Last year, as I was gearing up for 2025 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Keep Trooping, I was on the lookout for a fresh idea to give the website and all my projects a special new vibe. Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was refreshing the logo. Since I created it about a decade ago, I could see that it needed a bit of a makeover to match my vision. I wanted something clean and eye-catching, but also truly unique. So, I jotted down some sketches of what I wanted to improve from the original logo and passed those ideas over to Kento. He did an amazing job! He took my vision and really brought it to life. I was thrilled with the final result! With that under my belt, I was able to apply it to a bunch of new things, but I still craved something a bit more distinctive.

Coincidentally, I had an absolute blast taking my Captain Haddock character to Comic-Con in Tokyo. I realised how comfortable I felt in that character because, let’s be honest, Captain Haddock and Han Solo share some similar traits. They’re both grumpy in their own ways (but we love them for it!), super loyal, and quite protective of their ships. The mashup just made sense to me! I’ve always felt a strong personal connection to Captain Haddock—after all, we’re both Belgian! Among all the Tintin characters, he has always fascinated me the most. His initial reluctance to take action, coupled with his deep commitment once he decides to do something, kinda resonates with my own personality.

So, I had this fun idea of merging these two worlds together creatively. I’ve always enjoyed seeing artists blend their favourite styles with Star Wars characters, and there’s a fantastic history of that kind of mashup in entertainment, like in Star Wars Visions and Family Guy specials. It felt natural to me to combine a blend of classic Belgian comic art from the 1950s and 1960s with the Star Wars universe, which has been such a huge part of my life.

I thought, “Why not create a classic Tintin running logo featuring a stormtrooper?” I envisioned including a mouse droid in place of Snowy and adding Haddock Solo into the mix, too.

From that idea, I started looking at all the graphics I now use for Keep Trooping. I owe a massive thank you to Kento for helping me turn all these wild ideas into reality! His execution and timing have been fantastic, and he’s been incredibly supportive in bringing my quirky visions to life. If you’re looking for artwork for your club, your personal projects, patches, or anything else, definitely reach out to Kento. You won’t be disappointed with his amazing work!