Tintin Forums

A two-day international conference celebrating Tintin and Hergé will be held at Leeds Beckett University, on the 13th and 14th June, 2018.
It is being organised by Leeds Beckett's Northern Film School and Leeds Art Research Centre, and will discuss Tintin's popularity, the relationship between Tintin and Hergé, and such areas as friendship, audience appreciation, masculinity, sexuality, and legacy.

Senior Lecturer in the Northern Film School, Dr Steve Gerrard, is leading the conference.

Dr Gerrard said: "Hergé is the founding father of the modern comic. His masterpiece Tintin remains one of the most enduring, popular and enthralling creations of 20th Century literature.

"Adored and read by millions, the 24 adventures sees the ginger-quiffed boy reporter and his trusty dog Snowy battle despots, topple regimes, dive under the sea and even journey to the moon."

Keynote speakers will be world-renowned Tintinologist, Michael Farr and Professor Laurence Grove of Glasgow University, producer of a new documentary about the Tintin adventure, The Black Island.

The conference organisers are pleased to invite you to submit abstracts, panel proposals, plus a minibiography of approximately 100 words. Please supply your academic affiliation (if applicable) and relevant contact details.

Themes can include but are not limited to:

Nostalgia
Fandom
Sexuality
Gender identity
Science in Tintin
The politics of Hergé and Tintin
The Tintin Shop
Tintin outside the comic
Branding Tintin
Historical perspectives
Envisaging characters in different media
Biographies, autobiographies, histories
Architecture
The Hergé Museum
Hergé's other characters

For further conference information and to book your place visit our university online conference store.

Full Press Release here.

Please submit your abstract no later than 31st April 2018 to: S.D.Gerrard@leedsbeckett.ac.uk

I booked my delegate place a few days after this conference was announced and I'm looking really forward to it! It'll be great to be amongst people with a like minded interest.

Hello all, long time no talk!

I was meaning to do a brief write up after the Tintin Conference in June but, alas, I never got round to it. So, upon request by jock123, here I am writing one now. I can't believe it's already been 2 months since the conference: how time flies.

I attended the conference with my friend Cara, another Tintin fan, though we did not present any studies ourselves. Upon arriving at the Rose Bowl on the Leeds Beckett campus on the first day, we collected a lovely Tintin tote bag full of goodies as well as a certificate of attendance! Goodies included a booklet by Dr Steven Gerrard, a book panel sleeve (mine was Flight 714) and some Wallonia tourism books.

We met Michael Farr, a delightful chatterbox with endless knowledge about Herge and the series, and several other Tintin fans including the lecturers hosting the conference. A great deal of business card swapping ensued as most fans in attendance were academics, fancy that. The group consisted of maybe 10 - 20 people both days, a nice size for easy networking. Everyone was very friendly and endlessly asking each other questions ("How did you get into Tintin?" "Are you studying at the moment?" "What's your favourite story?" etc). Later that evening, most of us attended a dinner at a local restaurant where we talked even more!

The presentations both days were also very good. There was a wide range of topics being discussed from the themes of police imprisonment to to mysticism surrounding Tintin in Tibet, politics (my favourite), the layout of Marlinspike Hall and more. There was a chance to ask questions after every panel was finished. I jumped at the chance to ask Michael Farr his thoughts on Belvision's Tintin and the Lake of Sharks after his keynote presentation. To which he said Herge had no kind words about it as didn't he.

Overall, the Tintin conference was wonderful and it certainly inspired me to think about presenting my own study on a Tintin subject at hopefully its second iteration next year. I hope more Tintin fans come to the conference too, I heavily recommend it if you're one for studying the series.

p.s. Michael Farr confirmed Herge saw Captain Haddock as being English, so we can put that Nationality topic to rest!

Thank you for doing that, idirosyncratic! Sorry for twisting your arm (even if only gently!), but I appreciate the fact that we now have a participant's reactions to the event "on the record" as it were.
Sounds like you had a very good time - and I love your capsule biography of Michael as "a delightful chatterbox"!

Thank you for your report, idirosyncratic.


Were either of these subjects discussed and, if so, what were the conclusions?

Thanks for the report!

Hahah, yes. Michael chatted so much with everyone, including myself, and easily went off on tangents even during his own keynote presentation! Bless him though.

Unfortunately, neither of these subjects were presented or brought up during the conference.

At the risk of sounding un-PC, that is actually a bit of a relief.

Could you please tell whether there were any presentations regarding 'Science in Tintin' and whether they were limited to only Calculus' inventions? Was there any discussion about the possibility of his inventions actually taken shape in reality?

Thanks anyway.

I'm sorry, but what Tintin's sexuality and gender identity have to do with the adventures in general?
I'm getting so tried of this topic.

Would it be a bad thing if he gay or was a different gender?

I understand Tintin was made in a time where stuff like that wasn't normal but I get so bother when people ask these questions.

Like what do you think? if Tintin was gay or a different gender it probably would have never been brought out because of the era. Do people even learn about history anymore?

Well at least where I live - I don't know about anyone else.

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