A Captain Haddock who doesn’t hold back on profanity, a Jolyon Wagg who fancies ‘lady boys’ and a Tintin who is curious about his sexuality – I am sure that is not how you remember your beloved comic ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ from childhood.
After 70 languages, 230 million copies and 90 years, it can be safely said that The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian cartoonist George Remi AKA Hergé is still relevant to young readers, as this senior psychology lecturer Paul Aleixo explains in his blog.
However, did you know that an edition of his adventure exists that is anything but for children?
It’s profane, its lewd, and shocking to say the least. Yes, Tintin in Thailand is every adult fan’s dream come true (okay, maybe not every!).
Take a look at this panel where Captain Haddock swears like the sailor he is.
Or, a Tintin who is enamoured by a male bar attendant?
This R-rated tale of Tintin didn’t even leave Snowy alone.
‘Tintin in Thailand’: The Underground Tintin Story
On the surface, Tintin in Thailand looks like a legit copy of the comic book but flip to the front page and you'd see it is authored by a Bud E Weyzer, which is a bad pun on the beer brand Budweiser.
Well, Bud E Weyzer is the pseudonym of Baudouin de Duvem, a Belgian author, who authored this rad parody in 1999, and illegally sold it in the underground markets.
It violates copyright laws through and through, of course.
(Un)fortunately Herge Foundation sniffed out the guys behind this ‘comic book cartel’ in 2001,’ and the cops busted them through a sting operation in Belgium, as per this report by The Guardian.
After the arrests, it was found that over 1,000 copies of this “illegal” edition were sold. Rest assured, the men arrested were released eventually.
While it is unfair to endorse copyright violation and stealing someone else’s intellectual property right, adult Tintin fans got a glimpse of how the world of Tintin would look like if Tintin were to actually grow up like an average adult.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)