Tintin Is Europe's Best Loved Cartoon Character

Tintin merchandise is still very popular around the world. There are still over two million books sold annually worldwide. The total number of books sold since Remi created Tintin is estimated at 200 million books with four in ten homes in France owning at least one Tintin comic adventure. The common misconception is that Tintin is French but this is not true as he is actually Belgium like his creator Herge. He is considered a national treasure in his homeland.

Tintin has been translated into over 60 languages and in China alone sales are in excess of 600,000 per year. There are many reasons for the popularity of Tintin merchandise. The ligne claire style has captured the imagination over people since the late 1940's when Remi developed the style. It has influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein who cited the ligne claire illustrations of Remi as the influence behind the pop-art scene. It is these simple clear lines of the drawings that seems to attract people to the book initially and then when they start to read the adventures themselves they become hooked.

The Tintin comic adventures are very straightforward in their inception. Tintin generally discovers there is something wrong and goes after the bad guys. He is a simple heroic character and that seems to be his appeal.

The Tintin world and Tintin merchandise is going to see a revival in the coming years with a trilogy of Tintin movies to be released. The first one is scheduled for release in 2009. What all the fuss is about? Tintin is easy to like and a simple character that everyone can connect with and understand. Tintin reminds us of our innocent childhood. The Tintin name is not recognized in America due to the fact Mickey Mouse was introduced to the world just a few months before Tintin the Belgium boy detective was first seen in Europe in the early 1930's. This will change when the film are released. Tintin is going to be popular around the world and may challenge Harry Potter in 2009.

There are 23 Tintin albums in total and have been entertaining young boys and older people of all ages for over 70 years. The release of the films will hopefully increase the awareness of Tintin so he can proudly take stage where he belongs among the cartoon greats. The Tintin forums are already awash with gossip about who is to play the different characters and the rumour mill looks to run for a long time yet.

Source: http://www.articlecafe.net/Article/Tintin-Is-Europe-s-Best-Loved-Cartoon-Character/71276
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