Thomson and Thompson

Thomson and Thompson are fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. They are two incompetent detectives who provide much of the comic relief throughout the series. While the two are apparently unrelated as they have different surnames, they look like identical twins whose only discernible difference is the shape of their moustaches.[2] They are afflicted with chronic spoonerisms, are extremely clumsy, thoroughly clueless, and usually bent on arresting the wrong character. In spite of this, they somehow get entrusted with delicate missions.

The detective with the flared, pointy moustache is Thomson, who often describes himself as "Thomson, without a 'P', as inVenezuela". The detective with the flat, droopy moustache has described himself as "Thompson, with a 'P', as in psychology" or "Philadelphia", using words with either a silent "P" or in which the "P" is combined with another letter, losing the "P" sound.

Thomson and Thompson usually wear bowler hats and carry walking sticks, except when abroad: during these missions they insist on wearing the stereotypical costume of the country they are visiting so that they blend into the local population, but instead manage to dress in folkloric attire that actually makes them stand apart.