Captain Haddock

Sardijn (Afrikaans), Xantok (Greek), Hadok (Iranian, Japanese), Kolbeinn (Icelandic), Haddock (All other published languages)

Debut: The Crab with the Golden Claws

It is only with The Shooting Star that Haddock becomes one of the real characters of The Adventures of Tintin. In The Crab with the Golden Claws, his role was secondary and there was no guarantee that he would return.

Once installed in the series, however, Haddock was to occupy a prominent position, almost eclipsing Tintin himself. He is probably the most astonishing hero in the history of strip cartoon. Haddock, whom Hergé sometimes said was inspired by Edgar Pierre Jacobs (even though he was created before the two men knew each other), is a wonderfully rich character. Jolly and gruff at the same time, powerful and full of life, an enthusiastic swearer, the Captain is unforgettable. But it would be a mistake to think that such an ebuillent character has a great thirst for adventure and travel. For Haddock has, especially after his installation at Marlinspike Hall, a constantly-thwarted ambition to be but a gentleman-farmer. A whisky and a good pipe in front of a cosy fire, after an invigorating walk in the countryside, seem to be all he desires of life.

The Captain's taste for liquor is legendary. But two periods need to be distinguished: the time before he meets Tintin, when he is a piteous drunk, a wreck who is bullied by his first mate, and after his providential meeting with the young reporter, when things change fundamentally, even if he is not quite equal to his elevated position as Honorary President of the Society of Sober Sailors, and his partiality for drink is no more than a pleasant penchant. Graphically, Haddock is a more complex character than Tintin. His feelings are immediately visible on his face. He is endowed with a constantly changing appearance and his rich repertoire as a mimic makes many sequences memorable.

But it is above all his language which has made Haddock famous and especially the unforgettable expletives that he fires in broadsides at every suitable opportunity. Pol Vandromme, in his book Le Monde de Tintin counted 169 altogether. Numa Sadoul has found another 48. The hot-headed Captain has therefore a repertoire of over 200 unusual insults.