Images of famous Belgian cartoon Tintin have been widely shared Tuesday following the Brussels terror attacks.
The line-drawn boy is depicted next to his dog, Snowy, with a single tear running down his face. In some images, his shirt is emblazoned with the Belgian flag.
Sharing of the image follows two separate suicide bombing attacks that rocked the Belgian capital this morning, the first in the departure hall of the airport just before 8 a.m. local time, and the second inside a subway train station.
As of this afternoon at least 34 people have died and hundreds are injured.
The sharing of the images is similar to the global outpouring of support on social media that followed the dual attacks in Paris last January and last November. The first attack there at the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, in which several prominent political cartoonists were killed, the slogan “Je Suis Charlie” (“I am Charlie”) became the rallying cry around the world.
Following the November attacks, a simple Eiffel Tower peace sign created by artist Jean Jullien became the dominant image.
Tintin was first created by Belgian artist Herge in the 1920s, and has appeared in various forms in comics and books as well as on radio and television and in film over the decades. The character has become a symbol of Belgium, appearing on postage stamps and coins.
He also was the basis for Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning 2011 animated film The Adventures of Tintin, starring Jamie Bell, Daniel Craig and Simon Pegg.
