We celebrate as the ever-popular and youthful Tintin turns 90!

Amazing as it may sound, the ever-popular and youthful (just how does he do it?) Tintin, that juvenile detective-cum-reporter, has hit 90.

The creation of Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who most people will recognise as the famous Hergé, entered into his first adventure on 10 January, 1929. He appeared in a younger reader’s supplement within the Belgian newspaper, Le Vingtième Siècle.

As all Tintin fans know, this likeable young chap, along with his faithful dog Snowy and Captain Haddock, moved off the printed page and became a global phenomenon, spawning countless books translated into a host of languages as well as a television cartoon series, theatrical productions and even a big screen film (Steven Spielberg was responsible for directing The adventures of Tintin in 2011). Needless to say, an awful lot of related merchandise was also marketed over the years, with models of the principal characters as a mainstay although Tintin himself appeared on clothing, stationery and turns up in countless other media.

Irrepressible, inquisitive and bursting with energy, he’ll be around for many more years to come, we feel.

As we went to press, we note that in France, there is a fresh run of Tintin material: a booklet attached to a card boasts a transparent box containing a 1/24 scale Tintin car. The first is the red racing car, taken from The Pharaoh’s Cigars story. The product of Editions Moulinsart et Hachette Collections, it looks like a series will follow, all devoted to the chap’s varied transport.