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07/29/2006 Entry: "Ligne Claire"

It's Ligne Claire appreciation minute. Dig:

Ligne claire (French for "clear line") is a style of drawing pioneered by Hergé, the Belgian creator of Tintin. It is a style of drawing which uses clear strong lines which have the same thickness and importance, rather than being used to emphasize certain objects or be used for shading (for this reason it is sometimes also called the democracy of lines). (from wiki)

If you've never inked an illustration, this would sound pretty trivial to you. But consider the swooshing linework in a typical cartoon like Asterix or Batman, and you'd see a striking difference. Moreover, while the former style went out of vogue in the 60's, it is still deliberately employed nowadays either to create a retro feel, or moreso to underscore a sort of irony where you find scathing satire set on a platter of tongue -in-cheek naivete.

The above link will take you to some fine examples of that; another one that comes to mind is Tom the Dancing Bug's occasional Billy Dare feature which satires the Tintin/Johnny Quest schtick.

Oh, and speaking of which, link time! Breaking Free, the unauthorized anarchist Tintin graphic novel is available online. If you love Tintin, you'll probably hate it; if you are a politically-minded type, you'll either love it or hate it.

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