BELGIUM: Tintin, the comic-strip hero who never appeared to age, is 75 today and his birthday is being feted in Belgium, where he is a national icon, writes Tim King in Brussels
On January 10th, 1929, Tintin made his first public appearance, along with his faithful dog, Snowy, in the children's supplement of a right-wing Catholic newspaper, Le XXième Siècle. The young newspaper reporter took on the evils of communism as he embarked on his first adventure, "Tintin au pays des Soviets".
Three-quarters of a century later, Belgium is gripped by an attack of Tintin-itis as it marks the anniversary of its most famous son with numerous commemorative gestures.
But amid the birthday celebrations and an outpouring of pride in a national hero, many Belgians are agonising over the commercialisation of Tintin by the heirs of his creator, Georges Remi, better known by his nom de plume, Hergé.
This week the Royal Mint began producing 50,000 commemorative coins: a €10 piece which will be legal tender in Belgium, but not in the rest of the euro zone.
When they go on sale next month, the asking price for each €10 coin will be €31. The Commissioner of the Royal Mint said the price difference was justified by the presentation case, the higher than usual standard of production and the use of silver.
The Belgian post office will be issuing a commemorative stamp on March 15th and Delacre, maker of Belgian chocolate biscuits, is producing an anniversary biscuit tin.
Eleven of Belgium's most celebrated Flemish literati have contributed to a celebratory book of short stories, Tintin and the King of the Belgians, which was presented to King Albert II to mark his 70th birthday. The writers were allowed to play with the various characters from the tales of Tintin.
Critical biographies have reassessed the Hergé legacy, questioning the author's sympathy for right-wing views and the political incorrectness of Tintin in the Congo.