(c) Richard Wainman

This beautiful but presumably unauthorized christmas image is by artist Richard Wainman. He has several other Tintin related images on his deviantArt gallery, including two Tintin christmas images (Card No 1. and a card for 2006), Thompson, no Thomson, Tintin and Haddock on the Moon and Sir Francis Haddock.

Have a merry christmas everyone.

Time for another flashback to the glory days of home computing and early consoles.

In 1989, French company Infogrames launched Tintin on the Moon for the Atari ST home computer. At the time, the ST was one of the best computers for graphics and sound on the market, making it the perfect platform for a Tintin computer game.

Screenshot (c) Infogrames

Judging from the reviews in “The One”, a magazine from the time, the producers of the game made full use of the computer’s multi-media potential. Unfortunately they failed to make the game interesting to play or long enough to justify the expensive price tag. It earn a rating of just 66%.

(c) The One. Click for large image

Source: Atarimania

See also Retro-Gaming about Tintin in Tibet for the Sega Mega Drive.

This example of unauthorised Tintin comes from a 1990 comic called Inferno by Watson Portello.

I can find nothing about the artist or the comic or why Tintin and Captain Haddock appear to be pilots so please just enjoy this example of Herge’s impact on popular culture.

Source: Royal Boiler

I found this work of genius on Dans la maison des Compagnons Adesso, a French site for fans of bandes dessinées, and particularly Tintin, to produce mock book covers. There seems to be monthly themes and there are hundreds of fake Tintin covers.

This is, of course, a breach of Moulinsart’s intellectual property and I’m including this image to demonstrate the talent and enthusiasm of Tintin fans. One can only wonder what would happen if Moulinsart authorised this sort of activity.

Until Friday only, there is a special Christmas discount on Travels of the Boy Reporter. This one-off offer is limited to our current stock of posters and only available until the end of week otherwise they won’t arrive by Christmas.

Twice the Map!

For this one time offer, you can buy the A2 map for the price of the A3 map.

If you are unfamiliar with the A range of paper sizes, A2 is twice the size of A3. A massive 594mm x 420mm (23.4″ x 16.5″) poster that can take pride of place on any wall.

Free P&P

Because we love Tintin fans the world over, we have dropped the cost of postage and packaging to zero. Nothing. Nil. Not a cent.

So whether you live in Alaska, Antarctica or Azerbaijan, post and packaging is free.

Wrapped for Christmas

Because it is Christmas and we know you will be buying this map for that special Tintin fan in your life (possibly yourself), it needs to be wrapped, ready to go under the Christmas Tree.

Each Tintin map ordered by Friday will be beautifully wrapped in suitable paper, all ready for Christmas day.

One Time Offer

This offer is only available until close of business on the 11th December and stocks are limited.

To order your pre-wrapped, cut-price map with free P&P, visit this page.

(c) Tintinology. Please click for a much larger version

I’m in the process of updating the Travels of a Boy Reporter map showing everywhere Tintin visited in his adventures. The updates are mostly technical and related to ensuring we our printers can produce the sharpest possible images. However this has involved re-entering all the text on the map and that means some typos might of slipped in.

Please examine the map looking for typos, spelling mistakes and other stupid gaffs.

If you find one, please tell me by commenting below. There will a free gift for anyone who finds a new mistake.

Many thanks and watch out for a special last minute Christmas sale in the next few days.

“There will be no cell phones, no TV sets, no modern cars. Just timeless Europe.” – Steven Spielberg

Le Monde magazine interviewed Steven Spielberg about his work on Tintin. The interview was presumably done in English and translated to French for publication and I’m translating it back into English via Google so the wording may not be spot on. However, the meaning is clear, the Tintin movie will not be some hideously re-imagining of Tintin. Spielberg goes on to say.

“Peter Jackson and I have the opportunity to honor the art of Hergé, his tone, his palette, his characters.” He denies [The translation is garbled here, possibly "to amend the famous Tintin tuft"?] He added: “The body language is very important. There is no question of touching it. We religiously respect the art of Hergé.”

From this interview, it certainly sounds like the Tintin movie will stick closely to the classic Tintin look-and-feel though they have previously described it as “film noir”. We may have a better idea in the new year as Peter Jackson has previously indicated that the first images of the CGI will be released in January.

Also due in January is an announcement on Peter Jackson’s choice of books for his film or films. The Seven Crystal Balls and Prisoners of the Sun are widely tipped as favourites.

Source: Steven Spielberg révèle ses secrets pour adapter Tintin au cinéma (via Spielberg, Jackson Talk More “Tintin”).

Of all the places Tintin visited, the one that has faired worst is the Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ever since the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, the DRC has been turmoil, facing invasion and civil war. As ever in these situations, it is the ordinary people who suffer the most.

© Dominic Nahr / Oeil Public – October 2008. People carrying their belongings as they flee one of the refugee camps due to fighting.

The DRC is a huge country with a population of over 65 million, about the same as the UK. It has substantial mineral deposits and has fertile land but it is a victim of its brutal colonial past, of its geography and its troubled neighbors. Despite repeated international efforts, the civil war continues and millions are suffering, particularly in the eastern part of the country.

But there is hope.

© Ryo Kameyama – May 2008, Kisangani. A child receiving treatment at the MSF mobile clinic in Kitchanga.

Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is providing basic medical care and vaccination programs. They are also highlighting the ongoing tragedy in a campaign called Condition Critical.

With wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it is easy to forget the plight of a troubled African country. You can help by raising awareness of this terrible situation. Email your friends about Condition Critical, update your Facebook status or tweet about the amazing work Médecins Sans Frontières are doing in this forgotten conflict.

Don’t let the deaths and suffering of millions of people go unnoticed.