Following on from his best-selling Tintin: The Complete Companion, Michael Farr portrays the little-known but fascinating life of Hergé, the remarkable artist behind Tintin, the boy reporter who continues to thrill and delight an ever-widening audience.
In seven separate sketches, he presents his picture of a man whose life is the key to his creation.
A hundred years after his birth Georges Remi, better known as Hergé, is celebrated for creating Tintin, the dauntless young reporter--hero of the strip cartoon he first introduced in 1929.
The Adventures of Tintin remain a constant source of reference throughout this new book, which draws on fresh material ound in the extensive archive held by the Studios Hergé, as well as a series of interviews with those who knew him intimately, friends and colleagues who worked with him.
Generously illustrated, it examines the life and passions of a man who, despite his international fame, preferred to avoid the limelight, finding inspiration in modern art, the latest scientific developments and world affairs, and seeking enlightenment in Zen Buddhism and philosophy.
It considers his role as the European pioneer of the strip cartoon and establishes the pivotal role played by contemporary cinema in his development of it, from the slapstick of the 1920s, through the drama and suspense of the pre-war Hitchcock thrillers, to the early works of Steven Spielberg -- the one filmmaker he believed could successfully bring Tintin to the large screen.
Apart from the strip cartoons that made his name, Hergé was an accomplished graphic designer and typographer and his -- at times -- highly advanced work for advertising is reviewed, as well as his later, less successful, aspirations to become an abstract painter. Not only was he fascinated by modern art, he also became an avid collector.
He greatly admired the pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein——buying major works of theirs——and they in turn paid tribute to him. In this anniversary portrait Michael Farr reveals the artist and complex personality behind Tintin.
