Jean-Bruno Renard | Letters to Ambrose Merton # 20, 1999

Herge, the celebrated Belgian comic strip artist, has made use of the motif of the Good Angel and Bad Angel which stand on either side of every human being (and even of animals!)

A strip featuring the characters Quick and Flupke, which first appeared in the 1930s, was republished in Archives Herge: Quick et Flupke (Paris – Tournai: Casterman, 1978). When Flupke sees a poster for a Colonial Lottery, A devil appears and expresses the hope that he will buy a ticket. However, an angel reminds him that in his reading book it says that “Money doesn’t bring happiness”. The devil counters by pointing to the lottery slogan “Get money without working”. The angel reminds him of the ennobling power of work. The devil has the last word showing Flupke what work might be – carrying an advertising placard in the pouring rain.

Note that the devil and the angel both ressemble Flupke and are around his height. The devil stands on his left; the angel on his right.

In Tintin au Tibet (Casterman, 1958) the dog Milou (renamed “Snowy ” in English translations) is shown accompanied by a angel and a devil, each of which is portayed as standing on two legs like a human being but having a dog’s head just like Milou.