We thank the French friends of this article, interesting and understandable, ironic and suitable for everyone
Bob Garcia, passionate about popular literature, music and comics, is the author of several detective novels and short stories, but also tintinophile studies.
With this new essay, he attempts to measure the place of God in the work of Georges Remi, said Hergé. The Belgian designer comes from a Catholic background and his work reflects this..
On first reading, the character of Tintin is a model of life. He shows kindness, of generosity and compassion on all occasions, he fights against evil, defend the weak, and remain faithful in friendship. Under the influence of his mentor and editor, l'abbé Norbert Wallez, his first Tintin albums (Tintin among the Soviets et Tintin in the Congo) clearly express their Catholic beliefs.
The book reminds us that Franco-Belgian comics from the interwar period are overwhelmingly influenced by Catholicism.. It is all the more natural since it was the Catholic press which was behind the launch of comics in Belgium.. It is notably Father Wallez, press director, who hires Georges Remi, confided to him 1927 the direction of the youth supplement The Little Twentieth and encourages him to create the character of Tintin reporter. And it is this Tintin character who will inspire other cartoonists, like Joseph Gillain, said Jijé, future pillar of the newspaper Spirou. Bob Garcia also recalls the links that, in Belgium, united scouting with Catholicism at the time. And these cartoonists first began to illustrate the publications of their scout unit.
Bob Garcia's book therefore examines the different albums of Hergé, describes what he considers to be religious influences.
The clearest is the list he draws up of covers of the Little Twentieth a you Journal Tintin dedicated to Catholic themes, whether it is the Nativity, the wise men, Saint Nicholas, etc. The same goes for the Christmas greeting cards illustrated by Hergé. Faith is omnipresent.
The author also discusses Hergé's illustrations in religious books but neglects to cite The school war of a certain Léon Degrelle whose name is completely absent from this sympathetic but very incomplete essay.
Tintin, the Devil and the Good Lord, Bob Garcia, Editions Desclée de Brouwer, 248 pages, 17,90 euros
To order online at the publisher's website
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