Customer Reviews
The one where Tintin is ejected out of a plane - By: Keris Nine, 08 Apr 2010 
Tintin's adventurein the Balkans perhaps doesn't have the same exotic allure as his excursions to the Andes, to Tibet, to the Sahara or the Moon, & consequently King Ottokar's Sceptre is somewhat underrated among the Tintin collection. Hergé however puts no less effort into his research & his creation of a political background for the state of Syldavia, going as farin this book as to include a brief brochure laying out the troubled history of the nation that comes across as realistic & authentic, giving the story a little more political depth.
The story doesn't skimp on action & intrigue either, Tintin's investigative nose getting him into a lot of trouble when he refuses to take the hint & mind his own business. Returning a lost briefcase foundin a park to a professorin the study of ancient seals, Tintin gets wind of something suspicious going on related to Syldavia & 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 serialisedin the Petit Vingtième from August 1938 to August 1939, the situation between Syldavia & Borduria reflecting the Anschluss of Austria by German forcesin 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 & Hitler.
As one of Tintin's earlier adventures, the artwork here isn't always as slick & polished as it isin some of the later books, (often donein collaboration with the assistants at Hergé's studios), although when redrawn for collected publicationin this edition, Edgar P. Jacobs (Blake & Mortimer) was employed to redesign Syldavian costumes, work on new backgrounds & the recolouring of the story, adding considerably to the whole feel of the work. The sense of pacing here however is pure Hergé & classic Tintin, purposefully driving the story forward, leaving little visual clues & puzzles to be worked out. The story achieves a wonderful balance then between action & intrigue, with every page revealing another little twist or amusement (including the first appearance from our diva Bianca Castafiore) as the story gains momentum.
1947 classic! - By: H. Beentje, 10 Jan 2010 Chronologicallyin between 'The black island' & '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 & white,in 1938. It was very topical,in that the Borduria/Syldavia tensions mirror those of Germany & Austria:in fact, the Anschluss (takeover of Austria by Germany) had just taken place. Butin 1947 the colour version was made, & Herge & 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.
One of the early Tintins, with the story slightly simplistic - but very enjoyable anyway!
Marvellous! - By: S. Glover, 15 Jul 2009 
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. My father did them all with me & i am doing them with my son.
The sheer joy they bring to bedtime for me & my son is imeasurable.
Busy adventure in some fictional eastern european enclave - By: Lou Knee, 19 Apr 2009 
A fairly typical Tintin adventure which sees him out & about as usual, caught upin a very complicated set of affairsin some pastiche eastern european enclave, where territories seem to change hands at the drop of a hat. Of course this is Herge making fun of stereotypes of such countries at the time, but even now, you can relate to much of the humorous goings on & border tensions evidentin the story. Busy, with some good background drawing & interesting locations, but the story does not engage, it has no great mystery to solve here, & you feel little empathy for any of the bickering characters. This middle series book is very middle of the road & you can see here why Herge broughtin a new character for the next adventure to spice things up a bit. It has some meritin the depiction of the location & its inhabitants, but not at all one of the more engaging stories, & I struggled to finish it. 2.5 stars.
1947 classic - By: H. Beentje, 08 Mar 2009 Chronologicallyin between 'The black island' & '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 & white,in 1938. It was very topical,in that the Borduria/Syldavia tensions mirror those of Germany & Austria:in fact, the Anschluss (takeover of Austria by Germany) had just taken place. Butin 1947 the colour version was made, & Herge & 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.
