Blistering Barnacles: An A-Z of The Rants, Rambles and Rages of Captain Haddock

If you, like me, remember reading the exciting adventures of Tintin, then you will love this amusing hardback book on Blistering Barnacles An A-Z of the rants and rages of Captain Haddock written by Albert Algoud, published by Farshore. It’s a alphabetical collection of the Captain’s insults with full descriptions, quite a few could be used today towards some of the high and not so mighty 😁 Though Captain Haddock’s bitterness towards poor old Snowy in The Shooting Star, having forced him to become vegetarian seems an odd insult these days more a healthier life choice today 😁 I think my favourite insult from Captain Haddock has to Slubberdegul-lion this being a filthy, slobbering or slovenly person, not worth bothering with 😂 i shall have incorporate a few these into my vocabulary next time I need to insult someone lol.A fun book that takes me back to my childhood, only now this book makes appreciate the witticisms more as an adult. A good read that deserves to be on any self respecting book shelf.

This isn’t quite the book I expected from the title. At first glance I’d assumed a coffee table book full of quotes from the Captain Haddock character, a sort of angry-eloquent precursor to Malcolm Tucker and the like. But it seems my memory of Tintin was slightly skewed- Captain Haddock, I’ve been reminded, spends more of his time just shouting individual and unexpected words at the target of his rage. “Sea-gherkin! Pirate! Logarithm! Ectoplasm! Baboon! You call yourself a policeman and you can’t open a bottle properly!”.So instead of being witty, with one-liners worthy of cat posters, this book ends up being an illustrated dictionary, explaining each and every word that was used by Captain Haddock in that context, starting with Aardvark and finishing with Zapotec and Zombie. Some of it is understandably political given the time period of the originals, but as far as I’ve seen (though I may have missed it), there’s nothing that feels politically incorrect here- perhaps just a little bit of airbrushing might have been going on.The explanations are remarkably dry and humourless. Imagine the headline paragraph of the wiki pedia page on each subject, or a description you would find in a completely normal dictionary, and that’s generally what you get. A few additional illustrations brighten things up a little bit, but are a little random. On a page containing “vermicelli”, “viper” and “visigoth”, the authors decided to include an illustration of... the vermicelli!Each page has a Tintin panel on it showing Captain Haddock in action, but out of context, there’s something slightly unsatisfying about this approach, making you want to go off and read a real Tintin book rather than entertaining you within itself.So this is a coffee table book, as I thought it would be, but instead of an entertaining little rant to read, you can learn something about sea-gherkins, cyclotrons or filibustering instead. It’s not bad, but it does manage to be less entertaining than a Tintin story, rather than a distilled collection of the funny bits.

First a word of warning. Some of the insults used by Captain Haddock could land you in prison if you were to use them today. For that reason I would be reluctant to buy this book as a gift for anyone or to use it as a coffee table book.As a book for myself I find this something of a disappointment. I was hoping for much more Captain Haddock artwork and some context for his tirades. Instead, this book is mostly a glossary of some of the words he has spouted, with some black and white illustrations. That is interesting in its own way, but it has low nostalgia value.The book is well bound and I like the choice of cover art. For those reasons this should appeal to collectors. For many years I have had a scrimshaw carving on my wall which resembles Captain Haddock. I am considering displaying this book alongside it.

I can’t say I was particularly a fan in my childhood years of Tintin but I was keen to check out this book to catch up on what I had missed.It is a nice size, well produced with good clear printing and hardback which I always appreciate in a book that is meant to be dipped in and out of regularly and therefore will last well long term.Having done so over the past few days my overall impression is that this book is a simple catalogue of the various rants of Captain Haddock and explanations and as such a definitions dictionary along with some black and white drawings and too few full colour images.In fact I found it ‘out of date’ in these modern times and not that interesting or amusing now at my age - 72.Maybe I am getting grumpy in my old age.I actually consider the book to be a bit ‘childish’ yet it is not a book that could comfortably be gifted to a child now in these politically correct times as numerous quotes in the book would be considered inappropriate now in our more modern outlook on life rendering the book’s content unsuitable for younger readers.I’m sure fans of Tintin and particularly Captain Haddock might find this book nostalgic and worth having on their bookshelf as a regular reminder of their own early years.Sorry – I don’t seem to fall into that category and apart from being a professional quality published hardback book the content didn’t do much for me.

Do you like Tin Tin? Laugh out loud at Captain Haddock and his foul mouth?This is the Farshore Books Blistering Barnacles, An A to Z Of Rants, Rambles and Rages of Captain Haddock, Hardback, 96 Pages and measures 23.1 x 1.2 x 14.8cm.If growing up like most of us you watched or read Tin Tin, then you'd be more than familiar with Captain Haddock the stereotypical fisherman sailor who likes a tipple and let's out some very choice words. From his more common Blistering Barnacles, Thundering Typhoons to various other phrases used by the seabearing opionated drunken.The book is laid out A to Z format with words and description in a very CAPTAIN haddock kinda way. There are gorgeous illustrations throughout taken from comic strips and purpose drawn illustrations of others. Some of the descriptions are serious with a very funny slint, you will find yourself smiling n smirking alongside the good Captain. Why not pour a glass of rum and really enjoy it?Overall this book is essential for anyone who loves Hergé's characters, especially potty mouthed drunken sailors. Recommended.