Customer Reviews

Hergï¿1/2: The Man Who Created Tintin

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a book about Georges Remi, lovingly known as Herge to generations of kids and parents. I am a huge fan of Tintin, so the opportunity to read the life of Georges Remi was a treat for me that was both weird, wonderful, and at points an odd comparison between the characters in comic books and the man who drew them. A person is complex and often at odds with the public versus private personas that they have and Georges Remi was no different. This book highlights those differences between the man, the copious body of work, and the public and hidden histories that all people have. Pierre Assouline has done an incredible job in helping to separate the public and the private. While we always want to know more, to lay the entire life of Georges open for inspection, Pierre has taken a more conservative approach, there are things we can know, but there are also issues that are simply voyeurism and not worth talking about, let alone printing.

The book is set in three major divisions, the early years up until 1944 where he was working and developing his craft. The second division in the book is the World War II period where he was accused of collaboration for working on a tightly controlled paper during the war years. And then the final years of his life post 1950 where he continued with personal growth and the explosion of Tintin related materials that cemented his Herge persona and reconciliation with family, friends, and his work under German occupation during the war years. This is where the book gets interesting; the stark contrasts between the personality of Herge and Georges Remi stand out throughout this book daring the reader to draw conclusions between the public and the private. As a public person Herge/Remi had every reason to control that image, as a private person we know almost nothing, but Remi does come off as somewhat of a control freak as discussed in his later 1970's interviews.

Overall, this is a fantastic view of the man Georges Remi and the complex personality that he had. This is not a book about Tintin; rather this is a book about the creator of one of the coolest comic series written. People who are fascinated by people and the complexity of people will love this book. People who are looking for another Tintin comic might be interested in this one. I am very happy I got this book, and it is well worth reading. Rated 5 of 5 stars - I hope there is another book that explores more of Herge in depth.

For anyone who is a fan of Herge's works, be it the evergreen reporter Tintin and his adventures, or his funny Quick and Flupke, or the more familial Jo, Zette and Jocko , there is no such thing as enough when it comes to any literature related to the artist or his art.

Last few years has seen a surge in books on Herge and Tintin, Michale Farr's works in particular, and the newly translated Art of Herge series have given new insights into the working of Herge. How he went about creating the stories, what he used for his ever so detailed art work as reference, etc.

This book by Pierre Assouline is a refreshingly new look at the life and times of Herge. The focus is now on the happenings in the background as Herge went about spinning tale after tale of adventure and fun. It gives a very balanced and unbiased view on Herge, his political social situation, his views and attitudes, and how the political situation in Europe during the early twentieth century was shaping the creativity of Herge and others like him.

It talks about interesting things that artists, readers and anyone interested in Tintin, French/Belgian, European art/journalism in that part of history, will find very informative. This also gives a good coverage on some controversial aspects such as racial stereotyping and such. And how Herge was simply being himself, in tune with the times, plain and straight and not worrying about "political correctness" or being a hero. Those were indeed strange times, to learn that Herge was imprisoned for alleged 'collaboration' with the German occupation and some even thought he should be hanged!!

The book is full of little stories that give answers to so many questions that we might have, artistically and otherwise, for instance, here is a story about how Herge hired a very talented Jacob who influenced Herge in bringing in meticulous details to the mechanical drawings of cars and airplanes. Numerous such stories fill the book. How people, events and situations influenced the artist in his creation are a very interesting read.

The book takes the reader through the life of Herge during his creative professional years, evolution of the stories, evolution of the formats, how it all started as political journalism, as newspaper strip with the journalist investigating communist Russia, colonial Africa etc., and how the Tintin series itself matures and became more sophisticated as time progressed, with adventurous stories such as the Red Rackham's treasure and the The Destination Moon sequels. We also learn about how the series was revised, reformatted, colored and transformed into a uniform series, and how much of time and labour went into it.

The book is very well paced, like that of an exciting novel, that you want to finish it all in one go. but being a great fan of Herge and his works, one wants to sip it in ever so slowly, enjoying every bit of it as we enjoy Herge's works.

I approached this biography with great excitement. It's author, Pierre Assouline's previous biography on mystery author, Georges Simenon, was amazing. Unfortunately, Hergé: The Man Who Created Tintin, isn't as good. He seems so mired in touching on the facts that he never draws a proper portrait of the man. Unfortunate, because Hergé is deserving of a proper biography. As interesting as this book is, it isn't the book we have been waiting for. It's a great teaser for a better book.

BOOK REVIEW (MOVIE TIE-IN)

TINTIN IS A GOD TO ME
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HERGE: The Man Who Created Tintin

Written by Pierre Assouline and translated by Charles Ruas

Oxford University Press, 276 pp., $24.95

Reviewed by John M. Edwards

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With the release of the new Tintin movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, Tintin fanatic John M. Edwards mulls over a recent book on the cowlicked comic-book boy hero reporter's controversial Belgian creator: Hergé.

Tintin is a god to me.
Surely this imaginary globetrotter seems real to most of us. He is also the most beloved of all comic-book heros worldwide (as well as the first literary boho "backpacker")--except in America, where he is inevitably confused with the dog "Rin Tin Tin."
Too, Tintin's second book, Tintin Au Congo ("Tintin in the Congo"), proved too risqué for Yankee tastes with its racist stereotypes of large-lipped "negroes" (I'm afraid much worse than Al Jolson in blackface singing "My Little Mammie"), even though the amusingly obsolete and offensive tome is still wildly popular in Africa.
Indeed, the androgynous-looking (but supposedly not gay) cowlicked boy reporter represents wanderlust in the first degree, inhabiting an extreme alt universe grounded in graphic colorized geography: both real and imagined.
Tintin, a native son beloved by the weepy Walloons of Belgium (but known in Germany with typical Teutonic efficiency as "Tim"), has stumbled upon the Incas in Peru, smoked cigars with the Pharoahs in Egypt, played cowboy in America, and even rocketed to the moon.
Also, he uncovers a smuggling ring in "The Crab with the Golden Claws"; wows us in the imaginary kingdom of "Syldavia" (loosely based upon any Balkan country) in "King Ottokar's Scepter"; and goes hunting for "booty" (treasure, not tush) in "Red Rackham's Treasure."
No doubt, there is nothing that this young millionaire adventurer, once he departs the luxurious safety of his beloved mansion "Marlinspike Hall," that is, can't do--especially with the help of his loyal cronies Snowy (known as "Minou" in France), Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus, and the Thom(p)son Twins.
(In fact, so big a fan am I, one of my proudest possessions is a carved wooden Tintin statue with a fey smile I acquired in Grand Bassam, Cote d'Ivoire, which I deemed perfect for smuggling diamonds or heroin.)
Hence, I was keenly interested on getting the skinny on his somewhat sketchy creator, the Belgian artist Georges Remi (a.k.a, Hergé). Despite his success as a cartoonist--the Tintin series comprises twenty-four books and has sold millions of copies in dozens of languages--Hergé was often criticized during World War Two for being a "collaborator" with the Nazis only after Belgium was occupied, though in fact the accusation is assuredly apocryphal.
Pierre Assouline's recent biography Hergé: The Man Who Created Tintin, though simple, even sketchy (perhaps because the translator Charles Ruas might have rushed it to press to beat the Ruas rushed to beat the clock on the new Spielberg/Jackson Tintin film adaptation) still answered many of my questions. But the elegantly weird Francophone diction, as well as the wealth of extraneous detail, is nevertheless somewhat distracting.
But boring the book is not.
Born in Brussels in 1907, Hergé started his career, like Tintin, as a cub reporter. For all his accolades, Hergé nevertheless maintained meekly, "I was just happy drawing little guys, that's all."
But Assouline asserts Hergé used his alter ego to champion some of his so-called sociopolitical causes: his love for the Boy Scouts, Catholicism, and the Monarchy, countered by his distrust of Communism and the Soviet Union. (Hergé's first book "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets" was both a surprising commercial success and a scathing critique of totalitarianism.)
Sure, Hergé was also a raging alcoholic who suffered from painful bouts of depression, miserable meals of "moules frites," and "disappearances" for extended periods of time without explanations, but what artist doesn't?
Dead as a dodo in 1984, Hergé was self-consciously oblivious to his fame while alive, not only among schoolchildren dreaming of impossible adventures in exotic climes (I initially discovered the series as a youngster in Bermuda), but among adult artistic fantasists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.
As we all dust off our collected Tintin oeuvre--with its paternalistic patina of "comic" (funny ha-ha) neo-colonialism and unadulterated intrigue (but hardly any women)--we wonder if the "little guy" in all of us will stand up to wrong and cry out in a cartoon bubble, like Tintin's uber-"British" seafaring saltydog Captain Haddock, "Bashi Bazouks!"
Here's hoping that the "surreal" Hollywood film, which Hergé's wife Fanny helped negotiate, doesn't negate our subconscious myths and isn't an egregious flop.

--John M. Edwards, New York, 2011

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Bio: John M. Edwards has traveled worldwidely (five continents plus), with stunts ranging from surviving a ferry sinking off Siam to being stuck in a military coup in Fiji. After graduating from Tulane University, he worked as an editor at Pocket Books and as a copyeditor at Emerging Markets, covering IMF/World Bank annual meetings overseas. His work has appeared in Amazon.com, CNN Traveller, Missouri Review, Salon.com, Grand Tour, Islands, Escape, Endless Vacation, Condé Nast Traveler, International Living, Emerging Markets, InTravel, Xtreme Travel Stories, Traveling Stories, Amazing Travel Stories, International Business Times, Literal Latté, Coffee Journal, Lilliput Review, Poetry Motel, Artdirect, Mango, Mabuhay, Verge, Slab, Stellar, Trips, Travelmag, Big World, Vagabondish, Glimpse, Go World Travel, Eclectica, The Expeditioner, Trazzler, Danse Macabre, Essays & Fictions, Smoking Poet, Europe Revisited, BootsnAll, Hack Writers, Road Junky, Richmond Review, Adventure Journey, DVD Express, Borderlines, ForeWord, Go Nomad, Tulane Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Michigan Quarterly Review, and North American Review. He is the recipient of a NATJA (North American Travel Journalists Association) Award, a TANEC (Transitions Abroad Narrative Essay Contest) Award, a Road Junky Hell Trips Award, a Literal Latté Travel Writing Award, a Bradt Independent on Sunday Award, and three Solas Awards (sponsored by Travelers' Tales). He lives in New York City's "Hell's Kitchen." His future bestsellers, Move and Fluid Borders, remain unpublished. His new work-in-progress, Dubya Dubya Deux, is about a time traveler. He is editor-in-chief of the upcoming annual Rotten Vacations.

I agree with the comments about this book. It's well researched and provides glimpses into the man behind Hergé, Georges Remi. While I somewhat agree that the book does not provide a lot of insight into what made the man tick, I think this is partly a reflection of the subject himself who appeared to be distant and impenetrable. For those not very familiar with the artist, his work during the war years and, particularly, the controversy surrounding the question whether he "collaborated" during the Nazi occupation will be a revelation. I believe this book was shortened somewhat from the French version, which may have played a role.

I think the one shortcoming of this book is the lack of photos or samples of Tintin art. A bit of a major oversight given this is about an artist! I know this is a biography about the man, but a little more insight into what made his work so unique and effective would have enhanced the readers' appreciation and understanding of the artist.

This book is not, as others have noted, about Tintin. It's a book about the man (Georges Remi) who created the character. People who are fascinated by authors and their complexity of people will like this work and get extra insights into the creation of the comic. I found this fascinating.

As a huge lifelong Tintin fan, I eagerly picked up this book, only to be dismayed by a poorly written and apparently hastily put together book. There are some facts presented here, but little engaging biographical structure, little color, and very few first hand accounts or quotes. The reader is never immersed in the life as happens with the best biographical writing. The author does not have a clear position on Hergé - not a simple subject, but one he committed to take on. The result is neither a full human portrait, nor an adequate examination of an author/artist through his work or vice-versa. There are factual errors relating to the actual books - which Tintin fans who have read them all 100 times and probably have the books handy to reference are sure to recognize - and these throw the author's reliability further into question. I do know a little more about Hergé and his life's context than I did before I read it, but this was a highly unsatisfying read.