Tin Tin ~ who who?

Just when you think you know it all ~ or you think you think you should know it all ~ you stumble across something completely new or unexpected. Nothing profound this post ~ just surprised to discover the following.

So there I am lurking around Brussels Midi Station a few weeks ago awaiting the departure of the Euro-star service to England (see London in 3.6 hours). And yes I have plenty of reading material with me but nevertheless it’s always worth a look in the local bookstore to see who is reading what.

Here then is all the standard fare: The Times and Guardian, Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeituig and De Telegraaf, El Pais, Nice Matin and dozens of other titles from around Europe. There is the magazine rack, too, and some novels in different languages.

But wait ~ what’s this? A whole wall of comics. A whole wall ~ the back of the shop ~ covered in comics. From the left side of the shop all the way over to the right side. I take a closer look. Who then is this Tintin?

Some cousin of Rin Tin Tin, the indomitable German Sheppard? ~ there are more people thumbing through Tintin than looking at the papers or magazines. Comics might not be the right word as the booklets are glossy and run to about 60 pages each.

Turns out that Tintin (how have I missed him all these years?) is one of the most popular figures to have been created in the last century. “The Adventures of Tintin” is a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé ~ the pen name of Georges Remi who died in 1983. The hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter and adventurer (hence the interest here in the Brussels train station)? He is assisted in his travels by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy.

Better than the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew? I can’t tell you. Some of the titles are great, though: Tintin in the Congo, King Ottokar’s Sceptre, the Calculus Affair and the Red Sea Sharks.

Apparently there are millions of copies printed around the world.

There you go ~ something new everyday. If I had walked into the Cafe du Gare, there wouldn't have been half the excitment. Time to read this Tintin fellow.