Herge got an godstatus because his work was so influential, His Tintin comics were an great example of hard work and dedication, it was even that popular that some countries were scared that the next Tintin would be based in their country, legend goes that Tintin in China(The blue lotus) that takes place during the Japanese invasion was so hated by the Japanese that every person in Tianjin that dare to say he came from the country of Tintin was killed or dissapeared....
Herge and his Tintin comics inspired many to start a career, the smurfs like mentioned before would not have existed without Tintin, another example was Matt Groening who stated that the Simpsons probably would not have existed without Tintin (possible why Tintin got mentioned a few times in one of the last seasons?).
But we are to young to really understand what Tintin meant for the world I guess.
