Tintin Forums

I was reading This Thread about Haddock and whether he is annoying. For the record I don't think he is. The next question addressed was, is he essential to the series? Quite!

Can you say the same for the Thompsons? A resounding YES! I for one think their schtick never gets old, and they act as a secondary foil (after Haddock) to Tintin. "Dumb's the word!"

Can you say the same for Castafiore? Is she essential? A resounding MAYBE! (Certainly, we must have a Castafiore in order to have a Castafiore Emerald, so she is essential in that regard.)

And to crown it all, what kind of name is Jolyon Wagg anyway? Who the heck ever named their child Jolyon? I never heard of one!

The boy's name Jolyon \j(o)-lyon, jol-yon\. Variant of Julian (Latin) "young". Literary: Jolyon Forsyte is a character in John Galsworthy's series of novels, "The Forsyte Saga".

I like Wagg. Let me add that I would probably loathe the man in real life, but - this sounds a little strange - I also like seeing The Captain burst a blood vessel and letting fly with a torrent of curses. To this end, Wagg provides the perfect ammunition.

Yes, I think I'd despise him in reality, too! Notice how he's the only member of his HUGE family who ever speaks?

And you've shone a light on the name Jolyon! Now how about "Wagg"? What an odd last name.

I suspect the majority of Jolyons are British.

I started this thread a while back: Jolyon Wagg: a Welshman? Take a look ;-)

And to crown it all, what kind of name is Jolyon Wagg anyway? Who the heck ever named their child Jolyon? I never heard of one!

It's a derivative of 'Julian', apparently. And I have met one...! For the record, its usually pronounced 'Joe-Lyon' (as in the French town), rather than 'Jolly-on' as in the Ellipse-Nelvana series.

Ed

I thank you all greatly for your assistance.

You must know that "Jolyon Wagg" looks very odd to someone from America (me). It was like nothing I had seen before. But now the mystery has been cleared up, like a bad case of acne.

um, this sounds bad, but who is Jolyon Wagg? I do not know this character, perhaps someone knows his name in french? Then perhaps i can give my opinion on whether he is necessary! ;)

Here you go, Isabel. From our very own site:

Wagg is the representative of Rock Bottom Insurance. He bores people with stories about his Uncle Anatole, who is a barber.
For his contribution in toppling General Tapioca in Tintin and the Picaros, Wagg and his Jolly Follies were admitted to the Order of San Fernando by Alcazar.
Wagg's name in French is Séraphin Lampion, and Serafim Svensson in Swedish.

Thanks Ranko; i had the suspicion that it might be him! In which case, i would argue that, yes, Jolyon Wagg *is* annoying, but, not as in he's annoying to the reader, but an annoying character, the same way other characters can be cynical, witty, etc. He is there only to be annoying to the other characters, which is why we can still like him despite his obnoxiousness.