Tintin and I

PBS' series P.O.V. is premiering a documentary film about Tintin creator Hergé tomorrow night, Tintin and I. How come I just found about this? The web site has some nice bonus content, including some interviews with contemporary cartoonists about Hergé's influence. They should have talked to my good friend Jason Little!

I was reading Tintin before I could even read -- my Mom bought me and my siblings a batch of them while we were traveling through India in the summer of 1976. And we all got hooked.

I taught a Tintin class at Oberlin College's Experimental College in 1990. I personally consider Tintin to be a huge influence on my life, work, etc. -- he's the embodiment of a spirit of adventure! And he had a cute dog, to boot.

I still ponder why Tintin was never popular in the U.S. (as opposed to everywhere else on the globe). I call it the "World Cup Syndrome"!