Day 24

Tintin and Alph-Art

Tintin and Alph-Art is the twenty-fourth and final book in the Tintin series. It is a striking departure from the earlier books in tone and subject, as well as in some parts of the style; rather than being set in a usual exotic and action-packed environment this story is largely played out in the world of modern art. Hergé worked on the book until his death in 1983, and it was published posthumously (despite its unfinished status) in 1986 by Casterman in association with La Fondation Hergé, and was republished in 2004 with further material.

24 Days of Tintin Special Merchandise!

Day Twenty-Four: Tintin and Alph-Art Special Package. Because there is no merchandise based on Alph-Art – well, at least none that we can get our hand on – we decided to offer all the reference books on Hergé and Tintin at 50% off. Regularly priced at $129.80. Available now at $64.90. Expires 8:00 am December 17, 2009. Purchase it now.

Product details
The Art of Hergé: Hardcover, and in English. This is the first volume in a three volume series that presents a large selection of Herge’s outstanding and often upublished drawings showing the diversity of his work and offering the reader a view of the range of his talent. The Adventures of Hergé: Following on from his best-selling Tintin: The Complete Companion, Michael Farr portrays the little-known but fascinating life of Hergé, the remarkable artist behind Tintin, the boy reporter who continues to thrill and delight an ever-widening audience. In seven separate sketches, Farr presents his picture of a man whose life is the key to his creation. The Pocket Essential Tintin: or those new to Tintin or veteran fans, this pocket book offers facts as well as expert opinions, all on Tintin. Paperback: 96 pages in English. Tintin & Co.: Leading British Tintinologist and journalist, Michael Farr, presents his choice of the dozen most important and colorful characters from The Adventures of Tintin in Tintin & Co., revealing their origins, inspirations, and the source of their enduring fascination. This handsome, lavishly-illustrated volume takes a closer look at the remarkable cast that enriches the adventures.

The Tintin map was especially created by Chris Tregenza who run’s a Tintin blog on the forthcoming Tintin movie. A full map showing all of Tintin’s 23 journeys is available for purchase from his site.

FUN FACTS ABOUT TINTIN AND ALPH-ART

Brought to you by The Tintin Blog

Hergé had a long love affair with contemporary art. He counted among his friends such cutting edge luminaries such as American artist Andy Warhol and Belgian surrealist René Magritte.

Famous Magritte

Hergé and Warhol

Day 23

Tintin and the Picaros

The last Tintin adventure has the boys headed for South America to see their old friend Alcazar, whose rebel band are finally getting ready for one last push against the General who usurped Alcazar’s power early on in the series. Alcazar, while always an ally, was never exactly one of the good guys, and Hergé plays that up here. Another fine Tintin adventure.

24 Days of Tintin Special Merchandise!

Day Twenty-Three: Tintin and the Picaros Special Package. Regularly priced at $128.89. Available now at $64.45. That’s a savings of 50%. Expires 8:00 am December 16, 2009. Purchase it now.

Product details
Tintin and the Picaros Book: Softcover and in English. Collectible Car: The truck of Alcazar from Tintin and the Picaros. Alcazar as driver and Tintin & Snowy as passengers. Scale 1/43. Measures 4.8 inches in length. Collectible Car: The governmental limousine from Picaros, at a 1/43 scale. Found on page 20 of the book. The driver is a soldier with Haddock and Manolo as passengers.

The Tintin map was especially created by Chris Tregenza who run’s a Tintin blog on the forthcoming Tintin movie. A full map showing all of Tintin’s 23 journeys is available for purchase from his site.

FUN FACTS ABOUT TINTIN AND THE PICAROS

Brought to you by Tintinology

The language of the Arumbaya Indians, who first appeared in The Broken Ear, is a very clever play on words. In the original version, it is Marols, the Brussels dialect spoken by Hergé’s grandmother. For the English translators, it is replaced by a play on the cockney accent from London. One example of this is the temple Hotwattabotl seen on the cover of the book. When said in a bad cockney accent, it sounds like “hot water bottle”.

Day 22

Flight 714

Regarded as the first truly modern work by Hergé, Flight 714 brings us the return of Rastapopoulos, Tintin’s arch-enemy. This time he’s hijacked the plane of a magnate who’s offered Tintin a lift to a conference after they miss their transport. Needless to say, no one involved has any intention of letting him get away with it.

24 Days of Tintin Special Merchandise!

Day Twenty-Two: Flight 714 Special Package. Another Tintin book that Moulinsart has not done enough with in terms of merchandise. So, instead of trying to build a package out of nothing, we decided to let one lucky fan take 35% off anything at ShopTintin. Feeling lucky? Expires 8:00 am December 14, 2009. Take advantage of the offer now.

The Tintin map was especially created by Chris Tregenza who run’s a Tintin blog on the forthcoming Tintin movie. A full map showing all of Tintin’s 23 journeys is available for purchase from his site.

FUN FACTS ABOUT FLIGHT 714

Brought to you by Tintinology

It is hard to imagine that after 21 books, Hergé could make a beginners mistake with a Tintin story, but he did. When he planned the comic, he miscounted the pages and ended up with 64 instead of the normal 62 pages. This mistake was only discovered late on in drawing stage and so Hergéhad to condense the last four pages in to two. This gives Flight 714 a very sudden and abrupt ending.

Day 21

The Castafiore Emerald

Hergé’s only female character finally gets her own book. When an old gypsy fortune-teller reads Captain Haddock’s palm, she foresees trouble at Marlinspike Hall. Indeed, Tintin, Snowy and the Captain are scarcely home again before misfortune strikes. An accident, an unexpected visitor, an invasion by press and television, and then a robbery. Bianca Castafiore’s emerald disappears. All of Tintin’s skills are needed to reveal the identify of a strange and ingenious thief. [Thanks to Tintinologist for the concise summary]

24 Days of Tintin Special Merchandise!

Day Twenty-One: The Castafiore Emerald Special Package. Regularly priced at $322.95. Available now at $161.48 with free shipping. That’s a savings of 50%. Expires 8:00 am December 13, 2009. Purchase it now.

Product details
Watch: Keep time with Bianca Castafiore. The second “hand” is actually her voice as it circles the watch face! Lovely Bordeaux leather strap even matches her gown. Made in France. Sized for an adult. One size fits most. Vintage Statue: Lovely resin statue of the only female character in the Tintin series. Measures 9.75 inches tall. In almost perfect condition. Please review our policies on vintage items. Tabletop Pop-Out: Fun cardboard pop-out. Measures 8.25 x 8.25 inches..

The Tintin map was especially created by Chris Tregenza who run’s a Tintin blog on the forthcoming Tintin movie. A full map showing all of Tintin’s 23 journeys is available for purchase from his site.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THE CASTAFIORE EMERALD

Brought to you by Tintinology

Perhaps the oddest of all Tintin’s adventures, the entire story takes place in the Marlinspike Hall. There are no villains or wars or shooting or any of the normal trappings of a Tintin story. In this book, Hergé was experimenting with what sort of stories he could tell. He wanted to push his writing skills as far as he could. Often overlooked when considering the great Tintin books, the Castafiore Emerald is perhaps the cleverest and sharply written of them all.

Day 20

Tintin in Tibet

The plot: Tintin, vacationing in the Alps with Haddock and Calculus, suddenly has a dream in which his friend Tchang (from The Blue Lotus, an earlier Tintin album) is in serious danger. As they soon learn, Tchang was on a plane that crashed on the Himalayas, apparently without survivors. But Tintin is convinced Tchang is alive, so naturally try to rescue him. In Tibet they met a number of people, including none other than the Yeti (who is a central character in the book). Also of interest, is that it shows an independent Tibet, the book being written just before China’s invasion of that land.

24 Days of Tintin Special Merchandise!

Day Twenty: Tintin in Tibet Special Package. Regularly priced at $191.90. Available now at $115.14 with free shipping. That’s a savings of 40%. Expires 8:00 am December 12, 2009. Purchase it now.

Product details
Lithograph: Yes, we realize this is a litho from The Blue Lotus. But Lotus is where Tintin and Tchang become friends and that friendship is the whole reason behind the adventure of Tintin in Tibet. This image was extracted from plate 88 published in Le Petit Vingtieme on 6 June 1935. Numbered out of 1,000. Indian Ink, watercolor and gouache on art paper. 202 x 164 mm. Framed in wood.  Poster: of Tintin in Tibet. In French. Measures 20 x 28 inches. Collectible Car: Metal Cadillac Fleetwood from Tintin in Tibet. Scale 1/43. Passengers: Tintin, Haddock & Snowy. Driver: Indian driver. Length 3.6 inches. Comes in handsome display case.

The Tintin map was especially created by Chris Tregenza who run’s a Tintin blog on the forthcoming Tintin movie. A full map showing all of Tintin’s 23 journeys is available for purchase from his site.

FUN FACTS ABOUT TINTIN IN TIBET

Brought to you by Tintinology

The Yeti and the Himalayas were big news in the run years before Tintin in Tibet was published in 1958. In 1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first men to climb Everest and also reported seeing large footsteps in the snow. Afterwards, several major expeditions were made to the region to find evidence of the Yeti which collected photographs of unidentified footprints, strange hair samples and droppings of an unknown animal.

Make your own Yeti.