Tintin & Snowy

2009 marks the 80th Anniversary of the creation of the Tintin series.

Hergé, whose real name was Georges Remi, was working as a photographer and illustrator of ads at a Belgian newspaper when he was asked to design a comic strip for the newly created children’s supplement at the paper. His only instructions were that the central character must be a good Christian reporter who travelled the world and did good deeds. Only a year after the first strip appeared, Tintin and his little dog were such a huge hit that a promotional appearance at a train station by Tintin and Snowy look-a-likes attracted a huge crowd of enthusiastic fans.

This is a fascinating biography, especially for anyone who grew up reading Tintin. Born in 1907, Georges Remi’s life reflects all the major events in the 20^th century, and even though he was an untrained artist, his work has had a major impact on the look of contemporary comic strips. In 2011 a new trilogy of 3-D Tintin movies will be released, directed by Stephen Spielberg.