Front Cover
Tintin in Thailand is an illegal parody of The Adventures of Tintin books by Hergé, first released in 1999. It is written and designed to emulate a legitimate volume of the Tintin comics, but is the author's own story. It is deemed to have violated copyright law and as a result its publication is illegal. The book is most uncouth in respect to the legitimate books, such as using using profane language. Bud E. Weyzer is listed as the author (a parody of Budweiser beer). Apart from the cover the book is drawn in black and white. Bud E. Weyzer is the pseudonym of Baudouin de Duvem, a Belgian author.
In February 2001, the Hergé Foundation noted these attempts to market Tintin in Thailand by way of an unknown Tintin book for sale to distributors in Belgium. The Belgian police organized a sting operation, with an officer acting as a prospective buyer, and two arrests were made as a result. They then arrested three individuals, who confessed to producing more than 1,000 copies for sale, 650 were seized. The three suspects were subsequently released.