I am going to cover the dream weavers, the masterminds behind this all, and highlight some select works of theirs. The writers and artists behind comics, behind cartoons etc. I truly want GW to be a better place for discussing comics (includes all countries of origin) and cartoons(likewise... anime are still cartoons and don't you forget it buster!) and such. Hopefully by reading this you might download the recommended reads .
The euro specials are articles focusing on the comic scene in europe, from avante guard spanish comics to the ligne claire of french and belgian to the "intillectual" approach of English comics and the emotional east european comics.
Today we're gonna look at arguably the most influential comic writer and artist there has ever been. A man who created an iconic hero that has been loved by generations and whose influence far outreaches comics and stretches into so many fields from journalism to music to fine art.
WHO #4 -EURO SPECIAL-Hergé 
Why him?Hergé perfected the comic strip medium in the 30's. His attention to detail as a well researched armchair traveler brought forth an unprecedented sense of reality to his down to earth adventures, his keen eye for politics and global events allowed him to tie a deeper meaning to his work and his interest in the arts provided him with capable means of expressing these meanings. Hergé of course was the creator of Tintin. One of the best selling comic series' of all time, and has now come into public limelight more so due to the upcoming film by Steven Spielberg.
Recommended ReadingThe blue lotus
King Ottokar's scepter
Destination moon/explorers on the moon
the calculus affair
Tintin in Tibet
The Castafiore emerald
(I'd also recommend Tintin and the Alph-art, it's a great look at the process Hergé used for making his comics)
Career (note: THIS MAY BE SOMEWHAT WORDY)
Hergé's (Georges Remi) initial aspirations were possibly to become a reporter but likewise he was a keen drawer, and in the early 1920's became well known for providing illustrations for the Belgian boy scout magazine. The role model the boy scouts provided would be a major inspiration on his character of Tintin. He would then work on Totor, a scout based comic.. The breakthrough however was in 1929 when Hergé would introduce the world to Tintin in the children's paper Le Vingtième Siècle. Tintin's initial story, Tintin and the land of the soviets was given to Hergé as a propaganda piece to do, to inform Belgium's youths of the errors of communism. Hergé in his naive youth (he was 21) believed what he had read, and produced the first Tintin strip (recently Tintinologists(yes... it is a word) have come to suggest that the book is far closer to the truth than thought and is not so much ignorant propaganda). His next story Tintin in the Congo would eventually come under heavy fire (from everywhere except the Congo it seems!) for it's racist imperialistic undertones. This story would be heavily edited upon before it's re release, but that didn't stop it getting an age rating of 16+ in the UK last year (seriously, even though it is the best selling Tintin book in Africa...). The story would carry onwards and blend into Tintin's next adventure, Tintin in America. This would show us Hergé's keen ability to research and his interest in current affairs, such as the state of Native Americans at the time, or the Great Depression. Around this time, Hergé would create another comic series, Quick & Flupke, a comedy series about two young troublemakers in Brussels. This series would last until 1940.
His next book, Cigars of the pharaoh would introduce the Thompson Twins, two bumbling detectives who would accompany and intervene in many of Tintin's adventures from this point on. Regarded by many as Hergé's masterpiece, the next story Tintin and the blue lotus. A story based around Imperial Japan's occupation of China, at a time when Europe was turning a blind eye to Japan's actions. The racist portrayal of the Japanese in this story is seen to reflect the imperialistic tendencies at the time. Thanks to then art student Zhang Chongren, The Blue Lotus had an unprecedented amount of realism where billboards would be from real Chinese billboards, Chinese words would be real words as opposed to random letters. This book would receive complaints by Japanese diplomats but receive high praise in China.
The next story, Tintin and the broken ear would continue with Hergé's interest in providing political messages, here he brings to attention the oil based wars of Latin America and parody the nature of revolutionaries who turn out to be the same as the dictators they toppled. The next book, The black Island would be a straightforward adventure. But after that, Hergé would write King Ottokar's sceptre. Written in 1938 during a tense time in Europe, with Nazi Germany consolidating it's power and various truths coming to light, King Ottokar's sceptre is a brave book which is based around Nazi Germany's annexation of neighboring countries. Syldavia's similarities with Poland suggests Hergé was looking into the nightmare that would begin merely one year later. Also notable is Syldavian history which is based heavily on Slavic and European areas, most notable Hergé researched medieval art to provide a rich introduction to the country.
The land of the black gold would have been the next Tintin adventure, based around a plot to sabotage military vehicles with contaminated oil, in a time at the brink of war, the Nazi occupation of Belgium would cause Hergé to put this on hold while he chose to write a story less critical of the Nazis, for fear of his life and career. Tintin and the crab with the golden claws while a standard adventure would change Tintin forever. It introduced us to the wonderful character of Captain Haddock. An alcoholic sailor with a penchant for colourful exclamations. Following this would be a somewhat experimental story, beginning with an immediate sense of foreboding and tension, The Shooting star would become escapism as Tintin and Haddock track down a meteor in the arctic. Unknown to Hergé however, the somewhat stereotypical portrayal of the Jewish Mr. Blumenstein would be used against him in the near future. The next of Hergé's wartime escapism would be The secret of the unicorn/Red Rackham's treasure. These provided us with a greater look at Captain Haddock, the new character of professor calculus and introduce us to Marlinspike Hall, our heroes' home for all future stories.
When Hergé would start his next adventure, disaster loomed. The Nazi occupation of Belgium had ended but because of his naive if well intentioned continuation of the Tintin run, Hergé would be branded as a traitor and Nazi collaborator. He would be arrested a total of four times, and despite strong support by many members of the resistance, would become lampooned by the public media. The stereotypical portrayal of foreign countries in his earlier works and also various supporting characters such as Blumenstein would come back to haunt him (as would his friendship with a notable Belgian fascist), while a strong defense would be made out of his strongly anti-fascist work The Blue Lotus and King Ottokar's sceptre. The (mental and physical)stress of these recent events provided Hergé with a two year break, which allowed him to refocus. The Seven crystal balls/prisoners of the sun would become a strong story. Started in the ending days of the war and then picked up on in the late 40's, we would see a distinctly dark story based around the mysterious disappearance of professor Calculus, his abduction by an incan tribe and eventual rescue. This story reintroduced us to general Alcazar who was last seen in Tintin and the broken ear, and also revealed to European audiences a whole new world and culture which they had not seen before.
With the Nazis defeated, Hergé could continue with is unfinished story, The land of the black gold. Sections had to be heavily edited to explain why Haddock and Calculus were not featured. This story would bring a fresh new world, we had explored the jungles of south America and now we was deep in the deserts of Arabia. Next would come one of the most famous Tintin stories, Destination Moon/Explorers on the moon. Here Hergé had predicted the future with near unprecedented accuracy. It was the 1950's and the space race had begun, the cold war was under way and Tintin was as popular as ever. In this story Hergé's famous researching habits were taxed into overdrive as he provided a highly realistic look at the future moon landing, entangled in a web of cold war spies and trickery. Also notable in this story was Professor Calculus' ability to act the goat. There was an 18 month gap between the two parts of this story due to the extensive stress this story had caused on Hergé. This gap was filled by colour reprints of Hergé's other creation, Quick & Flupke. These events would cause Hergé to set up a studio of various artists and colourists. The inclusion of illustrator Bob De Moore would be key to releaving the workload.
While the previous story had touched on the cold war, his next story, The calculus affair would be a James Bond-esque thriller. With Calculus being centre stage in this tale of two opposing sides (Syldavia and Borduria) after powerful weapons of mass destruction. From Belgium to Switzerland to Borduria we a treated to a trekking adventure. This would become regarded by many as the best Tintin adventure. Surprisingly with the current political climate (notably Russia) this story perhaps holds more impact today then it did back then! Here we are introduced to colonel Sponz, a fascist leader of Borduria's secret police, his appearance based on Hergé's brother, who had also been the base of Tintin. The next adventure, The Red sea sharks would return to us a large cast from many previous Tintin adventures in an almost celebratory story, but this would be the last straight out adventure for a while as events in Hergé's life would lead Tintin towards a very different path.
Next up is my personal favorite Tintin story, Hergé's favorite Tintin story, and one to achieve considerable critical success throughout the world. Tintin in Tibet. Written during a troubled time period, Hergé was divorcing his first wife and suffered from intense nightmares where he was trapped in a strange land of slopes, skeletons and blinding white, this story would become a way for Hergé to express himself, clear his head and provide a drastic break in the somewhat formulaic adventures of Tintin. Here there was no evil mastermind to foil, Tintin horrified by a vision travels to Tibet in search of his friend, Chang. Here we have a reduced cast, a focused character piece and an extremely strong emotional story. Hergé, ever with an eye on current affairs treats us to the idyllic Tibet, with peaceful monks and a sympathetic Yeti who in hiding from humans is clearly an analogy of the Dalai Lama who had recently escaped Tibet. The next up would be the Castafiore emerald, a classic “who done it” story, which builds itself up through a series of false leads and red herrings, to trick the reader.
Hergé would again take a break from Tintin, focusing now on contemporary painting and even leaving his armchair to do some real traveling. His next story Flight 714 would delve into the growing public interest in flying saucers and aliens, as well as playing off the characteristics of two different kinds of bad people. After a gap of nearly ten years, Hergé would release the final finished Tintin book, Tintin and the Picaros, a story which received mixed receptions, with Tintin now becoming weary of traveling, and Captain haddock now clean of Whiskey. This story would also provide a key political point, emphasizing the points about revolutionaries made during Tintin and the broken ear, with a contrast between slum and city life.
Hergé's heath now failing he would meet up with Zhang Chongren after many years and would then embark on the final Tintin story, one entrenched in Hergé's interest in the world of fine art. Tintin and the Alph-Art would if finished have included a cast of virtually every character from the series. Hergé did not know where the story would take him, and sadly died age 75 on March the 3rd 1983. He left Tintin on a cliffhanger, mere moments from being suffocated and turned into a perspex statue, with no notes as to a possible escape. This book has been unofficially completed by various artists.
This is bleh I couldn't really cut any of it out (I ain't no editor) but man I love Tintin comics. Fuck the proudest moment I had was painting Tintin and Snowy on a mural my artclass did for a primary/middle school in 2006. I think Markus made a flippant comment a while back about how in Europe Tintin is treated as a fine art... but
he really is (I urge you peeps to check out some of Michael farr's books about Tintin, "the complete companion" being a must read!).
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WHO #4 -EURO SPECIAL-Hergé