Insight into the Literary Sources of Tintin: From Novels to Comics

Abstract

Certainly, Hergé drew from many different sources when creating the Tintin comic book series, all of which are very different in nature. Here, we will focus on the books Hergé read during his childhood and adolescence, in particular the adventure novels, from which he undoubtedly used to develop his plots, situations, and characters. However, too much emphasis has been placed on Jules Verne's influence on Hergé, even though he has always denied this. In our opinion, influence is to be sought rather in another author, Paul d'Ivoi, whose light-hearted, fast, and graphic style was halfway between Verne and the comic that Hergé would later create and, in particular, from Les cinq sous de Lavarède, which must have been among the books he read. In fact, this novel is an imitation of Le Tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours. It is indeed difficult to distinguish Hergé's ideas from those of his collaborators, whom he used very early on, but nonetheless, they must be taken into account as sources of inspiration for Tintin.