Herge, or Georges Prosper Remi was a Belgian cartoonist that was most famous for creating the classic comics “The Adventures of Tintin”, “Quick and Flupke”, and “The Adventures of Jo, Zette, and Jocko”.
Herge was born to a somewhat average lower class family, and began his career as an illustrator in 1926; contributing to Scouting magazines. Since then, Herge has worked for multiple magazines and published many comics since then.
Most notably, is his work on The Adventures of Tintin. Herge made a precursor to the Tintin comics, calling it “The Adventures of Totor”. Herge would later continue this comic series through another name, and with a different magazine.
Around the time of WWII, Herge was making illustrations for a magazine called “Le Soir”, a magazine controlled by the Nazis. The magazine was shortly shut down due to alleged accusations against the staff and Herge, however this didn’t stop him from discontinuing Tortor. It was around 1946, when Herge and Raymond Leblanc worked together to create Tintin magazine, and renamed the Tortor comic into it’s renowned name “The Adventures of Tintin”.
Although Herge faced many challenges and obstacles during his path as a illustrator and comic artist, Herge’s legacy has been left behind in many European comic artists, and his comic “The Adventures of Tintin” has changed the European comic medium forever.
Herge’s illustrations featuring simple yet likeable characters and designs really capture one of the many essences that are vital to comics today.
Links:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herg%C3%A9
https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/books/23book.html
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