tintin Comics: Tintin and the Calculus Affair

This is just a pdf scan of the paperback. Pages are not even straight but are crooked which shows lazy (and probably drunken) attempt at scanning. it would take a bit, but not a lot, of work to redraw the book in AI so it could re-engage new generations with retina display quality.Don't buy this until Herge Group create a true digital version of these classic BD books.

"The Calculus Affair" begins in Marlinspike Hall with Professor Calculus's experimentation and subsequent kidnapping, and the trail leads to Borduria, a small, fictional country in the Balkans whose evil leaders have grandiose political ambitions. The professor has come up with the blueprints for a weapon of, well, mass destruction that could be used to Borduria's advantage. This story line is a reflection of the mid-1950s Cold War period, when this book was published. Syldavia, locale of the "good guys" in "King Ottokar's Sceptre," is here merely a rival country also seeking to obtain the weapon.Herge once again displays originality and sophistication in his artwork and story setting, combining for a great atmosphere. Borduria (its capital city, Szohod, anyway) is more modern-urban than its rival Syldavia as portrayed in "King Ottokar's Sceptre." There, Borduria was referenced but not much seen, while Syldavia's capital, Klow, featured a magnificent castle, royal garb and decor, and some people in peasant garb (outside Klow, it was just peasant garb). Here, Syldavia is referenced but not seen, except to the extent of one Bordurian-goon vs. Syldavian-goon scene in which the groups fight for the possession of Professor Calculus. When Captain Haddock asks Tintin how to tell which one to go after, Tintin says he should go for the ugliest.Herge always displayed contempt for military authority and authoritarian regimes in his books, and here it is no different. Symbolically, the city Tintin and the Captain first go to after the kidnapping is Geneva, based on a clue left by a thug spying at Marlinspike. Professor Calculus had communicated about his machine with Professor Topolino, an expert in ultrasonics. Calculus was worried about the dangerous consequences of his invention, but a planned meeting in Geneva was aborted because of the kidnapping. Professor Calculus did not want to cooperate with the Bordurians because he did not want his weapon used for warlike purposes. Herge emphasizes, even satirizes, the crassness of the Bordurians in their desire for military power. His social commentary was clear."By the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch" is an amusing catch phrase Herge supplies for Borduria's ruler, but the operative villain of the story is the Nazi-like official Colonel Sponsz. Despite his evil nature, Colonel Sponsz has human feelings, for he enjoys opera star Signora Bianca Castafiore's singing, something Captain Haddock certainly never does from the start of the series! But Sponsz is also a sourpuss loser, sort of like the bumbling officers in "Hogan's Heroes." Also noteworthy is that Borduria's ruler (who we never actually meet) has elements of Hitler himself (greeting is "Amaih Kurvi-Tasch"), as well as Stalin (shape of mustache). The Belgian Herge, anti-fascist by nature, reverted to form after the occupation.Signora Castafiore, who sang in Klow in "King Ottokar's Sceptre" and sings in Szohod here, gives key help to Tintin and the Captain. No scene has her upsetting the Captain with her voice this time, but someone who does is gas-bag insurance salesman Jolyon Wagg, who makes his first appearance as the full-of-himself tormenter of the always irascible Haddock. He is introduced at the beginning of the book when he "pushes" himself into Marlinspike during a rainstorm, and he comes back again at the end. As for the Captain himself, his drinking is limited to a bottle of Swiss wine in Geneva, providing a humorous aside.Four and a half stars, just short of five.

I was disappointed by the fact that this was only a scanned copy of the original comic book. Also, it wasn't a particularly good scan and the panels next to the binding were distorted. Also the colors were a bit faded and not true. The least that could have been done was that the scan should have been done with an unbound copy of the comic. A better quality scanner could have been used to bring out the vibrant colors of the original strip

This very European adventure follows Tintin and the Captain from their delightful English country house to Switzerland and a fictional balkan country, all rendered in attractive clear-line style.This tale contains more than the usual share of gags and mishaps, subtle sarcasm and humor, set against a backdrop of real circumstances- the cold war and arms race of the 50's, the struggle to develop hideous weapons, with recognizable parodies of historic figures. This is partly why the tintin books are so good at educating and opening the imagination and curiosity of children to the wider world.What I find striking is the accuracy of the illustrations, which not only depict buildings and places as they really were in the 1950's (for example the Cointrin airport or the cornavin hotel), but also evoke the countryside and the atmosphere of each country.

As a kid, travelling with my parents in Europe, I was exposed to the brilliance of Tintin books. Across the board, they are entertaining, comical, suspenseful, and somewhat educational."The Calculus Affair" has long stood as one of my top five of the Tintin series. It features the absentminded professor, the blustery captain, the intrepid Tintin and his dog Snowy, and the British inspectors Thomson and Thompson. It's the quintessential Tintin story, full of miscues, clues, adventure, and comedy. I picked up a new copy the other day (now that I'm reaching forty years old), and sped through the story, reliving all the joy of my childhood. This is still fun stuff. Worth every penny.May a whole new generation discover the genius of the Tintin books, as I did back in the seventies.

What is there to say? These are all fantastic adventure yarns with amazing drawings. I first read TinTin in the 1960s and still find them a lot of fun. They have a mid-20th century context, so if you are not familiar with some of the social and political issues that embroiled the 20th century, the plots may seem remote or mysterious. But this may be a good way to introduce children to some of these issues that shaped our lives.

tin tin the classic I liked the glossy paper which was not the case in old days so it is more durable

It was an easy to read book in comic book form

This is just an amateur scan and it's not even straight. Bearing in mind that I have the books in the attic, and a scanner in the kitchen, I could have done a better job myself AND... could there be some sort of copyright issue here? Kindle need to check this book out as it falls well below the usual Kindle quality!

I bought this for my little four year old home-educated relative. She, like her sister before her, has thumbed her nose at conventional 'Jennifer Yellow Hat' type reading material, in favour of the genius that is Herge. She's a mysterious little character, and we're not quite sure how much of these books she actually 'reads' and how much she simply enjoys... but since reading should be all about enjoyment, what difference does it make, really? Indeed, the words seem to be of almost no relevance when it comes to enjoying these books. The illustrations are so phenomenal that you can get a complete picture of precisely what is going on purely on those pictures alone.As far as the story is concerned, I think other reviewers have covered it far better than I ever could. The best Tintin stories feature Captain Haddock rather significantly and this book is certainly no exception to that rule. I have a bit of a man-crush on the Captain, something that is in no way diminished by the knowledge of his rather fast and loose approach to the recommended daily alcohol intake of an average adult. The story itself is almost not even relevant; Once you take the plunge and procure any one single Tintin adventure, the others will surely follow. In my experience, nobody who has ever committed to taking possession of any one of these books had been able to stop before completing the entire collection. That is a testament to the artist's genius.Nowhere does this creative genius manifest itself more in this volume than on page 10. More than one half of a page, with virtually no words whatsoever. Within eight frames, the Captain goes from contemplating a few verses of 'Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin'' to watching his entire world shatter before his very eyes. No drawing is wasted, and the children love it.The geatest compliment I can give to any of these books is something my little eight year old relative says quite often; 'Is this written in English?'. Now then, someone with more money than sense (Guilty, as charged) decided to purchase some French copies of these books in order to make himself look intelligent. If there was ever a more clear-cut case of hoping to 'bathe in reflected glory', I have yet to make its rather shady acquiantance. My little eight year old friend reads and she reads extremely well... yet she obviously pays no attention whatsoever to the words within the books. It's all about the artwork - and it's a resounding two fingers to me.These were the first books I can ever remember being passionate about and it is the images that I myself remember, not the words. Herge was a genius - he brought Captain Haddock and his very attractive blue sweater into existence. For that, I for one am inordinately grateful.

As a child, I remember going to the library and checking out the Tintin books and being drawn into the adventure, wishing I could be Tintin.Now in my late 20's, I have decided to purchase all the Tintin books so that when my 2 year old is a bit older, I can share the world of Tintin with him :-D

Tintin books are wonderful, unfortunately this "kindle edition" is badly scanned by what appears to be a child with a photocopier. I doubt this is an official release, and I'd be fascinated to learn who is making money churning out such substandard piracy.Avoid this insulting trash, buy the hard copies from anyone except Amazon.

Classic, considered to be one of the better Tintin adventures combinin cold war tension with classic sleuthing.

I think this book is best enjoyed when the reader has read earlier Tintin books and is familiar with the characters. There is humour to be found in the illustrations and in the words (I enjoyed the jokes in "foreign" place names). This book was bought as a child's present, but can be enjoyed by all ages. There are a lot of Tintin books in the series.

Classic Tintin adventure with lovely traditional drawing and bright colours.If you are a fan this is a must have.Gentle and rather old fashioned it takes you back to a different time and place.

Great book.... Photocopied for kindle... Page 1 is out of line with page.... Amateur job, Unfortunate! :(((

A God read but not the best Tin tin stories.

This edition is a total insult to the Tintin series. It's badly scanned and poorly presented with washed out colours and hard to read text.Shame on the publishers for letting this happen!

Fantastic collection

Good

vg

I have managed to buy the entire collection of hardbacks for my husband. He is very happy with them. Great quality.

Classic Herge. I bought this for my 9 year old nephew who is reluctant to read but loves comics. Hopefully he'll collect and read them all!