On NPR, sometime in the last few days an interviewer was gushing over a actor taking on the challenge of playing an iconic character, someone every child remembers, the famous Tin Tin.
Who? Who the hell is Tin Tin? Why does he have his own Wikipedia page? If I’ve ever heard of Tin Tin before I must have assumed I had muddled Rin Tin Tin.
After the interview, I know he was written by someone named “Herve” and looks like Conan O’ Brien.
Evidently Tin Tin was printed in Children’s Digest from 1966 to 1979. That was my prime reading time. Ages four through seventeen. And I see I’ve been spelling it wrong. Tintin.
This is annoying. This is like America not embracing Fawlty Towers until Spielberg make a Fawlty Towers movie.
I also get the idea that All of Europe and Australia and New Zealand and Points South have been making Tintin references and I haven’t been getting them.
Am I alone? Do the rest of you all know of Tintin? Why didn’t you tell me? Is he lame? Is he not deserving of a movie?
19 responses to “The Adventures of Somebody”
I thought it was a comic book from France. Seriously.
I’ve seen a lot about Tintin lately (this morning NYT) and vaguely remember the name from the past. My hazy memory suggests that Tintin is someone/something young men (maybe very young) think is ‘cool.’ Possibly, Tintin is of no importance to a mature and intelligent woman.
He was big in Canada too! Well, biggish. Well, I remember his comics being in my school’s library
That was my prime reading time too and I had never heard of him/it.
In 1966 I was teaching high school math, so I can be excused. But I raised a daughter who’s never heard of him either. When he cropped up lately, I assumed he was a British thing.
Actually, it goes back to the 30s – though all (or most) of the books are in print. Becs has it mostly right – the artist is Belgian though – they’re comic books, of an adventure type.
Here’s a post about the books, with a link to a WSJ article: http://www.bookmakingwithkids.com/?p=2568
Tintin was one of my favorite comics as a kid. I read every single one I could get my hands on, and it was the highlight of my library visits. This was in the late 70s. I loved them, and also the Asterix and Obelix comics, while not Belgian like Tintin’s Herge was French.
I knew who Tintin was but I didn’t read him because my parents didn’t believe in comics so the only time I got to catch up with Donald Duck and Superman was when we visited our cousins 200 miles away once a year. We thought they were so lucky. AND they had downhill trolleys.
I learned about him through product placement on The Amazing Race a few weeks ago.
Heard of Rin Tin Tin. Never heard of Tintin.
Becs – From reading the other comments, that’s sounds pretty close.Arlene – There you go. Why the adulation of a comic? From the WSJ article it sounds like Herve thought he was vacuous.Sherry – A comic? The way everyone talked about it I assumed it must have been an illustrated book, like Paddington bear.Zayrina – I guess my library didn’t carry comics?~~Silk – Your daughter must not have read comics either.Magpie – (I loved your post about your Mom’s Christmas labels) I do find that clear-line drawing appealing. Like Mucha. Was he Belgian too?Faythe – Okay, now I have to look up Asterix and Obelix.Big Dot – I think that explains it for everyone. The only comics I could read were the “Great Classics” re-told in comic form. Also, seriously? http://www.cracked.com/article_19631_the-11-most-unintentionally-creepy-christmas-ornaments_p2.htmlAnd what’s a downhill trolley?Caroline – Were they in Belgium?Marcia – Again, no comics, right?
I KNOW! The listing’s just been on our evening TV news, but I hadn’t realised it was top. Yes, he’s hideous and creepy – yet, still, so much better than when he winked and beckoned just like a paedophile. He’s unfortunately become an icon, so it seems we’re stuck with him. Embarrassing.
A downhill trolley’s a home-made thing of scrap wood and pram wheels and rope that rattles down the road and scares kids hysterically silly.
I’m wait Faythe- was raised on Tintin and Asterix, but they’re definitely not the average American youth experience.
I’m the same age and was quite the reader as a child, but I’ve never heard of him.
Why yes!
I’m 42, grew up in the New England and Texas, and, yeah, I was aware of Tintin as a child. My grandparents had some Tintin [books? comics? collections?] in the kids’ guestrooms that I looked at every year just in case this time they struck me as IRRESISTIBLY FASCINATING. But, um, that never happened.
I vaguely recall being assigned some Tintin in high school French classes as well, but that’s the sum of what I remember. It’s almost like my youthful Tintin apathy was so deep that it left behind an utter lack of memory.
Big Dot – He does look much better now. Love how he was up there with his face in bandages for a while – or was that photoshop?Elisabeth – Ah, the wondrous childhood of those allowed to read comics! RockyCat – Not the reader now? I do only read the comics section of the newspaper. Caroline – How bout that!Elsa – What thoughtful grandparents! But ultimately, like my Mom and the Laura Ingalls books, I didn’t like them until I suddenly liked them. Perhaps you could read them now and they would be great.
Never heard of him until this movie promotion started, and I was an avid reader as a kid. Just relieved I’m not the only one…
Mare – I am relieved too.