendre enfance j’ai toujours adoré les bandes dessinées européennes. Savais-tu qu’il y a aussi des bandes dessinées canadiennes-françaises inspirées par les BDs de la France et la Belgique? Elles sont moins populaires et moins nombreuses mais je les aime quand même. / I am a Franco-Ontarian and since my early childhood I’ve always loved bandes dessinées. Did you know that there’s also French-Canadian bandes dessinées inspired by the Franco-Belgian BDs? They might not be as popular or numerous, but I still enjoyed reading them.

@@marc-ericleblanc-seguin4514 Salut! Je ne suis pas trop familier avec les bédés canadiennes. What are some of the most popular Canadian BD-style titles you’ve read?

Tintin and Astérix seem to be staples of Canadian childhood no one real acknowledges.

In my opinion, Herge was arguably opposed to fascism as evidenced by his early denunciation of Nazi and Japanese imperialism, and already had progressive views even then due to influence from his foreign friends (e.g. 'The Blue Lotus' is incredibly sympathetic to China's plight under Japan's invasion and strongly condemns Sinophobia). Thus, his collaborationist work could be generously interpreted as an act of survival, albeit a craven one considering other artists simply ceased production. As to differences in translation, Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch's original French name is 'Plekszy-Gladz' (an even funnier pun), so 'Taschism' may be more linked to the English version. In any case, Borduria's autocracy is clearly meant to embody both the worst of Nazi brutality and Soviet cultism.

@@hautakleightontam771 What I find brilliant about the invention of "Kurvi-Tasch" is that the bumpers of Bordurian cars are fashioned to resemble huge curvy mustaches, and I wonder if that is meant to be a reference to Stalin.

@@williamblakehall5566 It's definitely a nod to him, considering how infamous Stalin's mustache was. Also, the title of 'Marshal' is evocative of Josip Broz Tito, the Communist dictator of Yugoslavia.

@Robbie H My cursory glance at your comment was all it took to see errors + dogwhistles. I hope others inclined to believe you double check that info. Also, I speak French & English & no, "libertine" is not what he was in either tongue. I suspect you had another word in mind.

@Robbie H Hitler and Mussolini were never communist

True, the art in Blacksad is incredible! Such a masterpiece

blacksad is so goood, although it is certainly a gate to furry community lol

@@revolvency Yeah, I can see that. Some of the "Ladies" are drawn...exciting XD But I would argue, that the ladies in Blacksad are wayyy more "humanly" drawn and not as animal-like as their male counterparts.

Blueberry, Linda & Valentin, Thorgal and Asterix would like a word 🤣 Blacksad is okay, but feels a bit… American.

Oh yeah, Blacksad is amazing! That's my favorite European comic as well, bar none.

I wonder if that sequel's ever going to happen now. The original idea was that, as part of their collaboration, Spielberg would helm one movie and Peter Jackson would helm the other, with both directors in the Producer's chair and the bulk of production being handled by Weta Studios animation. It was dependent on both men's schedules and other commitments, which to date, don't appear to have been very coincident. So, it's a case of don't hold one's breath, but be happy if it suddenly appears. And Jackson is in need of something successful - it's been awhile since King Kong. He's becoming another George Lucas!

@@rexharrison6827 I guess his projects like "The Beatles: Get Back" series (which was ultra-successful) and the documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old" kept him busy over the past few years. I would love to see a new Tintin adventure on the big screen.

@@ronbo11 Oh yes, I forgot the documentaries. A lot of time and technical know-how required for those. Maybe the next two or three years might see an announcement.

There's a Hergé/TinTin shop in London as well.

Ja så äre

I need to see these stores.

What happened?

@@lucasmacleod8761 watch the end of the video( during the credits). He explains his medical visit and what's been going on with his health plus the delay with his vids.

​@@lucasmacleod8761a

​@@LowellLucasJr.nn

Hey at least he's not a massive drunk anymore, I hope, he did say he's sober now at least. But yes, let's all hope he's able to get well soon.

Well, as that Tintin magazine era did not stop before 1988 or 1993 (depending on which side of the language border and the typical age of ambassadors) that's not a very remarkable feat of recollection.

I Seen that cartoon

That's an interesting recommendation.

Another marvelous Edgar P. Jacobs album is the one-off 'Le rayon "U" / De "U" straal': Flash Gordon inspired Atompunk Sci-Fi.

Not only it is a really good comic books, but Edgar P Jacobs is a really good artist who worked on a lot of Tintin comic books. He starts on the rackam's treasure helping on the color, then on the evolution of the old Tintin, and then he had a good participation to the script of story like "the seven crystal balls" and the sequels. It is even funny to find Edgar appear in a lot of episodes like hergé himself (for exemple, he is the 14 mummy in the "cigars of the pharaoh")

I never knew he was involved in Tintin. Very happy to learn about that!

I’m 19 and I found tintin because teletoon a Canadian cartoon channel had a channel for retro cartoons once called teletoon retro that used to air a bunch of retro cartoons including the adventures of tintin cartoon years later and now I’ve found myself revisiting the series

Classic Asterix was really good back then!

@@bluespaceman7937 Absolutely was! I was introduced to American comics first* but Tintin & Asterix will always hold a special place in my 🧡 *Sub Mariner #2, "Cry Triton!" ...Amazing how that comic is still burned in, 50 years later 😏

I agree with your point on “good/bad people”, but we should extend it to their works, too. There is too often a false dichotomy set up that says you can’t acknowledge where a comic was just morally wrong without damning it to hell. There is no need for denialism or flimsy justifications, because we can only really appreciate art and history if we look at it without rose-tinted glasses and admit where they failed.

well i´ll be damn i wasnt expecting a comment with intelligence in this day and age but it is a welcome surprise. We must see history in its whole, including the bad stuff, if we eliminate media because of PC current ideologies we are no better than the church burning down the library of alexandria becuase of different views.

I believe that Tintin in the Congo is stopped from being published. I believe that Herge like most of European people back at the time was driven by narrow vision of occupation. And I also believe that he changed his views along with the rest of the world in through the 50s and the 70s. But that doesn't mean that I agree with his Congo comic.

Hergé grew a lot as a person after the War. He came to learn a lot more about the world and became less prejudiced. As Christ shows, he took it upon himself to correct many of his older, more racist drawings - at a time when a lot of comics were still very racist. It does not excuse his past, but it shows that people can become better, if they are open to it. And one thing he never did, despite working for a conservative paper during Nazi occupation - was to create stories that glorified fascism.

@@MariaVosa The story of Tintin is a redemption arc for Herge. Herge was brought up in a far-right Catholic world and was a product of that. When he drew stuff like Tintin in the Congo, he really didn't know any better. But after meeting Chang, his views began to broaden and became more enlightened. Herge later went on renounce his first two albums as "embarrassments." Tintin in the Congo is very hard to find today and Land of the Soviets was out of print until 1999. Herge came from a questionable background, but went on to redeem himself, which is part of what I find so appealing about Tintin.

Tintin is one word

omg Lucky Luke is another absolutely great classic of comics, love it !

R r d. 😢

There is an entire Tintin museum in Louvain la Neuve

@@timpauwels3734 Haven't been there, personally, but I bet it's an intriguing visit.