On the blog of Pierre Assouline (author of Herge: The Man who Created Tintin) there is news of Moulinsart using their legal muscle to push a small publisher to bankruptcy.

As everything is in French and I’m relying on a Google Translation, I cannot sure of the facts of the case. What appears to have happened is that Bob Garcia, writer and Jazz Musician, published some work that included images of copyright images of Tintin. Moulinsart sued and initially lost but won on appeal.

Without seeing the work concerned, it is impossible to see whether this action is justified. But the Nick Rodwell and the company have a track record of heavily enforcing their copyright and trying to go beyond what they are legally entitled to (see Bad Press for Moulinsart, Moulinsart Washing Dirty Laundry in Public, Fan Site Killed by Legal Threats and Moulinsart Versus Art).

Source: Moulinsart l’a tué, presque

This week it was a Congolese accountant suing Moulinsart over the racist images in Tintin in the Congo. Last week it was Brooklyn Library’s decision to lock the book up. Before that is was the British Commission for Racial Equality who attacked the book.

With a high profile film on the way, Moulinsart must be wondering what to do about this never ending stream of bad publicity. There is a very real danger that Herge’s name and reputation will become tarnished by this 80 year old comic but their options are limited and none of them are ideal.

Publish and be Dammed

Ignoring the fuss and sticking to the line that Tintin Au Congo is a work of a young writer living in a very different time is certainly the most honest and intellectually sound idea but it all to easily could look like they are condoning racism.

The investors in the movie will be nervous about how this will play in America. At the moment, Tintin is almost unknown so no one really cares but in 18 months time, it will be a different story. Images of black protestors outside of cinemas would critically damage the film in the race conscious USA. With a reported $130 million invested we can be sure that the studios executives will be on the phone to the head of Moulinsart, Nick Rodwell, demanding that something is done.

Bury It

The simplest option is for Moulinsart to make an announcement saying that the book is out-dated and to stop publishing the book, removing all traces of it from their product line. Rather like the victim of a Stalinist purge, Tintin Au Congo will be airbrushed out of the official history, leaving behind an idealised image of Herge and his creation for public consumption. Certainly, real Tintin fans would know about the book and rumours would circulate in the general public but the charges of racism would be effectively blunted.

To an extent this has been done already, with its withdrawal from the US market but in order silence the critics, they need to withdraw it all languages and all editions, including the facsimile editions. This approach is the easiest option and will cost the company relatively little in lost sales.

The Sacred Cow

Herge left strict instructions that no one else should write or draw Tintin after his death and Moulinsart have devoutly stuck to this. The temptation of the millions a new Tintin book could make has been suppressed by the overwhelming desire to protect Herge’s legacy and honour his life work. But can this commitment stand up to the pressure of public opinion and the demands of studio executives? Would Moulinsart release a modified, updated version of Tintin in the Congo?

This would be a major step for Moulinsart and one that may open the floodgates to new Tintin material but it would have a number of advantages. It tackles the accusation of racism without creating the skeleton in the closet that simply burying the book might create. It would be profitable as well as millions of Tintin fans buy the new edition and it generates a huge amount of positive publicity.

No Right Answer

Each of these potential solutions create their own problems and picking between them is no easy task but it seem unlikely that doing nothing is a viable option. A constant stream of Tintin is Racist headlines will damage Herge’s reputation and the prospects for the film.

Personally I think they should publish and be dammed. Herge’ life story is complex but overall it is a positive one. Trying to hide or deny Europe’s colonial and racist past helps nobody in the long run. Tintin exemplified the boy scout idea of being honest and doing the right thing. Let’s be honest about Tintin’s past.

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.

This pile of Swedish Tintin covers is just a small part of a collection of Tintin covers from around the world on a dutch website: gill4kleuren.nl.

The best part of the site is the Language page with links to images of Tintin cover art in about 30 different languages such as this one of Tintin in Tibet in tibetan.

Further to our reports yesterday Bad Press for Moulinsart it seems that Moulinsart (holds of the Tintin copyright) are in dispute with Casterman (Tintin’s publishers). Via a magazine interview, Moulinsart have announced they are setting their lawyers on the problem. A long and costly courtroom battle looks likely.

Combined with attacks on fan groups, this looks like Moulinsart getting organised ahead of the sales bonanza that will surround the release of the film. A box office smash will generate hundreds of millions of dollars of merchandise and book sales and a significant slice of it will go straight into Moulinsart pocket. Even a poor box office performance will generate a lot of sales of the books as old fans are reminded of Tintin and seek to complete their collections.

This is shrewd business by Moulinsart. If they can increase their earnings from Herge’s creation by just 0.5% by these legal maneuverings they will be tens of millions of dollars better off.

Source: Tintinologist (via The Tintin Blog)

Tintin fan site Objectif Tintin is shutting down tomorrow after Moulinsart sent legal threats over its use of Herge’s art in its logo and other places. Under Belgian law, such usage is legal but Moulinsart is throwing its muscle around more and more. Presumably it wants tight control over Tintin in anticipation of millions of new fans, and dollars, the Tintin movies will bring in.

Source: Tintin site decides to close up shop

The Danish artist, Ole Ahlberg, was sued by Moulinsart (Tintin’s copyright holders), for using images of Tintin and the Thompson Twins in his art. They lost.

This dates back to 2001, when the artist was opening a show of his art in Brussels with the wife of the Danish prime minister when Moulinsart’s lawyers demanded the offending images be removed. Ahlberg refused and the case went to court where the Judge found in the artists favour on the grounds that parody is allowable under Belgian and international copyright law.

An example of Ole Ahlberg’s work is below and his online gallery is here.

Source: Forbidden Planet