In appreciation of Tintin

It has been said that Belgium has three great exports: beer, chocolate and the comic-strip character Tintin. With the American release next month of The Adventures of Tintin, a 3D film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson, this is a perfect time to take a look at the work of the late Belgian cartoonist Hergé (real name: Georges Prosper Remi), who died in 1983. In an essay published recently, The Wall Street Journal provides an appreciative and thorough overview of the Tintin phenomenon, which is more widespread in Europe than here in the United States, where Tintin is not as well-known.