1 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,040 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,000 Speaker 2: Guess what I gave? What's that Mango? 4 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: It is part two of our Tintin Extravaganza, So if 5 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: you miss part one, go check it out and come 6 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:33,720 Speaker 1: back to this one when you're up to speed on 7 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:34,200 Speaker 1: the story. 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:37,199 Speaker 3: I stayed up way past my bedtime last night studying 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:42,479 Speaker 3: all things Captain Haddeck, Professor Calculus, and Bianca Castifiore in 10 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 3: preparation for this one. 11 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 2: I am ready. 12 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: I love Professor Calculus. He is such a fun character. 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,360 Speaker 1: Did you know he was modeled after a real person, 14 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: Professor Auguste Picard. 15 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 3: I did not know that. Who's Professor Picard? 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,160 Speaker 1: He was an interesting guy. He was the first person 17 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: to enter Earth's stratosphere and he was also the inventor 18 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: of the deep sea observation vessel. It's called the Bathoscaff, 19 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: but more importantly for Tinton purposes, he also had a 20 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: unique hairstyle. He was balding on top and he had 21 00:01:11,319 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: long and curly hair on the sides and air j 22 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: would see him walking around the streets of Brussels and 23 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 1: he kind of got inspired. 24 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 3: I love all these real world connections, and Airjay's were 25 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 3: like Thompson and Thompson, the hapless nearly identical detectives. They 26 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 3: were said to be inspired by air Jay's father, Alexi 27 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:29,639 Speaker 3: and his twin brother Leon. 28 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, of the unknown parentage we discussed, right, Yeah, that's 29 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 1: a Part one reference in case you're wondering, so seriously, though, 30 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,640 Speaker 1: go listen to part one if you haven't, But back 31 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: to Thompson and Thompson. 32 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 3: As you know, Mango, they wear matching black suits and 33 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:47,360 Speaker 3: bowler hats, carry matching canes, and have matching bushy mustaches. 34 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 3: I read that when Airjay was growing up, his dad 35 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,480 Speaker 3: and uncle would often go on walks together, wearing identical hats, 36 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 3: carrying identical canes, black umbrellas, and with the same facial hair. 37 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,600 Speaker 3: I know he said his childhood was gray and boring, 38 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 3: but these people sound pretty interesting to me. 39 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, they sound like characters. And one of my favorite 40 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: things about Thompson and Thompson that's spelled with and without 41 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: a P, is that their names actually change in other languages. 42 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 1: So their original names in French are DuPont and DuPont 43 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: with a T and D, but pronounced identically in German, 44 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: it's Schultz and Schultz. In Spanish, it's Ernandez and Fernandez. 45 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: In Arabic it's tick and talk. But my personal favorite, however, 46 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: is Icelandic, where they are known as Scoffti and Scoffty. 47 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: And apologies to any Icelandic listeners out there and also 48 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:41,080 Speaker 1: speakers of other languages. I'm sure I did not do 49 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,000 Speaker 1: your languages justice. 50 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:45,919 Speaker 3: I wonder how you say I'm sorry in Icelandic French. 51 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 2: That's a good question. Yeah, well, Mengo. 52 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 3: As fascinating as these secondary characters are, let's return them 53 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 3: to the background for now, because in today's final installment 54 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 3: of our Tintin Adventure, we're talking comic book controversies, Tintin's 55 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 3: arrival in the US, and some unbelievable true stories about 56 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 3: modern Tintin adaptations. So let's dive in. 57 00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:29,320 Speaker 1: Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to part time Genius. I'm Mongish, 58 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: hearticular as always, I'm here with my good friend Gabe 59 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: Lucier today because Will Pearson is off and traveling and 60 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: enjoying the world tinton style. Also our pal and producer 61 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: Dylan Fagan. He left as a note saying he'd gone 62 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: adventuring with his faithful dog I didn't even know Dylan 63 00:03:46,520 --> 00:03:47,040 Speaker 1: had a dog. 64 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, apparently he does. It's news to me, but good news. Actually, 65 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:56,600 Speaker 3: a postcard just arrived. It says, dear Gabe and Mango, 66 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 3: having a great time on my adventures. Next stop, Sildavia. 67 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 3: Oh love Dylan. 68 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:05,120 Speaker 2: Sildavi? Where is a come on? 69 00:04:05,160 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 3: You remember? It's a fictional country and the Balkans that 70 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 3: appears in a couple of Tintin books. In one book, 71 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 3: Tinton goes there to stop a plot to overthrow the king, 72 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,800 Speaker 3: and another he learns that the Sildavian government is planning 73 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 3: a mission to the Moon. 74 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 2: I vaguely remember that. 75 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: And Sildavia really feels like a vibe. 76 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:26,960 Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, maybe more of a state of mind. But 77 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 3: that's a great tourism slogan for a fictional country. It's 78 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 3: a vibe. 79 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,320 Speaker 2: But are Mango? 80 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:35,400 Speaker 3: I meant to ask you this last week and I 81 00:04:35,440 --> 00:04:38,119 Speaker 3: totally forgot. What would you say is your all time 82 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,280 Speaker 3: favorite Tintin book? I think it's got to be The 83 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 3: Blue Lotus or the Tintin and Tibet. I actually really 84 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:46,479 Speaker 3: fell in love with tint and Tibet when I was 85 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 3: studying a broad in Tibet, because I read it to 86 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 3: Tibetan's to hear how they saw the misconceptions about the 87 00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 3: culture or and people were just so appreciative of it, 88 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,479 Speaker 3: you know, they really loved it. There were modern Belgian 89 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,920 Speaker 3: comics that were coming out that exoticized Tibet did such 90 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 3: little research and Airjay was so accurate for someone who 91 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:08,680 Speaker 3: never visited, and so I have a fondness for that story. 92 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:09,240 Speaker 3: That makes sense. 93 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, So we talked about this in the last episode. 94 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,280 Speaker 1: The character obviously has a massive global appeal, but in 95 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: the US it's a little different. The books were never 96 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:19,920 Speaker 1: quite successful here as they were in the rest of 97 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: their world. The first tinton comics were published in Belgium 98 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty nine, and the first book, Tintin in 99 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,120 Speaker 1: the Land of Soviets, came out in nineteen thirty, but 100 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,720 Speaker 1: there were actually no English language editions of Tintin until 101 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two, and those were published in the UK, 102 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: So the books weren't published in America until late nineteen 103 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: fifty nine. And just as an interesting side note, at 104 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: the time, the US had this really negative image of 105 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: comic books. Conservatives thought that they kept kids from reading 106 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: proper books, and in nineteen fifty five, New York State 107 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: actually passed the law banning comics. 108 00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, that does sound like something conservatives in the nineteen 109 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:58,000 Speaker 3: fifties would do. 110 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, I mean, the New York legislator believed that 111 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: so called crime comics were quote a contributing factor leading 112 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: to juvenile delinquency, and they banned comics that had words 113 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 1: like horror, terror, or crime in the title or anything 114 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: that talked about that kind of thing, which in practice 115 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: outlawed most comics, except you know, the really tame ones 116 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: like Archie or Tinton, both of actually which made their 117 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: ways to India. But back to Tinton's arrival state side, 118 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: it was actually Golden Press, the publisher of Little Golden Books, 119 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: who first brought Tintin to the US. 120 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 4: I don't know if you remember those. 121 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, of course, those kids books about being good 122 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 3: and working hard or whatever, all the you know, life 123 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,240 Speaker 3: lessons and moral stuff like a little red hen, a 124 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 3: little engine that could a lot of little things, you know, 125 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 3: Given Tintin's roots in boy scout morality, that makes a 126 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 3: lot of sense. 127 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,919 Speaker 1: Yeah, But believe it or not, even Tinton had to 128 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:50,919 Speaker 1: make changes for the Puritans in America. For example, Golden 129 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,599 Speaker 1: Press asked AIRJ to replace a couple of drawings where 130 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,239 Speaker 1: Captain Haddock was drinking straight from the bottle, because they said, quote, 131 00:06:57,279 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: the presentation of alcoholism, especially in humors form, is absolutely taboo. 132 00:07:02,360 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 1: They also didn't want any scenes where black characters and 133 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,599 Speaker 1: white characters appeared together, which is, you know, hard to 134 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: hear now. But this was just a couple of years 135 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,080 Speaker 1: after Brown versus Board of Education, and the country was 136 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: still very, very publicly segregated. So HAIRJ ended up redrawing 137 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: several panels in order to get the books published here. 138 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 3: So when Tintin finally came to America, was it a 139 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 3: big hit like it had been in Europe. 140 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: No. Sales were pretty terrible initially, probably because parents still 141 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:33,239 Speaker 1: didn't trust comic books, but over time he slowly gained readers, 142 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: and by the early seventies Tintin was relatively popular. And 143 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: that brings us back to the incredible story we told 144 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 1: last time about Jay's trip to New York in nineteen 145 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 1: seventy two, and that's when he ended up meeting Andy Warhol. 146 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 1: He'd been invited to attend a comic strip convention, but 147 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,040 Speaker 1: by that point he was so famous he got to 148 00:07:50,080 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: do a bunch of other things too, like he hung 149 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 1: out at the factory. He presented the then mayor John 150 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: Lindsay with the poster sized drawing of Tintin visiting the city, 151 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: and it was titled Stars and Comic Strips. 152 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 4: Nice. 153 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, quite got some love here. And if there's one 154 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,640 Speaker 3: thing we've discovered about Airj though, it's that he's every 155 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,440 Speaker 3: bit as controversial as he is popular. We talked last 156 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:16,160 Speaker 3: episode about the use of racial stereotypes in his work, 157 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 3: but there's also a troubling question looming over the artist himself. 158 00:08:20,200 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 3: Did he side with the Nazis during World War Two? 159 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's obviously not a great look when people can't 160 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,240 Speaker 1: rule that out about you. But if you were to 161 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: ask Airja supporters, they'd likely point you to this one 162 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:35,600 Speaker 1: adventure it's called King Otakar's Scepter, for proof that the 163 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: artist was not sympathetic to the Nazis. 164 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 3: Do you buy it? Like, is it convincing to you 165 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 3: as proof? 166 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:44,680 Speaker 1: I mean, there's definitely an anti Nazi agenda in the books. 167 00:08:45,320 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 1: In the comic, Tinton travels to this made up country 168 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: that you mentioned, Psiladavia. The villain is a guy named 169 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 1: Mustlaire from a country called Borduria. And obviously Tintonologists, who 170 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: I have to note are not super critical of Airja, 171 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 1: says Borduria represents Nazi Germany. The plot is that Mussler, 172 00:09:05,559 --> 00:09:08,160 Speaker 1: who's a combination of Mussolini and Hitler, is trying to 173 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,800 Speaker 1: get Bordouria to take over Sildavia, and Tinton, of course, 174 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: is the hero who thwarts that plan. Now, King Ottocarceptra 175 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:17,679 Speaker 1: came out in nineteen thirty eight and thirty nine, right 176 00:09:17,800 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: after Germany annexed Austria, so the comparison does seem pretty clear. 177 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: And it's fair to say that Je didn't seem like 178 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,839 Speaker 1: a fan of a country taking over other countries, and 179 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,640 Speaker 1: the epitome of who was doing this at the time 180 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: was Nazi Germany. 181 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:33,599 Speaker 3: Well, that does make sense. But if we want to 182 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 3: get the clearest sense of where Erje you really stood 183 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,160 Speaker 3: on all of this, we probably shouldn't look at just 184 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,719 Speaker 3: what he wrote and drew in his books. We've got 185 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:43,320 Speaker 3: to look at what he did in his own life. Right. 186 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:48,000 Speaker 3: So in May nineteen forty, after Germany invaded Belgium, Airje, 187 00:09:48,320 --> 00:09:51,720 Speaker 3: his wife, and his Siamese cat all escaped to France 188 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:54,840 Speaker 3: along with about a million other people. But later that 189 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 3: same month, the King of Belgium, Leopold the Third, surrendered 190 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,319 Speaker 3: to Germany and the king asked his compatriots to return home. 191 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,200 Speaker 3: So Airje was a big supporter of the king and 192 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 3: loyal to his country. And six weeks after he left 193 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 3: he came back. 194 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:11,680 Speaker 1: And I'm guessing he returned to a very different country. 195 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:12,480 Speaker 4: Yeah. 196 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,360 Speaker 3: Absolutely. For one thing, his old newspaper, the Catholic newspaper 197 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,840 Speaker 3: he'd been working at, Levonte Mciekla, it had been closed 198 00:10:19,880 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 3: by the Nazis. A lot of other papers opted to 199 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 3: shut down rather than run, and you know, have to 200 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 3: support Nazi propaganda, as you know, collaborationists. There were also 201 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 3: journalists who chose to quit so they didn't have to 202 00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,600 Speaker 3: work under Nazis. But one that stayed open was Le Soois, 203 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,679 Speaker 3: one of the big daily papers. It was run by 204 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:43,559 Speaker 3: Belgian Nazi collaborationists and censored by the Germans, so definitely 205 00:10:43,559 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 3: pro Nazi, right. And when Airje got back to Brussels, 206 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,480 Speaker 3: the editor of Larsois asked him to come aboard. 207 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: So do we get the impression that this is a 208 00:10:51,640 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: difficult decision for Je. 209 00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 3: Not at all, It seems like it was pretty straightforward. 210 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,480 Speaker 3: He claimed he wasn't really thinking about politics. He just 211 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 3: needed them money, and he also needed a place for Tintin. 212 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 3: In his view, he'd worked hard to get tintinto where 213 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 3: it was and he didn't want to give that up. Plus, 214 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 3: Larsoise still had a really large readership, much larger than 215 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,559 Speaker 3: the other paper he'd been working on, So he was 216 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 3: basically like, why let a war get in the way 217 00:11:16,960 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 3: of all the work I've done? 218 00:11:18,679 --> 00:11:21,679 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, in my research I read that when 219 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: he was asked about this later in his life, his 220 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,439 Speaker 1: rationalization was that it. 221 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 4: Was just a job. 222 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 1: He says, quote, I was just working like how a 223 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:30,840 Speaker 1: baker or a minor works. He also said that he 224 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:33,040 Speaker 1: didn't expect the occupation to last very long, that he 225 00:11:33,160 --> 00:11:36,360 Speaker 1: viewed his time at Lesois as a temporary assignment basically, 226 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: but he actually wound up working there for four years. 227 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, it sounds to me like he was being a little, 228 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 3: you know, willfully naive and kind of burying his head 229 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 3: in the sand, and he may be wondering what was 230 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 3: his time at Lasois really like? And did he ever 231 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:51,560 Speaker 3: pay a price for all that fence sitting? And we 232 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:53,280 Speaker 3: got the answers, and we're going to tell you all 233 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 3: about it after we take a quick break. 234 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 2: Welcome back to Part Time Genius. 235 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: It's part two of our conversation about Tintin and the brilliant, 236 00:12:13,840 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: controversial author Airja. When we left off, Airja had just 237 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: taken a job at the Nazi collaborationist paper Lessois. So Gabe, 238 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 1: tell me what happens next. 239 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:28,439 Speaker 3: Well, as you might guess, j kept drawing comics, and 240 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 3: the Tintin stories that came out during these years weren't 241 00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 3: suddenly repeating Nazi propaganda or anything like that, but they 242 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,720 Speaker 3: weren't really pushing back against it either. They were almost 243 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:42,679 Speaker 3: a political j claimed he was uninterested in politics, and 244 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,679 Speaker 3: you know, he wanted to keep Tintin out of what 245 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 3: he thought was the mess of World War two. But 246 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 3: looking back, you can't help but wonder how could someone 247 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:54,760 Speaker 3: stay apolitical when all of these atrocities were happening right 248 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 3: in front of them. 249 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, and in fact, the Airja biographer Pierre Asline called 250 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:05,280 Speaker 1: Airja's fence sitting around this quote willfully obtuse, which I 251 00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:08,559 Speaker 1: think is a fair assessment. Airj has definitely seemed happy 252 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: to ignore what was going on. In the world and 253 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: what it meant to work at a collaborationist newspaper. And 254 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:16,320 Speaker 1: even if he professed that he was political, for many 255 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: people this choice was political, right, It's a political act. 256 00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: Other Belgians chose not to work at collaborationist papers, so 257 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 1: for a lot of folks, the decision to work there 258 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 1: kind of left this real stain on his legacy. 259 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,080 Speaker 3: Yeah, today and back then at the time too. That 260 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,760 Speaker 3: was the case. After Belgium was liberated in nineteen forty four, 261 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,679 Speaker 3: the entire staff at Larssois was fired and anyone who'd 262 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,880 Speaker 3: worked there under the Nazi occupation was banned from working 263 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,880 Speaker 3: all together, and a lot of people were arrested, including Airja. 264 00:13:45,040 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 3: But even that doesn't seem to change his view on 265 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,840 Speaker 3: his decision to work at Lesois. His attitude seemed to 266 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,240 Speaker 3: be more stunned than anything. You mean, stunned that he'd 267 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,840 Speaker 3: be punished for his actions or yeah, I mean, he 268 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:59,480 Speaker 3: never seemed to understand why anyone would think what he 269 00:13:59,559 --> 00:14:02,000 Speaker 3: did was wrong. He thought everyone was overreacting. 270 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,520 Speaker 1: He kind of has this approach earlier, right, like he 271 00:14:04,720 --> 00:14:07,079 Speaker 1: doesn't really apologize and says, you know, it's sort of 272 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: the feeling of the time. 273 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,080 Speaker 3: Right, So what happened did he ever face any consequences? 274 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,720 Speaker 1: He was really lucky. He had friends in high places, 275 00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 1: including some who'd fought in the resistance against the Nazis, 276 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: and one of them was a huge Tinton fan. He'd 277 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:20,880 Speaker 1: actually been one of the kids. He showed up at 278 00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: that stunt we talked about in the last episode where 279 00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: you know that tinted actor had come in from the 280 00:14:26,280 --> 00:14:29,480 Speaker 1: Congo at the Brussels train station, so that certainly helped. 281 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 3: Talk about full circle too. 282 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:36,320 Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, anyway, this is super lucky, and this 283 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: guy wanted to start a magazine and he wanted air 284 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 1: Day to be a part of it. So he uses 285 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: connections to recommend that the case be dropped, and it worked. 286 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: The charges were dismissed, so. 287 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 3: In the end, Airja walked away pretty much unscathed. 288 00:14:48,320 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 2: Right. 289 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: Sounds like it was kind of helped by the fact 290 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: that he was a cartoonist and not a journalist. That's 291 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:55,280 Speaker 1: kind of the distinction that was made and why the 292 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,400 Speaker 1: case was dropped. But just to put in perspective, there 293 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: were journalists who worked for collaborationist papers who were found guilty. 294 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,120 Speaker 1: Some were sent to Congo to perform hard labor, others 295 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:09,800 Speaker 1: were killed, and because the punishment was so severe, others 296 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:12,720 Speaker 1: in Airja's predicament left Belgium altogether to make a new 297 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: life in France, which Airja, being the proud Belgium he was, 298 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,560 Speaker 1: he actually never really considered that, So, long story short, 299 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:22,600 Speaker 1: his career continued to thrive. He kept publishing comics, and 300 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: as we've learned, he gradually developed a more open minded 301 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:29,760 Speaker 1: view of the world and also greater appreciation of other cultures. 302 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 3: So where does all this stand now, Like, what's the 303 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:36,480 Speaker 3: contemporary read on the books in air Ja? Clearly, people 304 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:39,160 Speaker 3: all over the world have loved and continue to love Tintin. 305 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, he's still really popular, especially outside the US. That 306 00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:45,880 Speaker 1: being said, if you are offended by Tintin or Erja, 307 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 1: you know, I totally get it. The lens that I 308 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: think encompasses this well is that Airj was someone who 309 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 1: put his work before almost anything else, like both personally 310 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 1: and politically, and often that wasn't the right thing to do. 311 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 1: And he was really loyal to his country, even when 312 00:16:01,680 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 1: his country's government made horrible decisions. And while I don't 313 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: think there's an excuse, and of course I obviously wish 314 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: er Jay apologized for all these mistakes. 315 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 4: He was also limited by the time he lived in 316 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 4: you know. 317 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, well, which is you know, it's extra compleated. Yeah, yeah, right, 318 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 3: because there's a lot of clearly good things about Tintin 319 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,280 Speaker 3: and er Ja too. They were both flawed characters, but 320 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 3: they did have an openness to other ideas and other 321 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,560 Speaker 3: people and other cultures, which is really laudable, especially for 322 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 3: the time Tintin fought for the underdog. He stood up 323 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 3: for friendship and loyalty. And I do think there's something 324 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 3: really enduring and you know about that and kind of 325 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 3: redeeming too. 326 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, I've obviously been thinking about this a 327 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,960 Speaker 1: lot lately, not just because of these episodes, because I 328 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,120 Speaker 1: think about my own kids. I wanted them to read 329 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: Tintin because it was just like so full of adventure 330 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,520 Speaker 1: and joyous like exploration of the world and friendship. I 331 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 1: actually read an op ed from the author of viet 332 00:16:56,200 --> 00:16:59,320 Speaker 1: Tan When about this, and it was about the danger 333 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,320 Speaker 1: of banning books in general. But when actually grew up 334 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: reading tinton like I did, and he wanted to share 335 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: these books with his son, and the essence of what 336 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,320 Speaker 1: he says is the Tinton books can be problematic, but 337 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:13,960 Speaker 1: they're also really engaging and really memorable. He writes about 338 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,679 Speaker 1: how he and his son loved reading these adventures together 339 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,000 Speaker 1: and when they came across racism against non white characters, 340 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,480 Speaker 1: he points out that they talk about it just the 341 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: same way you talk about like Huck Finn or other 342 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: things like that, and the ability to have that conversation 343 00:17:27,800 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 1: and a way into that conversation is really important. 344 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 4: No. 345 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:35,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I'm a big fan of classic animation, 346 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:37,680 Speaker 3: and you run into a lot of the same problems. Right, 347 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 3: There were really problematic depictions, and you know, does that 348 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 3: mean that just no one should ever watch these again, 349 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,240 Speaker 3: or that they're artistically bankrupt there's nothing of merit anymore. No, 350 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:49,440 Speaker 3: of course not. You just have to be a little 351 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 3: more thoughtful about it, think, right. 352 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,439 Speaker 1: So, yeah, it's obviously messy. Humans are messy. But I 353 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:59,000 Speaker 1: also think like for me Tinton, but also other texts 354 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,879 Speaker 1: of that style, other books like they all contributed to 355 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: the feeling of mental class, of part time genius, of 356 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: welcoming people in of exploring It's so threaded through so 357 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,240 Speaker 1: much of the DNA of this show and other shows 358 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:15,160 Speaker 1: I've done, and worked on. Yeah, So like, it's very 359 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: hard for me to divorce myself from that because it's inspired. 360 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 4: So much, you know, of my own work. 361 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 3: You know, there's the artist's intent, and then there's what 362 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,560 Speaker 3: we do with it, right, there's the art itself, and 363 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 3: then there's what it inspires us to do. 364 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: So well, what is best for this show right now 365 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:32,720 Speaker 1: is that we take another quick break. But when we 366 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:34,879 Speaker 1: come back, let's talk about a few of our favorite 367 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:36,240 Speaker 1: tint In adaptations. 368 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:52,879 Speaker 2: That sounds great, Welcome back to part time genius. 369 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,720 Speaker 1: Okay, Gabe, it is time to go beyond the books 370 00:18:55,760 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: and talk about adaptations. 371 00:18:57,560 --> 00:18:59,359 Speaker 4: So why don't you kick this off. 372 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 3: I'd be happy to so. Between nineteen twenty nine and 373 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:06,359 Speaker 3: nineteen seventy six, Airja wrote a total of twenty three 374 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 3: Tintin books or albums in twenty four if you include 375 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 3: Tintin and alf Art, which was only partially finished when 376 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,119 Speaker 3: Airja died in nineteen eighty three. But you know, and 377 00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:19,600 Speaker 3: in the years since then, lots of other artists have 378 00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 3: adapted those stories to different mediums. For instance, Steven Spielberg 379 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 3: drew from three books written between nineteen forty one and 380 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,679 Speaker 3: nineteen forty four when Air Jay was at Lesoise to 381 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 3: create his twenty eleven animated blockbuster The Adventures of Tintin, 382 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,240 Speaker 3: starring Jamie Bell as the voice of Tintin and Daniel 383 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,000 Speaker 3: Craig as the villain. But there's another actor I want 384 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,800 Speaker 3: to mention from the film, Carrie Elvis from Robin Hood 385 00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:49,280 Speaker 3: the same and of course the Princess Bride. He's also 386 00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 3: in the movie. It's a small role, but he really 387 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 3: wanted it and he got it in a pretty unconventional way. 388 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: First of all, I love that Steven Spielberg loved Tintin 389 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,119 Speaker 1: enough to make this movie. To me, is really joyous 390 00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 1: and in the spair of the comment, but so tell 391 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: me about carry Elle was like, how did he sneak 392 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:05,399 Speaker 1: his way in? 393 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:09,480 Speaker 3: So apparently Carrie is a huge Tintin fan. One day 394 00:20:09,480 --> 00:20:11,439 Speaker 3: he was at the grocery store and I have to 395 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 3: imagine this is La, right, because it seems very la 396 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:16,920 Speaker 3: And who does he see over there in the cereal aisle? 397 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 1: But Steven Spielberg, Wait, Steven Spielberg eats cereal. Yeah, and 398 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,400 Speaker 1: you're telling me it himself too, apparently amazing And they'd 399 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,119 Speaker 1: met a couple of weeks earlier and Spielberg had mentioned 400 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 1: he was doing a Tintin movie, and Carrie's like, I 401 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:32,399 Speaker 1: love Tintin. 402 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 3: I have to be in this. Did I mention I 403 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,280 Speaker 3: really love Tintin? And Spielberg was like, yeah, all right, 404 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 3: we'll see. So anyway, now Carrie sees him, you know, 405 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:43,000 Speaker 3: rifling through the cheerios or whatever kind of cereal you 406 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,359 Speaker 3: think Spielberg eats, and he's like, this is it. This 407 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 3: is my chance to seal the deal. So he goes 408 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 3: up to him and asks him about being in Tintin, 409 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 3: and apparently Spielberg tells him, I have one part left. 410 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:54,639 Speaker 3: It's yours. 411 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: I mean, I honestly don't know what the lesson is here, 412 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,399 Speaker 1: like be bold, persevere, shopping in Steven Spielberg's neighborhood. I 413 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:02,960 Speaker 1: feel like all of these apply here. 414 00:21:03,359 --> 00:21:04,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, right, it's all of these. 415 00:21:04,720 --> 00:21:05,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. 416 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,119 Speaker 3: But I like to think that the serial Isle conversation 417 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 3: was just the first of many conversations these guys would 418 00:21:11,119 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 3: have about Tintin. Of course, because Spielberg is also a 419 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:16,920 Speaker 3: huge fan. The funny thing is, though he'd never heard 420 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 3: of Tintin until right after Raiders at a Lost Art 421 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:22,399 Speaker 3: came out in the eighties and a French critic wrote 422 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,639 Speaker 3: a review in which he compared that film to Tintin's Adventures. So, 423 00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:29,520 Speaker 3: you know, being a curious guy, Spielberg decided to check 424 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,320 Speaker 3: out the books, discovered he really liked them and immediately 425 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 3: was like, hey, this could be a movie. 426 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:36,959 Speaker 2: Do you know if he talked to J about it? 427 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:37,360 Speaker 4: Oh? 428 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:39,720 Speaker 3: He did, Yeah, he said. They spoke on the telephone 429 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,480 Speaker 3: once in nineteen eighty three and they had a plan 430 00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,879 Speaker 3: to meet, but unfortunately J died before that could happen. 431 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,840 Speaker 3: Spielberg still negotiated the rights for a movie with his 432 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 3: estate though. He even started on a screenplay with the 433 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 3: same writer who worked on Et, but the script didn't 434 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,640 Speaker 3: feel right. Then Spielberg got busy with you know, other stuff, 435 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 3: and the option dropped. So it took deck aid for 436 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:01,960 Speaker 3: the project to finally come together. 437 00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: I know AIRJ was also a big fan of Spielberg, 438 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,880 Speaker 1: so even though he died way before the movie came out, 439 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:10,400 Speaker 1: I'm sure it was exciting to know that it might 440 00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,119 Speaker 1: even happen. Definitely, But speaking of adaptations, do you know 441 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: that Ja also wrote or co wrote two Tintin stage plays. 442 00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,199 Speaker 3: I did not know this are these things we can 443 00:22:20,240 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 3: go see somewhere, if not on or off Broadway, maybe 444 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:25,600 Speaker 3: off off, but like off off off. 445 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:28,960 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, in my backyard. That would be my 446 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 2: greatest wish. 447 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: But unfortunately, as far as I can tell, the script 448 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 1: are lost to history. At least those are the rumors 449 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:37,640 Speaker 1: in the Tintin fan community. But there was like a 450 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:42,520 Speaker 1: thread that maybe they existed still somewhere, And actually we've 451 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,920 Speaker 1: got this friend Rag. He wrote this book. He is 452 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,679 Speaker 1: for Pterodactyl. He's also a rapper and producer. He produces 453 00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: under the name Lush Life. And he, like me, grew 454 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: up in going to Indian in the summers. He became 455 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,719 Speaker 1: a huge Tintin fan and he realized that airj had 456 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: written both scripts in nineteen forty one with help from 457 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:02,960 Speaker 1: the painter, journalist and writer Jacques von Melquebec, and the 458 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,240 Speaker 1: first one was called Tinton in India The Mystery of 459 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,520 Speaker 1: the Blue Diamond, so based on contemporarieous accounts of its production, 460 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:13,159 Speaker 1: it basically was like a rehashed plot of Cigars of 461 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,440 Speaker 1: the Pharaoh. It opened in nineteen forty one, ran for 462 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 1: a little over a week in Brussels and start a 463 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 1: young woman as Tinton. Because World War two had just 464 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: created this shortage of male actors. But maybe the biggest 465 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: surprise is that it was actually a musical. 466 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:30,040 Speaker 3: What please tell me? Do we know anything about the song? 467 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:33,399 Speaker 1: No, at least I don't, but I know Roger actually 468 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: located the script and is trying to rewrite it. But 469 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,000 Speaker 1: airj was apparently really happy with how it came out. 470 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: It got decent reviews despite the short run. And I 471 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,000 Speaker 1: think this rings true for anyone who's ever had anything 472 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,360 Speaker 1: to do with the play, especially like a musical with children. 473 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: This whole thing was a ton of effort to produce, 474 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,560 Speaker 1: and so even though he had seen it as a success, 475 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:54,879 Speaker 1: he wasn't eager to do another. 476 00:23:55,320 --> 00:23:57,240 Speaker 3: Well you must have made an exception then, right, because 477 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:58,639 Speaker 3: you said there were two plays. 478 00:23:58,960 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 2: Yeah. 479 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: So later in nineteen forty one there was mister Bullock's 480 00:24:02,119 --> 00:24:05,760 Speaker 1: disappearance or the disappearance of mister Bullock depending on the translator. 481 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,240 Speaker 1: We know even less about this play, except that you 482 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:12,080 Speaker 1: know they did find a young male to play Tintin, 483 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:14,920 Speaker 1: and plot wise, it's a whole new story. It's not 484 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: just a rehash of an older book. Tintin travels all 485 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,639 Speaker 1: over the world, from China to Tibet, to Morocco, to 486 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,000 Speaker 1: Argentina and then back home to Brussels, and from what 487 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 1: I can tell, the reviews were a little less stellar. 488 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:28,960 Speaker 1: That seems to be the end of Tintin and the 489 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: theater experience, at least as far as air Ja's direct 490 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:32,560 Speaker 1: involvement with it. 491 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 3: Right, Yes, I figure you're referring to the adaptation of 492 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 3: Tintin and Tibet that was performed in the UK in 493 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:44,000 Speaker 3: two thousand and five. Right, It got mostly MIDI it 494 00:24:44,080 --> 00:24:46,119 Speaker 3: did have another run a couple of years later, so 495 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,359 Speaker 3: I don't know. There must be something to it, or 496 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,920 Speaker 3: maybe it's just all that pent up demand for Tintin 497 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:51,680 Speaker 3: on stage. 498 00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:54,879 Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, I mean I know Raj and the Tintin 499 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: is stayed are talking and then figuring out how to 500 00:24:57,400 --> 00:24:59,760 Speaker 1: possibly get this play back on in. 501 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 4: A new form. And as someone who loves Tintin, I would. 502 00:25:02,119 --> 00:25:05,679 Speaker 1: Really really love to see revised for today's times. 503 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 3: I'll tell you what, Mango, if it ever happens, I'll 504 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 3: buy you a ticket. 505 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: I mean, I think we can get in for free, 506 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:12,760 Speaker 1: but I'll make sure you get in. 507 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 3: Its sounds good to me. But on that note, I 508 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:25,680 Speaker 3: think it's time for a fact off all right, this 509 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 3: is a fun one. So did you know that Ja 510 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:31,200 Speaker 3: would hide himself in the Tintin books like an early 511 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:34,960 Speaker 3: iteration of Where's Waldo? It was apparently inspired by Hitchcock's 512 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,880 Speaker 3: idea of breaking the fourth wall and winking at the audience, 513 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 3: and famously he hid himself in all of his movies too. 514 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:45,399 Speaker 3: But for example, in King Ottokar's Scepter is dressed as 515 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:49,000 Speaker 3: a cavalry officer in the royal court. In The Broken Ear, 516 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 3: he's a museum goer. In The Calculus Affair, he's standing 517 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,480 Speaker 3: with a sketch pad and pen. He goes on and on. 518 00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:56,359 Speaker 4: That is so fun. 519 00:25:56,600 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: I actually did not know that. Now I've got to 520 00:25:58,560 --> 00:25:59,320 Speaker 1: go back and look for him. 521 00:26:00,080 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah. And in a nod to this, Spielberg has 522 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,720 Speaker 3: a little animated Airja cameo in his Tintin movie too, 523 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 3: So I look out for that. I love that. 524 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,080 Speaker 2: Okay, So I've got another one for you. 525 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,359 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty one, a rare Tintin cover illustration was 526 00:26:12,400 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: sold at auction for nearly three point two million euros 527 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: around three point eight four million dollars, making it the 528 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:23,000 Speaker 1: world's most expensive comic book art. The art itself is 529 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:25,480 Speaker 1: actually the original idea for the Blue Lotus, the adventure 530 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: that took place in China, where Airj did a bunch 531 00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,200 Speaker 1: of research ahead of time thanks to his friend John. 532 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:33,159 Speaker 1: Now I've seen pictures of this long lost artwork and 533 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:35,719 Speaker 1: it is really beautiful. It would have actually made an 534 00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:38,879 Speaker 1: amazing cover, but when Airja showed it to his publisher, 535 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: they said it had too many colors and would be 536 00:26:41,359 --> 00:26:43,800 Speaker 1: too expensive to produce using the technology they had. 537 00:26:43,720 --> 00:26:44,160 Speaker 3: At the time. 538 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,960 Speaker 1: So instead Airja gave the original art, the actual one 539 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: he had painted, to his publisher's seven year old son, 540 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 1: and it just stuck around in their family for a 541 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:53,760 Speaker 1: long time. 542 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:56,439 Speaker 3: Well, you know what's extra crazy about that is that 543 00:26:56,480 --> 00:26:59,800 Speaker 3: Tintin had already set the previous record for the world's 544 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:02,159 Speaker 3: most expensive comic book art. And I was back in 545 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:06,359 Speaker 3: twenty fourteen when some original drawings sold for two point 546 00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 3: six five million euros, and there has been other Tintin 547 00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:13,719 Speaker 3: art that's sold for well over a million dollars over 548 00:27:13,760 --> 00:27:17,160 Speaker 3: the years. One reason why these pieces go for such 549 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:20,960 Speaker 3: high dollar marks is besides you know Tintin's popularity, of course, 550 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:25,080 Speaker 3: is that Tintin's estate is notoriously strict. It's run by 551 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,520 Speaker 3: Rgey's widow, Fanny and her second husband, a guy named 552 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,200 Speaker 3: Nick Rodwell. He's hard fisted in his approach to dealing 553 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:35,280 Speaker 3: with Tintin copyright, let's just say that. And in the 554 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 3: Tintin world he's almost universally hated. He's been described, or 555 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:45,280 Speaker 3: maybe describes himself as quote the least popular man in Belgium. 556 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:48,359 Speaker 3: And that's because of you know how often he's litigated 557 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 3: copyright cases. For example, in twenty twenty one he sued 558 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,560 Speaker 3: a French sculptor for the ninety busts of Tintin he 559 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,439 Speaker 3: had made, and that same year he also sued a 560 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 3: French painter who had paid to Tintin in the World 561 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,879 Speaker 3: of Edward Hopper, but in a manner Rodwell deemed quote 562 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 3: mildly erotic. Oh no, yeah. And in two thousand and 563 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,399 Speaker 3: nine a French novelist had his home seized because he 564 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 3: had reproduced a Tintin drawing in a book for students, 565 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:18,399 Speaker 3: which had a print run of two hundred copies. So 566 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,320 Speaker 3: I mean he didn't even make a profit off it. 567 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 3: Rodwell says he's just protecting Airs and Tintin's legacy from 568 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 3: bad quality spinoffs. That kind of stuff. Can water down 569 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 3: an artist's legacy after they die, and j himself was 570 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 3: adamant that he didn't want any Tintin books to come 571 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 3: out after his death. But repossessing somebody's house because of 572 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 3: a book for students, Yeah, that's a little over the top. 573 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, Gabe. 574 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: So have you ever thought about the fact that even 575 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:49,760 Speaker 1: though the Tintin book spanned forty years, Tintin himself was ageless, 576 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:51,400 Speaker 1: like his appearance never changes. 577 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:52,240 Speaker 4: You know. 578 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:54,840 Speaker 3: I hadn't thought about that, but now that you mention it, 579 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 3: I'm thinking about it. 580 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:00,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, that's true, because I brought it off. Well, Lucky 581 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,480 Speaker 1: for you, there are some scientists who also thought about it, or, 582 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: more precisely, a scientist and his two young sons. In 583 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,720 Speaker 1: two thousand and four, a Canadian professor of medicine named 584 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,240 Speaker 1: Claude Syr published a satirical paper about his efforts to 585 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:16,520 Speaker 1: figure out why Tintin hadn't aged over the decades, and 586 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 1: he and his kids went through the books and counted 587 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,840 Speaker 1: the number of times Tintin lost consciousness, which you know 588 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,400 Speaker 1: is a lot. Fifty times. Forty three of those times 589 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: were considered severe. Professor Sear decided that these repeated blows 590 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: to the head had led to growth hormone deficiency and 591 00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 1: because of that also a condition called hyponatotropic hypogonadism, which 592 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: you know is a mouthful but it's. 593 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 4: A real thing. 594 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:45,360 Speaker 1: It can lead to delayed or totally missing puberty for 595 00:29:45,560 --> 00:29:46,840 Speaker 1: the people who are affected by it. 596 00:29:47,280 --> 00:29:47,560 Speaker 2: Wow. 597 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:49,840 Speaker 3: All right, but well here's what I really want to know. 598 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,720 Speaker 3: Did he ever explain snowy? I mean that dog is 599 00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 3: still going strong, he still has puppy energy. Yeas one hundred. 600 00:29:57,120 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: Years later, that is a fair point. Maybe his kids 601 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,920 Speaker 1: have done to study on this. I'll have to report back, please. 602 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,400 Speaker 3: Do Yeah, keep us posted. All right, So I'm going 603 00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 3: to pivot here, but I was really excited to learn that. 604 00:30:08,080 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 3: In twenty twenty two, a new Belgian passport was introduced 605 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,240 Speaker 3: that features illustrations from famous Belgian cartoons and comics in 606 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,400 Speaker 3: general are really beloved over there and considered high art. 607 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 3: So the passport pages included drawings of famous Belgium cartoon 608 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:28,000 Speaker 3: characters like Tintin and the Smurfs, and apparently, when UV 609 00:30:28,200 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 3: light is shown on the drawings, additional details like facial 610 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 3: expressions are revealed. And not only is that absolutely delightful, 611 00:30:35,240 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 3: but these details also make it a lot harder to counterfeit. 612 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,120 Speaker 1: Oh, I love that Belgians just really love comics, so 613 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: staying in the vein of Belgium pride. In twenty fifteen, 614 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 1: Brussels Airlines unveiled in airbus A three twenty named Rackham, 615 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: which refers to the Tintin book read Rackham's Treasure. 616 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:53,680 Speaker 4: The outside of the. 617 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,120 Speaker 1: Planet is painted to look like the submarine from that book, 618 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,640 Speaker 1: and the cabin inside has pictures of Captain Haddock and Tintin, 619 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 1: and a of course red Rackham's Treasure is available on 620 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:05,000 Speaker 1: board for reading well. 621 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,840 Speaker 3: Our final fact is yet another example of how Tintin 622 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 3: keeps appearing in Belgium today. For the twenty twenty four 623 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 3: euro Cup, the Belgian soccer team's away kit was inspired 624 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,480 Speaker 3: by you Guessed It our man himself. The players wore 625 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,800 Speaker 3: a uniform based on Tintin's iconic outfit, a light blue 626 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,640 Speaker 3: jersey with a white collar, brown shorts and white sox. 627 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 2: I know, I was so excited when I saw that. 628 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:29,200 Speaker 4: I'm obviously a soccer fan and loved but they did that. 629 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: But you know, there's actually one book where Tintin breaks 630 00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 1: from the standard outfit and dresses just a little differently. Really. Yeah. 631 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,680 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy six, air J published what would be 632 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,240 Speaker 1: the last fully completed Tintin adventure. It was called Tintin 633 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:46,280 Speaker 1: and the Pickereas and strikingly, while Tintin has the same 634 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:49,040 Speaker 1: blue shirt, his brown pants are long in this one, 635 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: not short, and on the cover drawing the pants are 636 00:31:52,360 --> 00:31:53,560 Speaker 1: noticeably flared. 637 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,640 Speaker 3: Well, I mean it was the seventies, right, so even 638 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,360 Speaker 3: Tintin wore bell bottoms. But a way, Mangel, I'm really 639 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,040 Speaker 3: glad that you convinced us to explore the life and 640 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,440 Speaker 3: times of a cartoon adventurer. So I think you get 641 00:32:07,480 --> 00:32:11,240 Speaker 3: today's trophy. You earned it. And there's actually two trophies, 642 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:12,600 Speaker 3: one for last time as well. 643 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,640 Speaker 1: Well I'll take them, and I guess I'll share these 644 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,160 Speaker 1: with my fellow tinton fans and Dylan wherever he is. 645 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,520 Speaker 1: That concludes our two part Tintin series. I hope you 646 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,960 Speaker 1: enjoyed it. If you did, please share these episodes with 647 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 1: a friend or follow us on Instagram Blue Sky if 648 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:28,600 Speaker 1: you have any questions, comments, or just want to tell 649 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,480 Speaker 1: us what your favorite Tinton book is or how you 650 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: feel about this complicated legacy emails at high Geniuses at 651 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,760 Speaker 1: gmail dot com. That's Hi Geniuses at gmail dot com, 652 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 1: or give us a call at three oh two four 653 00:32:40,880 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: oh five five nine two five. That's three oh two 654 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:47,520 Speaker 1: four oh five five nine two five. We are always 655 00:32:47,560 --> 00:32:50,200 Speaker 1: looking to hear from you. This episode, as well as 656 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 1: Part one, was written by the wonderful of Marissa Brown. 657 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:53,960 Speaker 4: Thank you so much, Marissa. 658 00:32:54,240 --> 00:32:56,680 Speaker 1: We will be back next week with another new episode, 659 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,440 Speaker 1: but in the meantime from Gabe, Mary, Dylan, Will and myself, 660 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:16,320 Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening. Part Time Genius is 661 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:20,160 Speaker 1: a production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show is hosted 662 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:24,440 Speaker 1: by Will Pearson and me Mongais Chatikler and researched by 663 00:33:24,480 --> 00:33:28,720 Speaker 1: our good pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode was engineered 664 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:31,680 Speaker 1: and produced by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with support from 665 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,440 Speaker 1: Tyler Klang. The show is executive produced for iHeart by 666 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:39,000 Speaker 1: Katrina Norbel and Ali Perry, with social media support from 667 00:33:39,040 --> 00:33:43,600 Speaker 1: Sasha Gay, trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shoring. For more 668 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: podcasts from Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 669 00:33:49,080 --> 00:34:04,720 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,