Tintinology (formally Tintin Movie .org) is an independent news and analysis service on the Tintin movie and the works of Herge. (c) Chris Tregenza, Tintinology.poosk.com

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Strange Days at Moulinsart

The blog of Nick Rodwell, head of Moulinsart and owner of the rights to Tintin, has been suspended by the editors of Tintin.com.

Mr Rodwell apparently used the blog to launch a unrestrained attack on certain journalists and newspapers. One French newspaper reporter was described as “The Liar” and described two French and Belgian television reporters as having an “hatred towards me”. The full text of the attack is not available but reports in the Belgium press suggest it also included personal insults and comments about the journalist’s families.

In an announcement on the Tintin.com website there was no apology but “In a spirit of appeasement, we have decided to remove the contested texts and comments”.

It is not clear what sparked the diatribe from Nick Rodwell but he has received a lot of criticism for his tight control over the use of Tintin. He is married to Fanny Vlamynck, the Herge’s second wife and together they have ruled over the world of Tintin. When the Herge museum opened, journalists from all other the world arrived only to find that were not allowed to film inside the building. In the past, Moulinsart has tried to ban work by Danish artist Ole Ahlberg, succeeded in shutting down fan sites and had a very public dispute with Tintin’s publishers, Casterman.

Source: Tintin blog shut down after attack, Nick Rodwell’s blog closed in response to criticism.

UPDATE: Thanks to Mark, who has provided a link to the original text in English. It is a rambling, incoherent and absolutely unjustified invasion into the privacy of the journalists and their children. One can only speculate as to why an a clearly intelligent man would stoop to such attacks but it is clear the Mr Rodwell could do with some time off.

Posted in Herge, Moulinsart

4 Responses to “Strange Days at Moulinsart”

  1. Mark Says:

    You can find a mirror of the complete text here (open and scroll down):

    http://www.stripdatabank.be/stripforum/viewtopic.php?t=10699&start=0

    Then you can read these crude words (for a CEO of Moulinsart, they are obscene and, I think, unacceptable):

    “One of the people who really enjoys trying to destroy me in public is Albert Algoud, who works for anybody. Another is Hugues Dayez who works for RTBF in Belgium, which is the equivalent of the BBC for the Brits. (But isn’t really!)

    So I took the time to study their private lives which would perhaps reveal their hatred towards to me. BINGO! Both go home every evening to be confronted by a child who is autistic. I will allow you the reader to look in LA LAROUSSE to study the definition.
    Once you have understood – it’s not necessary to have read Carl Gustave Jung – what this must be like for a father, your own feelings towards Albert and Hugues turn from anger to compassion. You need to find the time to understand where our journalist “friends” are coming from. If you are passionate for a subject – such as TINTIN – then you wish to share this with your son. When this is impossible then you feel frustrated and someone will be the scapegoat…….”

    August 11th, 2009 at 10:22 am
  2. Mark Says:

    In a 4th blog, Nick Rodwell attacked a female Paris Match-journalist, in a (again) very obscene way with these words:

    “Maybe, your marriage is not what you hoped for………. I thought that you were meant to be writing about a Museum. You tell lies in your article. You invent stories. Maybe, you should go back to school to be re-educated. There was never any possibility that the HERGÉ MUSEUM would land in PARIS. Maybe, you had a sexual problem when you were a young girl. Perhaps, this would explain your strange vision of others.”

    The man lost his mind!

    Mirror of this text to be found here:

    http://www.stripdatabank.be/stripforum/viewtopic.php?t=10699&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

    August 11th, 2009 at 10:27 am
  3. admin Says:

    Thanks Mark – I’ve updated the original post with you link.

    Chris

    August 11th, 2009 at 10:46 am
  4. Sarah Jane Says:

    This is so sad. :( Tintin has always been such an influence in my life. It really hurts me deep down to see this happening.

    August 15th, 2009 at 12:23 am
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