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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Chronologically in between 'The black island' and 'The crab with the golden claws', this 1947 album is a great Tintin adventure. East European spies, car chases, the first meeting with Bianca Castafiore, treachorous soldiers, clever detective work, it has it all.
The original version came out, in black and white, in 1938. It was very topical, in that the Borduria/Syldavia tensions mirror those of Germany and Austria: in fact, the Anschluss (takeover of Austria by Germany) had just taken place. But in 1947 the colour version was made, and Herge and Edgar Jacobs (writer of the excellent Blake & Mortimer series) took the opportunity to re-draw the story as well.
The drawing is precise, vintage Herge at his top.
The original version came out, in black and white, in 1938. It was very topical, in that the Borduria/Syldavia tensions mirror those of Germany and Austria: in fact, the Anschluss (takeover of Austria by Germany) had just taken place. But in 1947 the colour version was made, and Herge and Edgar Jacobs (writer of the excellent Blake & Mortimer series) took the opportunity to re-draw the story as well.
The drawing is precise, vintage Herge at his top.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Tintin's adventure in the Balkans perhaps doesn't have the same exotic allure as his excursions to the Andes, to Tibet, to the Sahara or the Moon, and consequently King Ottokar's Sceptre is somewhat underrated among the Tintin collection. Hergé however puts no less effort into his research and his creation of a political background for the state of Syldavia, going as far in this book as to include a brief brochure laying out the troubled history of the nation that comes across as realistic and authentic, giving the story a little more political depth.
The story doesn't skimp on action and intrigue either, Tintin's investigative nose getting him into a lot of trouble when he refuses to take the hint and mind his own business. Returning a lost briefcase found in a park to a professor in the study of ancient seals, Tintin gets wind of something suspicious going on related to Syldavia and volunteers to accompany the professor on his visit there acting as his assistant. Even Professor Alembick starts behaving strangely as the trip commences, but before he can act on his suspicions, Tintin finds himself ejected from the small aircraft while they are on their way to the capital Klow.
The story's plot to overthrow the King of Syldavia is a product of the time of its writing, King Ottokar's sceptre being originally serialised in the Petit Vingtième from August 1938 to August 1939, the situation between Syldavia and Borduria reflecting the Anschluss of Austria by German forces in March 1938. It's no coincidence then that the name of the author of this plot, Müsstler, is made up of a combination of Mussolini and Hitler.
As one of Tintin's earlier adventures, the artwork here isn't always as slick and polished as it is in some of the later books, (often done in collaboration with the assistants at Hergé's studios), although when redrawn for collected publication in this edition, Edgar P. Jacobs (Blake and Mortimer) was employed to redesign Syldavian costumes, work on new backgrounds and the recolouring of the story, adding considerably to the whole feel of the work. The sense of pacing here however is pure Hergé and classic Tintin, purposefully driving the story forward, leaving little visual clues and puzzles to be worked out. The story achieves a wonderful balance then between action and intrigue, with every page revealing another little twist or amusement (including the first appearance from our diva Bianca Castafiore) as the story gains momentum.
The story doesn't skimp on action and intrigue either, Tintin's investigative nose getting him into a lot of trouble when he refuses to take the hint and mind his own business. Returning a lost briefcase found in a park to a professor in the study of ancient seals, Tintin gets wind of something suspicious going on related to Syldavia and volunteers to accompany the professor on his visit there acting as his assistant. Even Professor Alembick starts behaving strangely as the trip commences, but before he can act on his suspicions, Tintin finds himself ejected from the small aircraft while they are on their way to the capital Klow.
The story's plot to overthrow the King of Syldavia is a product of the time of its writing, King Ottokar's sceptre being originally serialised in the Petit Vingtième from August 1938 to August 1939, the situation between Syldavia and Borduria reflecting the Anschluss of Austria by German forces in March 1938. It's no coincidence then that the name of the author of this plot, Müsstler, is made up of a combination of Mussolini and Hitler.
As one of Tintin's earlier adventures, the artwork here isn't always as slick and polished as it is in some of the later books, (often done in collaboration with the assistants at Hergé's studios), although when redrawn for collected publication in this edition, Edgar P. Jacobs (Blake and Mortimer) was employed to redesign Syldavian costumes, work on new backgrounds and the recolouring of the story, adding considerably to the whole feel of the work. The sense of pacing here however is pure Hergé and classic Tintin, purposefully driving the story forward, leaving little visual clues and puzzles to be worked out. The story achieves a wonderful balance then between action and intrigue, with every page revealing another little twist or amusement (including the first appearance from our diva Bianca Castafiore) as the story gains momentum.
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was so looking forward to getting and reading this Tintin book - a book I used to have years ago. On opening the book I was so shocked and dissapointed, since the new publisher of the Tintin books - Egmont, have changed the paper used in the books. With past publications, pages used to be of a matte paper in which the colours were strong and vibrant, whereas this book used a smooth glossy type paper, which made the colours seem pale and faded - not a good look. The other thing I noticed was the typeface used in the new book. For the record, the hand drawn typeface (by Neil Hyslop) that used to be used, was strong and striking had now been replaced by an uncomfortable mediocre italic typeface in which the kerning and spacing was completely messed up - uuuuurrgghhh! Not a good look.
As a consequence of these awful 'additions', I am giving away my book to a charity shop and will instead look to try and get hold of second-hand but traditional Tintin books that were previously published by the likes of Methuen, Mammoth and Magnet respectively.
You have been warned...
As a consequence of these awful 'additions', I am giving away my book to a charity shop and will instead look to try and get hold of second-hand but traditional Tintin books that were previously published by the likes of Methuen, Mammoth and Magnet respectively.
You have been warned...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Gets up to speed about half way through.
There are drawbacks - the plot is initially confusing, similar looking characters and a profusion of names, but about half way through it seems to hit its stride, especially the... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Mr. M. Jones
Bravely topical at the time, now just beautiful period-piece fun.
A classic Tintin adventure that finds Tintin travelling to Syldavia for the first time (he returns in Hergé's lunar themed double bill), in the company of the mysterious... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sebastian Palmer
Superb
This is one cartoon character which doesn't need any review. Every single story is a favourite of mine and I wish they would turn each of that into a motion picture. Read more
Published 5 months ago by UMESH PEDNEKAR
1947 classic!
Chronologically in between 'The black island' and 'The crab with the golden claws', this 1947 album is a great Tintin adventure. Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2010 by H. Beentje
Marvellous!
Every Tintin book is a work of genuis (all right the TV spin off books are a bit pants)but all of the originals are the ideal Big brother/ Dad reading a bed time story. Read more
Published on 15 July 2009 by S. Glover
Busy adventure in some fictional eastern european enclave
A fairly typical Tintin adventure which sees him out and about as usual, caught up in a very complicated set of affairs in some pastiche eastern european enclave, where territories... Read more
Published on 19 April 2009 by Lou Knee
Excellent illustrations
Excellent book, very funny and extremely enjoyable.
Published on 13 Dec 2000
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