The Ephemerist

In 1979, when Tintin celebrated his 50th birthday, Casterman published a small booklet in which Hergé explained how he and his team went about creating the quiffed one’s adventures.  As an example, they used the fabled page 22b from Tintin Et Les Picaros, at that time Tintin’s latest, and eventually also his last adventure.  While drafting that book, Hergé and Bob De Moor, his second-in-command, accidentally had provided for 65 pages, instead of the obligatory 64, and so one page had to go.  This was later also reprinted in Tintin’s Imaginary Museum.

The booklet was called “Fifty years of real fun work“, but judging by Bob De Moor’s illustration on the cover, I wonder if this title was not totally in irony…

By the way, this post is dedicated to Dean Haspiel, on his birthday. I’m sure he’ll appreciate the sentiment of the picture. Many happy returns, Dino…