This is a lengthy article about something that has apparently angered Tintin fans. I most assuredly read the entire thing and now wish to report that it is indeed of interest and justifiable in its consumption of column inches, attention, and time. Several elements of the article linked to here are compelling. I also appreciated the use of grammar and punctuation, which were generally above par. Please read for yourself and post a general summary in the comments, so that I might compare it to my own, which I will post after you post yours. Sincerely, George

“Tintin est mort” ran a Liberation head­line on March 4 1983. Georges Remi, better known by his pen-name Hergé, had passed away the day before in Brussels after a long illness. His homeland of Belgium was plunged into national mourning – and not just for its real-life native son. As the headline suggested, Hergé’s death marked the end of Tintin’s adventures, too. Where other illustrators have been happy for their characters to outlive them, drawn by other hands, Hergé had been unambiguous on the matter: no one else would be allowed to draw the cartoon. The 22-book series, which started in 1929 and introduced generations of youngsters to lands as far afield as Tibet and Egypt – all through the eyes of upstanding young reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy – had come to a close.

That’s not to say that its readers faded away. A generation after Hergé’s death, about two million Tintin books are sold every year, comfortably beating all but a few contemporary rivals. That figure will probably jump when the first of a planned trilogy of Tintin films to be directed by Steven ­Spielberg and Peter Jackson comes out next year.

But long-time admirers of Hergé, many of whom knew him personally, are not happy. Many, in fact, are fretting over the way his legacy is being managed. The rumblings have become a long-running saga in Belgium, a country where bande dessinée comic strips remain a popular art form; the movie project will bring it to a global audience.