Tintin: A Biography

Tintin, the young reporter, has become a worldwide cartoon phenomenon, rivalled only by Asterix, a cult with a following among adults and children alike. How did this apparently simple character gain such a hold? What is the secret of his appeal? And what was his shadowy creator - Georges Remi, "Herge", really like? Harry Thompson, a lifelong Tintin fan, has written a dual biography. On the one hand he charts Tintin's progress from a doodle on a school exercise book during World War I to the young reporter used first for propaganda, then for political satire under the guise of adventure stories, into character comedy and even on to the moon, well ahead of real-life astronauts. And on the other he tells of a strongly moral man, the researcher and perfectionist, who turned himself into a great artist through sheer effort and travelled the world, escaping from the boredom of a desk-job in Brussels. He examines accusations against Remi of collaboration during the last war, his wariness in relationships, and his loss of creativity.