Tintin fever

At the comic book shop the other day I was shocked to find a book called "Tintin and the Alph-Art."  "Alph-Art" was the title of legendary comic book writer Hergé's final Tintin story, incomplete at the time of his death in 1983.  All that existed of "Alph-Art," as I understood it, was a collection notes and scribbles, a rough and unfinished outline and some basic sketches.  I'm happy to say I was misinformed.

In 2004 Tintin publisher Little, Brown released Hergé's lost final adventure.  The story is indeed incomplete, but it's much more cohesive and elaborate than I'd believed.  Accompanied with recently recovered sketches and page breakdowns, this is undeniably a Tintin story.

Needless to say I bought the book and spent the rest of the day pouring over it.  "Alph-Art" has reawakened my love of all things Tintin.  I've since been scouring the internet to find the animated series, and I've also begun rereading some of the earlier Hergé works.

"Alph-Art" has also got me stoked about the Tintin movie currently in the works, "The Adventures of Tintin:  The Secret of the Unicorn."  IMDB lists the film as in post-production, with a release date of... December, 2011.  Which is an absurd amount of time for friggin' post-production!  This one's directe by Steven Spielburg, and the unnamed sequel is apparently going to be directed by Peter Jackson.

Here's a look at some of the cast:

Tintin/Jamie Bell

Captain Haddock/Andy Serkis

Thompson & Thomson/Simon Pegg & Nick Frost

Red Rackham/Daniel Craig

If you've never red Tintin, I can't recommend the series enough.  These were the first comic books I'd ever read as a kid, and they've remained some of my absolute favorites.