Captain Haddock makes his first appearance
Okay, not only is this one of my favourite albums, it is also the album in which we have one of the major characters, Captain Haddock, first appear. At this stage we now have the two police officers (the Thompson twins), the opera singer (Bianca Castafiore), some reoccurring villains (Rastapopolous and Mr Alan Mate), and now Tintin's travelling companion, the drunk ship captain Captain Haddock.
It is funny that some have noted that none of the characters (with the exception of Jolon Wagg) actually have any family, and in some cases, no real background at all. All we know about Tintin is that he is a reporter that works for a Belgian newspaper, and all we know about the Thompson Twins is that they are police officers. The same goes with Captain Haddock, though he do get a glimpse of his heritage, which is more than we have with the other characters.
However I do not think that the lack of a background ends up detracting from the stories themselves. I just do not believe that Herge thought that it was necessary to delve too deeply into his character's pasts. What we have is a series adventure, as well as some very clever satire, and the characters seem to be well rounded enough so as be able to exist without a background that exists outside of the series. In the end there is nothing beyond what is in the album that is really needed to add to the excitement of the adventure.
Once again Tintin is going after drug smugglers. He seems to have a habit of stumbling into adventures, and the key with Tintin is that the more you try to discourage him, the more determined he is to get to the bottom of the mystery. It is not the case that Tintin is always right though, he is not. A number of times he does make mistakes, however it is his determination to see that the villains do not get away with their villainy that makes Tintin who he is.
The recent movie that was released is partly based upon this book, which once again made me enjoy the movie much more. Moreso, it is interesting that in this album, and in the movie, they have the joke about Captain Haddock lighting a fire in a boat to keep them warm, however that part is skipped out in the cartoon series. Also, at the end of the album, Tintin and Captain Haddock are trapped in a wine cellar, and the fumes from the wine make them drunk, and it is hilarious when Captain Haddock charges out of the bunker in a fit of rage chasing the bad guys, while Tintin is dancing and singing along behind him. I must admit that Herge is hilarious, though the younger readers are probably not able to relate to a number of the jokes that us adults are able. Herge is truly a writer for all ages.
