The Adventures of Tintin and Snowy by Herge
The Nostalgia
I associate Tintin with my school days when I was gifted 'Tintin In Tibet' by a friend. I could not lay my hand on another Tintin book until my college days. Today I am the proud owner of 20 out of the 24 books published in the series. The Tintin experience is adventurous, funny and a great learning experience.
The Author
Georges Remi was born in Brussels, Belgium on May 22, 1907. Georges Remi got the name Herge, from his initials 'R.G'(as pronounced in French). Tintin and Snowy were 'born' on January 10 1929, when they were first published in Le Petit Vingtieme(a weekly children supplement to Le Vingtieme Siecle) of which Herge was the chief editor.
The Characters
Tintin: A Belgian citizen with no known family, Tintin is a reporter by profession. In fact he is an adventurer as much as a detective. Although he is available, he is not looking for adventures, they come to him, just by chance. He works for 'Le Petit Vingtieme'.
Snowy: A fox terrier, faithful to his master. Travels around the world & even to the moon with Tintin. He appears in all the adventures.
Captain Haddock: Ex-officer of the merchant navy, he ends up relishing life in his castle. He would often complain about his friend Tintin’s taste for adventure yet he would follow him everywhere, generally against his own will. His taste for whisky is widely recognised as well as his famous insults. The hot-headed captain has a repertoire of over 200 unusual insults.
Professor Calculus: Very absent-minded, hearing impaired, intuitive and sentimental to the extreme, Calculus is capable of the most unexpected & sometimes really weird.
Thomson & Thompson: Narrow-minded police officers, their resemblance is stunning. Only the shape of their moustache allows the distinction. Thomson's moustache looks like /|||\ & Thompson's like (|||). The detectives serve as scapegoats of the Tintin adventures. Their blunders and slips of the tongue always double up.
Bianca Castafiore: Renowned singer from La Scala in Milan, her presence like her voice, seems like a cyclone. Her usual victim is no one but Captain Haddock whose name she loves to massacre.
Apart from them there are Nestor the butler, General Alcazar, chief of the Picaros, Rastapopolous, millionaire film producer & villain of these adventures, Jolyon Wagg, the representative of Rock Bottom Insurance & an absolute nuisance.
The Books
Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets (1930) - Translated in English in 1989 - Tintin's first adventure, where he starts off by boarding a train for Moscow. He denounces the communist party and survives murder attempts.
Tintin In The Congo (1931) - Translated in English in 1991 - Tintin travels to Africa where he outsmarts the gangsters who want to take control of the diamond production of Congo.
Tintin In America (1932) - Translated in English in 1978 - Tintin travels to Americas to face Al Capone and his goons.
Cigars Of The Pharaoh (1934) - Translated in English in 1971 - Tintin travels to Egypt & India after getting entangled in a drug traffikers' ring. Thomson & Thompson are introduced as two bumbling detectives. Rastapopolous & Senhor Oliveira de Figuera make their first appearances.
The Blue Lotus (1936) - Translated in English in 1983 - Tintin travels to China where he meets Chang. Facts are combined with fiction as Japan's expansionist plans are exposed & they are forced to resign from the League of Nations.
Tintin and The Broken Ear (1937) - Translated in English in 1975 - Tintin sets off to South America to retrieve a stolen fetish with a broken ear. General Alcazar & Professor Ridgewell are introduced in this book.
The Black Island (1938) - Translated in English in 1966 - Tintin goes to Scotland where he solves the mystery of a haunted island.
King Ottokar's Sceptre (1939) - Bianca Castafiore is introduced in this book.
The Crab With The Golden Claws (1942) - Tintin thwarts a scheme where opium is hidden in tins of crab meat. Tintin meets Captain Haddock for the first time.
The Shooting Star (1942) - Tintin sails to the Arctic Ocean in search of an unusual meteorite which contains an unknown metal.
The Secret Of The Unicorn (1943) - Translated in English in 1959 - Tintin solves the mystery of the treasure left behind by Captain Haddock's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock. Nestor the butler is introduced in this book.
Red Rackham's Treasure (1944) - Translated in English in 1959 - Continued from 'The secret Of The Unicorn' - Tintin sets off with Captain Haddock in search of Red Rackham's Treasure. Professor Cuthbert Calculus is introduced in this book.
The Seven Crystal Balls (1948) - Seven scientists who unearthed the tomb of Rascar Capac have fallen in a coma & Professor Calculus is missing. Tintin tries to unravel the mystery. The Best Tintin book.
Prisoners Of The Sun (1949) - Translated in English in 1962 - Continued from 'The Seven Crystal Balls' - Based in Peru, Tintin will find Calculus and unearth the spell that has put the scientists in a coma.
Land Of Black Gold (1951) - Translated in English in 1972 - Tintin travels to the Middle East where there is a crisis due to tampered oil. Abdullah, the nasty young brat is introduced in this book.
Destination Moon (1953) - Translated in English in 1959 - Calculus prepares to send a rocket to the moon for which he has chosen Tintin & Haddock alongwith himself.
Explorers On The Moon (1954) - Translated in English in 1960 - A science fiction story with remarkable precision, 15 years before Armstrong set foot on Earth's only natural satellite.
The Calculus Affair (1956) - Translated in English in 1960 - Professor Calculus has created an ultrasound instrument due to which he has been kidnapped. Jolyon Wagg is introduced in this book.
The Red Sea Sharks (1958) - Translated in English in 1960 - Tintin travels through the Arabian sea and discovers that slave trading still exists. This book has the greatest ensemble of maximum characters from the Tintin series.
Tintin In Tibet (1960) - Tintin goes to Tibet to save his friend, Chang, who has been a victim in an airplane crash in the mountains.
The Castafiore Emerald (1963) - Translated in English in 1963 - A comical effort based at Marlinspike Hall, where Bianca Castafiore's jewels are stolen.
Flight 714 (1968)
Tintin and The Picaros (1976)
Tintin And The Alphart (1986)
Official Website
http://www.tintin.com
