The Adventures of Saint-Tin and his Friend Lou

***The Adventures of Saint-Tin and his Friend Lou*** (French: Les Aventures de *Saint-Tin et son ami Lou)* is a French novel series about the adventures of a young reporter and his pet parrot. The series is an on-the-nose parody of The Adventures of Tintin by Georges "Hergé" Remi. The original French title contains a pun, with "ami Lou" sounding similar to "Milou", the French name of Tintin's pet dog.

## Story

Saint-Tin is a reporter for the *Petit Vin qui Aime* newspaper. He is rumoured to be the only son of "the great reporter", which has dogged him for many years, since Saint-Tin is self-admittedly nowhere near as talented as his father. He and his profane parrot named Lou now travel the world in search of the next big case.

## Characters

* **Saint-Tin** - A young reporter and the alleged son of Tintin
* **Lou** - A talkative tropical parrot who Saint-Tin found in Guacamol
* **Captain Aiglefin** - A hard-drinking, retired Russian lock-keeper. He is the heir to the Haddockoff family bloodline and lives in the family estate, Moulin Tsar, in Sologne, France. Parody of Captain Haddock
* **Orphéon Margarine** - A famed crypto-zoologist who also lives in Moulin Tsar, mooching off Aiglefin. Parody of Professor Calculus
* **Archibald Tringue** - Aiglefin's loyal butler, a stoic and quiet man. Parody of Nestor
* **Alba Flore** - A famous Belgian novelist and Saint-Tin's friend. Parody of Bianca Castafiore
* **Agents Yin & Yang** - Two bumbling, identical Interpol agents from Thailand. Parody of the Thompson Twins
* **Hippolyte Buro** - A French salesman who relentlessly tries to sell anything and everything to Aiglefin. Parody of Jolyon Wagg
* **Rasta Populist** - An organized crime leader. Parody of Rastapopoulos
* **Dr. Molaire** - An evil medical doctor. Parody of Dr. Muller

## Series

1. The Filth with the Strong Claws (Le Crado pince fort) by Gordon Zola, November 2008
2. Flight of the 714 Piggies (Le Vol des 714 porcineys) by Bob Garcia, November 2008
3. The Knowing Ear (L'Oreille qui sait) by Hervé Mestron, January 2009
4. The Bruised Lotus (La Lotus bleue) by Gordon Zola, January 2009
5. Saint-Tin in the Gallows (Saint-Tin au gibet) by Gordon Zola, August 2009
6. The Mysterious Hair (Les Poils mystérieux) by Gordon Zola, October 2009
7. The Black Ire (L'Ire noire) by Pauline Bonnefoi, October 2009
8. The Dirtying Affair (L'Affaire tourne au sale) by Gordon Zola, February 2010
9. Secret of the Eulalie Horn (Le Secret d'Eulalie Corne) by Gordon Zola, June 2010
10. The Red 1 PM (Le 13 heures réclame le rouge) by Gordon Zola, December 2010
11. The Castanet Played by Magpies (Les Pies jouent de la castagnette) by Pauline Bonnefoi, October 2010
12. The Six Guards of Pharaoh Amon (Les Six Gardes du phare Amon) by Gordon Zola, June 2011
13. Object In Smoke (Objet qui fume) by Gordon Zola, September 2011
14. Making Deals on the Moon (On a fait un marché sur la Lune) by Gordon Zola, November 2011
15. Saint-Tin in Torn Rags (Saint-Tin en amères loques) by Pauline Bonnefoi, January 2012
16. The Fake Rooster (Coq en toc) by Gordon Zola, May 2012
17. Strolling in the Congo (Train-train au Congo) by Gordon Zola, July 2012
18. (L'Ascète boude le cristal) by Gordon Zola, January 2013
19. Weather of the Sun Showers (Le Temps pleut du Soleil) by Gordon Zola, April 2013
20. Ghost of the Loser (Le Spectre du tocard) by Gordon Zola, January 2014
21. Saint-Tin and the Wrath of Black Auroch (Saint-Tin aux pis de l'Auroch noir) by Gordon Zola, March 2014
22. (Saint-Tin et les p'tits carrosses) by Gordon Zola, May 2014
23. (Saint-Tin obéi des chauds Viets) by Gordon Zola, April 2015
24. Saint-Tin and Fat Art (Saint-Tin et l'Art fat) by Gordon Zola, February 2016
25. The Frozen Ear (L'Oreille glacée) by Gordon Zola, October 2019
26. (Vol des 704 os pour six nez) by Gordon Zola, July 2020

## Design

The books are predominantly text-only, but the covers featured wraparound designs by French artist Tristan Badoual. Each book's cover parodies the visuals of each cover by Hergé, but none of the human characters' faces are ever visible to the reader. When all the books are put together on a shelf, the spines display a "secret message" parodying the treasure maps found in the Unicorn model ships in *Secret of the Unicorn*.

## Reception

After the fifth Saint-Tin book was published, the Moulinsart estate sued publisher Leopard Masque for "parasitic" plagiarism. The publisher was initially charged €40,000, but the Paris Court of Appeal overturned the charge, also ordering Moulinsart to compensate Leopard with €10,000 for damages and €12,000 for legal fees.

## References

1. ↑ Saint-Tin et son ami Lou on Behance
2. ↑ Les Aventures de Saint-Tin et son ami Lou — Wikipédia