Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée

Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée Review

It fell to the land of Tintin, a cherished cartoon character, to create the world's first museum dedicated to the ninth art—comic strips. Despite its primary appeal to children, comic strip art has been taken seriously in Belgium for decades, and in the Belgian Comic Strip Center it is wedded to another strongly Belgian art form: Art Nouveau. Based in an elegant 1903 Victor Horta-designed building, the museum is long on the history of the genre but sadly short on kid-friendly interaction. Tintin, the cowlicked adventurer created in 1929 by the late, great Brussels native Hergé, became a worldwide favorite cartoon character. But many other artists have followed in Hergé's footsteps, some of them even more innovative. The collection includes more than 400 original plates by Hergé and his Belgian successors and 25,000 cartoon works; those not exhibited can be viewed in the archive. There are also good temporary exhibitions from time to time, a large comic strip shop, a library, and a lovely Art Nouveau brasserie. Most information is in French.