Haddock, a hero against all odds
In the ninth Tintin album, The Crab with the Golden Claws from 1941, the man who later becomes the faithful friend and informant of the famous reporter from Le Petit Vingtième ("The Little Twentieth") appears for the first time.
It must be said that there was nothing heroic about him at the start, being completely stupefied by alcohol and under the thumb of his second mate. There was nothing to indicate that the captain of the Karaboudjan had a brilliant career ahead of him. However, he went through all the adventures, the old sailor with his endless cargo of swear words. They can hardly be counted, but a thousand bombs and grenades or a hundred thousand billion lightning bombs and thunder grenades or even wretches are best known.
The captain, a great lover of Scotch whiskey, especially Loch Lomond, is utterly dependable. Tintin's loyal friend – he even follows him to the moon – has a short temper but wears his heart on his sleeve. He and his ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock, captain in Louis XIV's Royal Navy, are even the main characters in the album The Secret of the Unicorn. Marlinspike Hall also appears, which becomes the captain's residence a little later.
Hergé's first wife, Germaine Kiekens, claims that the name Haddock is derived from the smoked fish served to his creator.