Tintin Creator’s Vinyl Collection and Turntable Set-up at in Brussels

Georges Prosper Remi, known by the pen name Herge, was a Belgian cartoonist. He was also the brains behind the most popular European comic of the 20th century, ‘The Adventures of Tintin’. This comic makes people nostalgic even today and has influenced generations to come that weren't even born during its publication.

By 2007, 200 million copies of the comic were sold in more than 70 languages and it was also adapted in film, theatre, TV and video games.

This story about a Belgian reporter travelling around the world portrayed through an incredibly expressive style of drawing called ‘ligne claire’ (pioneered by Herge) was way ahead of its time. The slapstick comedy touched upon themes of global politics, history, technology and more, each of which were well researched by Herge.

Herge grew up in Brussels during the murky times of World War 1. Ever since childhood, art became a source of escape from the awful reality. He drew scenes from daily life on the edges of his school books. That's how his fondness for drawing began. Although it wasn't the only thing that fascinated him. He was a cinema lover and also enjoyed collecting art, walking in the countryside and gardening as well.

Herge also fancied listening to music and also had strong opinions about it. This love for music is evident through the Tintin comics as well. Although he made quite a lot of references about opera in it, he wasn't a big fan. He found it boring and said that it made him laugh. Something that he did like a lot however was pop and rock music, The Beatles and Pink Floyd were his favourites.
He was also an audiophile and owned an entire record collection and a turntable setup. Both these momentos are now preserved in the ‘Herge Museum’ in Brussels.

This museum is a celebration of his life and art and also a shrine for avid Tintinologists. It's a beautiful piece of modern art that makes you feel like you are in a comic book once you enter it and it's shaped like a ship.The museum also has unfinished pages of early work he did as a typographer and a real life version of the shark submarine.

It is also full of surprises, like who knew the creator of Snowy the dog was actually a cat person!

Also read: Recreating Famous Album Covers with Comic Book Characters