W

hen news about Steven Spielberg making a feature film based on the famous comic books Tintin broke out, and soon followed news that a film version of another famous comic book series, the Smurfs, was also underway, the film fanatic side in me yearned to go to the birthplaces of these childhood heroes.

The great part was all of them were grouped under the one roof, along side other comic heroes such as Asterix and Lucky Luke, at the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessin*e, (The Belgian Centre of Comic Strip Art) in Brussels, Belgium.

But when I got there, I got more than what I had expected for.

Often referred to as "the Tintin museum" by visitors, since the museum sets aside a large portion of its space to the beloved icon, the 20-year-old museum has a lot more on display than just the famous world explorer and his gang.

For starters, architectural enthusiasts may marvel at the majestic design of the museum building. Located in an artistic Art Noeuveau temple, the building was formerly a warehouse called the Waucquez Warehouse, and was designed by famous Belgian architect Victor Horta, in 1906.

The high glass ceilings that filter sunlight in the central hall, which give the building natural light and additional heating in winter, were fully maintained when the warehouse was restored to become the comic center, in 1986.

Along with the expansion of the building, now covering 15,000 square feet on three floors, it took three years for the museum building work to finish and it was officially opened on Oct. 6, 1989.

Today, the museum has become one of Belgium's biggest tourist attractions and is estimated to be visited by around 260,000 people every year.

This definitely serves as sufficient proof that comics bring down any barriers, whether based on age, sex, or as in this case, language.

Belgians love comic strips, which for them are more than a leisure item - comics have grown into a cultural institution, especially after the end of World War II. As the museum explained in many of its displays, Belgians grow up with two schools of comics: the French comics, called "Bandes Dessin*s", and the Flemish ones, called "stripverhalen".

For non-speakers of either languages like myself, a slightly bulky folder of A4-size papers containing English guides to the museum is available upon purchasing an entrance ticket. This can be useful, since most of the exhibits have only a small amount of information in English, but can also be cumbersome if you are tempted to take photos of the various two-dimensional cartoon characters. Take the irresistible Tintin in his astronaut suite next to the exit door, for example.

Rather than getting too excited, a good way to stay calm is to read some of the old strips. On the second floor of the museum, are an array of drawing tables on which old black-and-white strips are laid out for visitors to peruse.

Part of the Birth of the Comic Strip permanent exhibition, this section traces the origins of Belgian comic-strip art, and has a few bits on international animation. Notable entries include the publication of the first Tintin series, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets by Herg* in 1929, the initial editions of Maurice de Bevere's (Morris in English) wacky cowboy Lucky Luke - all before a glimpse of the red-haired tails of Asterix take us to the next exhibition in the Saint-Roch Room, or The Treasury.

Excited already? Hold on, as these are just two of seven permanent exhibitions at the museum. The most exciting part of the exhibitions was definitely The Museum of Imagination, which is devoted almost exclusively to the inspirational sources of Tintin. Stepping into this spacious corner is equal to entering another world of Tintin, his gang and their explorations. Not to be overlooked is an elaborate biography of Herg*, the creator of Tintin, his wall-sized pictures, and the dynasty of Tintin!

Looking up, characters from the comic may be dangling above your head, while multi-media walls screening videos of Professor Calculus' inventions are also hard to miss. Meanwhile, Captain Haddock receives has a space to showcase his working items, while a corner dedicated to identical policemen Thomson and Thompson is there to intrigue children who can follow their journey marked with dotted lines.

While following the Thompson twins' journey, our eyes may fall on one of many of life-sized newsstands or bars displaying comics organized according to authors' names that are part of the Museum of Modern Comic Strip exhibition.

An array of dioramas are also on display, including a small room of animated characters in motion pictures. The theme of the film being screened may change from time to time, but I was lucky enough to catch several episodes of the first animated Smurfs series, when I visited the museum earlier this year.

The video, running on a loop, ran for almost an hour, and fidgeting children seemed to know exactly when exciting parts were coming up. Perhaps it was that, or the fact it had no English subtitles that made the screening a bit hard to follow. But who could resist those cute blue-and-white characters?

Equally irresistible were the new talents whose works were on displayed at The Gallery, a section dedicated to modern comics. Hardly bearing any traces of their predecessors, the new works break through the conventions of traditional comic strips, and are much more apt in collaborating with other cultures and other mediums. The exhibition I happened to see showed a clear infusion of Japanese animation, characterized with sharp facial lines and typical Asian facial features.

The first floor of the museum features the last permanent exhibition, The Victor Horta area, which features sketches of the former warehouse, the Horta-Brasserie restaurant, and the museum's gift shop, which brings out the spendthrift in every visitor, with various souvenirs on offer.

The main items on sale are comic books and figurines, although for rarer, older publications of Tintin one must spend around 400, a small amount compared to prices for small figurines that can cost up to 5,000!

A trip to the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art offers a priceless trip back to childhood, and a stroll around the museum will no doubt leave a smile on your face for the day.