That is what a group member asked earlier today and that is a totally sensible thing to ask... Allow me therefore to clarify a few points, notably concerning OC and slash art.

Being a non-anglophone 47-year-old Tintin fan and nowhere near all the teenage geeks that roam dA, I had to look up the terms "OC art" and "slash art" to make sure we were talking about the same thing...

Let's start with "slash art". A dA artist gives a definition on her main page [link] that goes as follows: "It's basically fanart depicting subtextual same-sex relationships with characters in films, books etc." In other words, implied sexual orientations. I appreciated the fact that she added "I'm all about the subversion of canon texts" as she implicitely states here that slash art is a subversion of existing works — which I think it is. Even if the sex element is merely hinted at, such works remain the projections of their authors' personal sexual fantasies on non-sexual works of the imagination. They may not be as explicit as Wallace Wood's pornographic Alice in Wonderland, for instance. Or the Batman-Robin gay stuff. But they are still an insult to Hergé's work and the spirit of the whole Belgian school of comic-book art that he heralded.

Now don't get me wrong. I may sound like a party-pooper of sorts, but I, too, was once a teenager, and I loved to do sex artwork involving my favorite super-heroes and heroins... So I can understand to some extent the various motivations that can drive some members into doing so with Tintin. That doesn't mean the stuff should be taken from the private sphere into the public one. It can be something funny that we share with our friends for fun, but certainly not suitable for this group. Besides, let us not forget that the Tintin estate has regularly taken legal action in the past to ban books or sites and always wins its cases. Let's have none of that stuff here.

What about depicting mere sexual attraction? Is it wrong to represent the Castafiore in love with Haddock, for instance? Not necessarily. But throughout Hergé's 24-album effort on Tintin there is never the slightest hint of Tintin or Haddock being attracted sexually to anyone. Let's keep it that way in this group, shall we? It's like classical music. Some people will love the idea of turning Mozart into hip hop, some will freak. Both approaches have their merits, and each community ought to respect the other. I will not refrain from criticizing those who wish to turn Tintin into their own personal sexual fantasy playground but in turn I expect them to respect the fact that this group has a different vision.

Does that mean fanfics about Tintin falling in love will be banned? Perhaps. Perhaps not. If the story is done in a sensible way, as something that could fit in the Tintin continuity (i.e. stories that can be read and appreciated by every age group, throughout the world) then why not?

What about parody? Now let me clearly state here that this refusal of "slash art" does not necessarily include parody. Deriding a book, a character, a movie or else, for the sake of humor can sometimes be fun. But that's not what these works are usually about. However, some quality parody work may be accepted on an individual basis.

What about "OC art"? The way I see it, it's the creation of totally imaginary characters and their inclusion in some author's work. When Berylunee created this group, her wonderful original characters and storyline (involving Rastapopulos's family) was a great asset. Then people started complaining about OCs and said that was not the place for them... And so Berylunee yielded to the critics and withdrew her work from the very group she had created! All because some people thought they knew better than her what group she should be running!

So let's be consistent. No double-standards. No sex (explicit or implied), respect for Hergé's vision... Parody work can be tolerated in the "Tribute" section if it's not blatantly offensive, and Original Characters will be allowed, because when they are properly done they can greatly enrich a storyline — on condition that they are associated with existing characters and not on their own.

Of course all submissions will be looked at and their publication accepted or refused on an individual basis. For now I'll be alone to judge but when I'm more comfortable with my role here I'll consider naming some contributors to assist me in that task.

As I said before, there should be groups to satisfy everyone, and if this one doesn't suit some, let them go elsewhere! In real life you wouldn't want to join a group of people who don't share your views, why would it be different on the internet? I want all the people who share Berylunee's original vision for this group to feel comfortable visiting our galleries, knowing that they will find plenty of stuff they can enjoy and share. I have three kids who love Tintin, and it's just great to show them the latest publications in the Tintin Group without having to wonder whether some stuff might be offensive to them. Remember the motto of the Tintin weekly: "For kids from 7 to 77 years of age!"