His Adventures Are A Win-Win

Tintin is breaking big in America. Here's what you should know.

In Europe, Tintin is an orange-haired comics icon as familiar as Garfield is to us (we've yet to see little Tintins suction-cupped to French car windows, but they are surely inevitable). Stateside, he's about to become visible in a big way with the new movie from Steven Spielberg. But how do you give the unfamiliar audience member a briefing on the character's nearly 50-year history? Check out our cheat sheet and you'll be prepared.

Mystery Man - Tintin's backstory is deliberately indeterminate, and nobody even knows whether "Tintin" is his first or last name. Even his age is hard to pin down; often called a boy, he's old enough to rent his own apartment and hold down a job. Cartoonist Herge intended readers of all backgrounds to be able to put themselves in the main character's shoes more easily this way.

Wonder: Twins? - Tintin is often followed by two bumbling detectives named Thompson and Thomson. Though they look identical, their last names indicate they are unrelated, but that didn't deter '80s band the Thompson Twins from naming themselves in tribute.

Jones for Adventure - When Raiders of the Lost Ark first came out in France, critics compared Indiana Jones to Tintin. Intrigued, Spielberg looked up the books and became a fan. Herge didn't live to see the new movie, but he always said that Spielberg would be the best person to do it.

The Adventures of Tintin is in U.S. theaters today.

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