Herge, The Genius

23/06/2006

I have always considered Herge as a genius cartoonist, and his Tintin remains one of my all time comics. I still read it. Here is an example why.

The picture below is from a scene in “The Calculus Affair” – A scandal has broken out at Marlinspike Hall, and everybody in town wants to know about it. Herge illustrates the scene. The details are just AMAZING!

A Calculus Affair

Herge, you are a genius.

There are 14 comments in this article:

  1. 23/06/2006manasi say:

    Hey agree! Tintin is amazing!! I have CDs of it and we as a family love watching them over and over again. Especially Snowy…. amazing expressions! :)

  2. 23/06/2006GuNs say:

    Tin Tin, eh?
    Calvin & Hobbes is my fav. comic strip though it sadly never went on to become a comic book, a novel, an animated series or a film.

    Have read a few Tin Tin books borrowed from the library. Some RICH kids used to have TinTin books with them and they proudly showed them off and probably thats the reason I missed a lot of the genius of Herge. Maybe you can lend me a few copies and I’ll read them [:-P]

    -PeAcE
    –WiTh
    —GuNs

  3. 23/06/2006Anuj Bhatnagar say:

    Tintin is my favorite too. As for the amount of details that it has, do you remember Destination Moon? That comic had a full page detail of the rocket they were going to use for their Moon journey. Amazing amount of details were there given that those were the days when rocket science was in it’s infancy.

    Cheers,
    Anuj

  4. 23/06/2006Ambar say:

    One of my favourite panels that :-)

    But Asterix tops Tintin when it comes to humour.

  5. 23/06/2006Shruthi say:

    Totally agree!! And strangely enough, I remember being fascinated by this same picture! :)

  6. 23/06/2006Chilla-Bong say:

    Another classic one was 4-5 frames in Tintin in America that depicts the rapid-paced industrialization of a Red Indian valley after oil is discovered over there. The strong message is paralleled by only Chaplin’s Modern Times scene of the feeding machine.

  7. 23/06/2006Anuj Bhatnagar say:

    For all the die-hard Tintin fans, here is a link to read Tintin comics online:

    http://www.7ven.net/default.aspx?page=comicTinTin

  8. 23/06/2006Supremus say:

    @Manasi: Somehow I never liked the film version of Tintin – it just didnt have that zing I think.

    @Guns: C&H is my all time favorite too – they both are in different genres I guess. I cannot chose between the two :)

    @Anuj: You bet – destination moon and explorers on the moon had some of the best wide panel shots with so much detail. They were two of his best books as well.

    @Ambar: I think the fact that we’ve seen Asterix and Tintin always together in any library, stores or other place gives rise to unfair comparison between the two. I think Tintin Humor has its own flair, while Cacofonix, Obelix and others had their own. At the end of it, I actually still prefer reading Tintin :)

    @Shruthi: Whoa – telepathy kya? :D

    @Chilla-bong: Wow, you brought up another amazing panel – I agree about that one as well.

    @Anuj: Thats a great link mate!

    Thanks fellas,

    Cheers

    Suyog

  9. 24/06/2006jEDI say:

    I was wondering when the “Stupendous Man!” would dedicate a post to Tintin. Tintin remains my favorite comic book to this date an will forever, of course.

    Hmm.. it gives me an idea! Write a post about funny bits in various Tintin adventures. On the other hand, the funny bits would have to include almost the whole book in each case lol

    Yes, I agree the level of detail (and research) is amazing. One has to remember these were written a long time ago as well, when one didnt have information stores like the Internet at hand.

    Well done Herge!

    Interplanetary Pirate!

  10. 24/06/2006Sudipta Chatterjee say:

    Yeah, have been a fan of Tintin and Asterix all the time… and actually had analysed this picture when I read it. So… the telepathy perhaps extends beyond what you imagine.

    @ Anuj: You just made my day! Thanks, dude!

  11. 24/06/2006Ambar say:

    Suyog, the Tintin series rocks. However, i appreciated the Tintin books less as i grew older, and the Asterix books more. Humour in Asterix books is like an onion – it has layers! (Apologies to Shrek!)

  12. 25/06/2006Supremus say:

    @Ambar: I agree – Humor in asterix had multiple layers and tongue in cheek. Asterix no doubts has its own charm as well. That reminds me after Calvin and Hobbes and Tintin collection, perhaps I should buy the Asterix series :D

  13. 7/07/2006povfilms say:

    “Tintin and I,” a documentary by Anders Ostergaard that highlights the potent social and political underpinnings that give Tintin’s world such depth, and delves into the mind of Hergé, Tintin’s work-obsessed Belgian creator, to reveal the creation and development of Tintin, will have its national broadcast premiere on Tuesday, July 11th. The film is a part of the 19th season of P.O.V., the showcase for independent documentaries, on PBS.

    We have produced a companion website – http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/tintinandi/ -that will feature
    - A round-table discussion with comic artists Daniel Clowes, Chris Ware, Jessica Abel, Phoebe Gloeckner, Jason Lutes, and Seth.
    - A look at Tintin in America.
    - Thoughts from filmmaker Anders Ostergaard
    - Resources and links to other websites about cartooning and Tintin.

    We hope that you watch the P.O.V. broadcast of “Tintin and I” on Tuesday, July 11th at 10 PM (check local listings) on most PBS stations.

  14. 25/09/2006The RobScenity say:

    I’ve been enjoying tintin for 49 years, and expect to do so for 49 more. Herge was one of the true masters, and is sorely missed. I’m sure he’s adventuring, wherever he is.