Tintin Forums

How is the popularity of Tintin in India?

I think most of my friends lack interest in it.

Are you not from India?? Well it’s pretty popular here…
That’s what I can say, being an Indian…
I’m definitely a fan of this cool character from “Belgique”…

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The Happy Tintinologist Team

I think Tintin is quite popular in India despite the prevalence of Manga, DC & Marvel comics. But I fear that the emergence of cartoons such as South Park, Spongebob etc. will consign Tintin to oblivion.

If people had any taste it would South Park and Spongebob that would be consigned to oblivion - in fact they would never have been made in the first place.

I can’t see how you can pick on specific targets like that, especially as they don’t have the same demographic. They also aren’t that new, having been around since 1997 (South Park) and 1999 (SpongeBob), so any damage would have been done by now, surely?

Plus, if you look at the decline of local BD in the Francophone world, as well as Western comics in Europe and the U.S., it’s Manga which has encroached on the market, so it’s difficult to see why it wouldn’t be the same in India too.

However, comic sales seem to be down globally whatever the style.

The biggest threat to comics isn’t other comics or cartoons but video-games; it’s these which are taking the money from the people who used to buy comics.


That’s getting a little close to flame-baiting - as has been said many times on here, people are entitled to like what they like, but just because you don’t like something, there’s no need to slam those who do.
By all means express why you don’t like something, but please don’t just brand a sector of the readership as tasteless because they have different taste.

I am an Indian living in the U.S., so I assume I am not the best of judges. My parents told me they had read Tintin as children, and in fact, they discussed whether Tintin was as big in India now as it was in their time. I know that it is bigger in India than in the U.S. When I went to a bookstore in Bangalore, I found a whole shelf dedicated to Tintin. In the U.S., the best you can find is online. I still think that Tintin is fairly popular in India.

From what I understand as another person of Indian descent living in the US, Tintin is still extremely popular in India--I know I bought most of my Tintin books over there.

In fact, even though the movie was released in India more than a month before the US, I ended up seeing it before my cousin in Chennai did because the theatres were so packed in Chennai, every time she tried to buy a ticket, they were sold out. So yes, I would say Tintin is still doing very well over there!

Well, Tintin is popular here, and his popularity increased after the 3D animated Speilberg movie came out here. But there are still many whom you'll find never to have even heard of Tintin's name. I don't know why, but living in Calcutta, I find many, who, without even reading the comics say that its just for kids. And some of the kids say that they are not interested in Tintin, though I don't know why, and I never will be able to understand. I guess everyone's tastes don't match. But on the whole, Tintin is popular here. Though of all the miseries, we have no Tintin Shop here. Hope someone will think of that soon.

Tintin is insanely popular in West Bengal (where I come from). That's where Tintin was first brought to India, in fact. You've probably never met a Bengali who hasn't at least heard of the books.

I am a 10 year-old Indian girl living in Kolkata and I don't think that Tintin is that popular here, and I am the only Tintin-head among my friends.