Barcelona Day Five: What’s for Lunch? My Foot!
When I returned from my foray to the Gothic Quarter, I was just in time to catch Scott heading out for a luncheon with some Spanish artists and their agent. I decided not to tag along, and I poked my head into the hotel restaurant intending only to ask directions to a monastery I’d heard about. Instead, I got swept into conversation and wound up staying for lunch.
I was sitting at one end of the long table, next to a softspoken French woman who told me apologetically that she didn’t speak English. Her husband, on the other side of her, did, and he was chatting animatedly with Tim Sale and Michael Golden, who sat across the table from us. After a while the talk turned to Hergé, the creator of the Tintin books. I spoke of my children’s great love for Tintin, and it seemed all of us at that end of the table were big fans. The French fellow, an older man, told us that one tiny panel of Tintin art had been sold recently for about a million dollars. One small panel.
“I should ‘ave been drawing Tintin,” he lamented. “I should ‘ave been drawing Tintin 35 years ago. I should ‘ave been Hergé!”
This drew a big laugh from Tim and Michael. The gentleman went on to tell us how protective the Hergé estate is of the Tintin image. “If anyone so much as draws Tintin on a bathroom wall in Belgium,” he said, “the Foundation will swoop down and sound the great alarm!”
Shortly thereafter he excused himself, and he and his wife got up to leave. I wished them farewell with a cheery parting shot: “Now don’t go drawing Tintin on any bathroom walls!”
As soon as they had left the room, I turned to Tim Sale and asked who the man was, since I had not caught his name. Tim’s eyes were dancing with amusement.
“Lissa,” he said, “that was Moebius.”
Those of you who are comic-book readers will understand why I gasped, my hands flying to my mouth. For those of you who are perhaps not so well versed in the great figures of the comics world, let me clarify by explaining that this would be the equivalent of having lunch with, oh, say, Maurice Sendak and not having a clue to whom I was speaking—and to whom I was blithely issuing warnings about drawing on bathroom walls.
I will never, ever live this one down in certain circles, believe me.
Denise says:
Uh. Wow.
On April 30, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Tarrant says:
Reminds me of the time I said “I didn’t know you wrote real books” to Helen Oxenbury. I was tongue tied, pregnant, a nanny and excited to meet the woman who wrote the book that my life circled around at that point…All Fall Down.
On April 30, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Melissa Wiley says:
Tarrant: Ouch!! LOL!
On April 30, 2008 at 3:52 pm
patience says:
Lol! Hopefully he assumed you were making a very dry ironic comment!
On April 30, 2008 at 10:44 pm
lickona says:
Next time, maybe you can tell Alan Moore not to scribble notes in the margins…
On May 1, 2008 at 8:02 am
Maria says:
You know what I think? I think a man that relaxed and wonderful that you could have great conversation with probably had no problem with your parting comment! To blithely say something like that to a great artist!! How wonderful..I’m sure he thought you were a great American wit!!
On May 1, 2008 at 9:20 am
Sebastian (a lady) says:
Have you ever been to the animation museum in Brussels? We had a great time there. It is dominated by Tintin but also features some other great works.
On May 3, 2008 at 9:33 am
Stacie says:
Hi Lissa! Stacie Harris here. Just wanted to note that I think what you said was completely charming and anyone who doesn’t think so has no sense of humor. Of course, I find the sole of MY shoe on the menu quite often and choose it regularly.
Great website and I so enjoyed meeting you and Scott.
On May 4, 2008 at 12:49 pm
sarahsignature says:
That is so cool! My husband will be very impressed that you got to meet Jean Giraud.
On May 5, 2008 at 1:33 pm