The Belgian government unveiled this week new passports decorated with characters from some of the country's most famous comics characters, including Tintin and the Smurfs.
Far from being embarrassed by having pictures usually for children printed on her country's official documents, Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes said the fame of Belgian comics is the country's pride.
"It is true that we are very proud of the comics and the Belgian comics that our country has managed to develop. And I don't know if it's soft power, but it's very powerful," she told Reuters.
Belgian comic book heroes will star in new passports, which will be launched on February 7 with images from 'The Adventures of Tintin' pic.twitter.com/NJGk16xm0e
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 29, 2022
The passport features two drawings from "The Adventures of Tintin" series - the red checkered rocket from 'Destination Moon' book and Marlinspike Hall, the mansion of Tintin's sidekick Captain Haddock.
'The Adventures of Tintin,' a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Georges Remi who wrote under the pen name Herge, has gained renewed, global popularity in the previous years after Hollywood director Stephen Spielberg made an animated film about the intrepid boy journalist and his little white dog Snowy.
The new passport also features other Belgian comics characters, including the Smurfs, Gaston Lagaffe and Lucky Luke.
In the streets of Brussels, the new passport drew positive response.
"It's our culture, it's the way it is. It's typically Belgian, no other country would think of doing this kind of thing. This is what we are famous for", Brussels resident Ingrid Vergote commented.
Belgian-Canadian student Sarah Murawsky, 18, was looking forward to getting the new documents.
"A lot of people associate cartoons with Belgian culture, so I think it's really cool to be able to identify with that through the passport, which is something you use so often," she said.
The new passport will be launched on February 7 and will be accompanied by a temporary exhibition on the history of the Belgian passport at Brussels' Comics Art Museum until March 6.
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