Call number
J GRAPHIC NOVEL HER
Collection
Genres
Series
Publication
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (1976), Edition: First American Edition, 62 pages
Description
Tintin, the Captain, and Snowy attempt to rescue Dr. Calculus who has been kidnapped by the Bordurians.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jckeen
The Calculus Affair, by Hergé, is part of the Adventures of Tintin series of graphic novels. Tintin, the protagonist, is a young adult who teams up with his friend Captain Haddock to battle the forces of Eastern Bloc espionage. I find myself wanting to call this book a work of historical fiction,
Like the other books in the series, Tintin uses his powers of perception and daring to save the day. The capable, but somewhat comical, Captain Haddock completes the second half of their buddy system. In this story, the two must rescue professor Cuthbert Calculus (A+ for his name), who has been kidnapped by spies trying to discover the secrets behind his new weapon. The chase takes the reader on a whirlwind trip over Europe and behind the Iron Curtain.
The Tintin books are always full of adventure, and are spotted with bits of humor--sometimes subtle, sometimes slapstick. Boys and girls alike will enjoy the Adventures of Tintin, but I recommend this series particularly to boys looking for an excellent adventure with protagonists to follow over many stories.
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because it is obviously dated in the midst of the cold war. However, the two "bad guy" countries, Borduria and Syldavia, are fictitious. Like the other books in the series, Tintin uses his powers of perception and daring to save the day. The capable, but somewhat comical, Captain Haddock completes the second half of their buddy system. In this story, the two must rescue professor Cuthbert Calculus (A+ for his name), who has been kidnapped by spies trying to discover the secrets behind his new weapon. The chase takes the reader on a whirlwind trip over Europe and behind the Iron Curtain.
The Tintin books are always full of adventure, and are spotted with bits of humor--sometimes subtle, sometimes slapstick. Boys and girls alike will enjoy the Adventures of Tintin, but I recommend this series particularly to boys looking for an excellent adventure with protagonists to follow over many stories.
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LibraryThing member Artymedon
This is my favorite Tintin album. Re-read it is high on the list of things to do before dying- assuming I could still read- Next - assuming I could travel - would be for the Tintinophile I became to go to the Cornavin Hotel in Geneva to ask the receptionist : "Tournesol est-il descendu ici, je vous
Then it would be to take a Simca Taxi (more difficult nowadays) and get driven to Nyon 57 bis Route de Saint-Cergue, and drown in a lake.
As an alternative ending to a Tintinophilesque life, I could also spend time with a scientist until his house explodes or be in a red helicopter over a Swiss lake shot by dubious diplomats.
I could also be run over by an Italian red Lancia driven by Signor Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Guiseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli de Milano.
Other possible types of death from the Calculus Affair would be to crushed by an advertising sign: a giant pair of glasses or fall in a ditch with a convertible in the forests of Borduria. More mundane ways of departing according to this masterpiece would be to put the foot on a roller scate while on top of a marble staircase or being destroyed by an exploding cigar.
What generations can do after my death is read "The Calculus Affair" whose heroes are, unlike us, immortal and survive all that is described above including a non-lethal kidnapping in a meat butcher truck, from the famous "Boucherie Sanzot"..
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prie?" Then it would be to take a Simca Taxi (more difficult nowadays) and get driven to Nyon 57 bis Route de Saint-Cergue, and drown in a lake.
As an alternative ending to a Tintinophilesque life, I could also spend time with a scientist until his house explodes or be in a red helicopter over a Swiss lake shot by dubious diplomats.
I could also be run over by an Italian red Lancia driven by Signor Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Guiseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli de Milano.
Other possible types of death from the Calculus Affair would be to crushed by an advertising sign: a giant pair of glasses or fall in a ditch with a convertible in the forests of Borduria. More mundane ways of departing according to this masterpiece would be to put the foot on a roller scate while on top of a marble staircase or being destroyed by an exploding cigar.
What generations can do after my death is read "The Calculus Affair" whose heroes are, unlike us, immortal and survive all that is described above including a non-lethal kidnapping in a meat butcher truck, from the famous "Boucherie Sanzot"..
Show Less
LibraryThing member David.Alfred.Sarkies
Tintin is one of those series of books that you read one and wonder how Herge is going to be able to top it, and sure enough he comes along with a comic that pretty much tops all of the previous ones that he has written. Unfortunately, as the bar gets raised, it becomes more and more difficult to
This is a spy story where Cuthbert Calculus has developed a device that can be weaponised and as such there is a struggle between the superpowers to obtain this device. In the story the two superpowers are represented by the countries of Borduria and Syldavia, and while in Tintin they are a couple of small Eastern European countries they represent the larger Communist - Capitalist divide. However, Herge is not necessarily labelling them as such, theough we see that Borduria is representative of a police state where as Syldavia is not. What is even more interesting is that up until now we were under the impression that Syldavia was a good country, however in this album they become the antagonists alongside Borduria in that both countries want to weaponise Cuthbert's invention against his wishes.
What makes this comic stand out though is not the cold war nature of this spy thriller (and the Cold War was ramping up at this stage, as well as the nuclear arms race) but that there is so much going on that has absolutely nothing to do with the story itself. It is almost as if the spy story takes a back step to the absurd comedy that permeates this story. For instance, we have the introduction of Joylon Wagg, an insurance salesman that seeks shelter in Marlinspike after the windows of his car shatters. He has nothing to do with the plot, but keeps on popping up during the story to act as a foil to Captain Haddock. The story opens with Joylon Wagg, and closes with Joylon Wagg.
Then there is the Sticky Tab. The Sticky Tab has nothing to do with the story, and as the animated cartoon shows, it can be completely removed and we still have a consistent story, however to remove the Sticky Tab is to do a great injustice to this work (and the animated show pretty much does that). We also have the umbrella, which Snowy picks up and carries about with him through half the comic (until he loses it, and tries to take somebody elses). The glass shattering episodes at the beginning are thick and fast, and ends up turning Marlinspike into a comedy of errors and a media circus (as Herge so brilliantly draws in the beginning).
The Thompson Twins make a small appearance in this story as well, and while their entrance has been done similarly in Destination Moon, it is still a shock when they are brought in. We are told that 'two men have been arrested at the bomb site asking questions' and we know that the Bordurian agents were present, so we expect that it will be them. Turns out it is Thompson and Thomson in Swiss clothing, and their little antics in the hospital are to be expected of these two nitwits.
It is interesting that the only character in the Tintin comics that seems to have a family is Joylon Wagg, though there are a number of characters which we don't know much about their background. We know that the Thompson Twins are a couple of detectives and are silly, but we don't know much beyond that. In the same way we have little information on Tintin beyond him being a reporter, though we do know that he is young and unmarried. However, I am not entirely sure that Herge was intending anything with this because Tintin is purely an adventure story, and in the adventure story, we need not worry about such backgrounds.
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exceed expectations. This, I believe, is the case with The Calculus Affair. Some have suggested that the Calculus Affair is the beginning of the final stage of the Tintin comics. All of the characters have been developed and the style has been perfected, but in a way, The Calculus Affair literally stands out on its own.This is a spy story where Cuthbert Calculus has developed a device that can be weaponised and as such there is a struggle between the superpowers to obtain this device. In the story the two superpowers are represented by the countries of Borduria and Syldavia, and while in Tintin they are a couple of small Eastern European countries they represent the larger Communist - Capitalist divide. However, Herge is not necessarily labelling them as such, theough we see that Borduria is representative of a police state where as Syldavia is not. What is even more interesting is that up until now we were under the impression that Syldavia was a good country, however in this album they become the antagonists alongside Borduria in that both countries want to weaponise Cuthbert's invention against his wishes.
What makes this comic stand out though is not the cold war nature of this spy thriller (and the Cold War was ramping up at this stage, as well as the nuclear arms race) but that there is so much going on that has absolutely nothing to do with the story itself. It is almost as if the spy story takes a back step to the absurd comedy that permeates this story. For instance, we have the introduction of Joylon Wagg, an insurance salesman that seeks shelter in Marlinspike after the windows of his car shatters. He has nothing to do with the plot, but keeps on popping up during the story to act as a foil to Captain Haddock. The story opens with Joylon Wagg, and closes with Joylon Wagg.
Then there is the Sticky Tab. The Sticky Tab has nothing to do with the story, and as the animated cartoon shows, it can be completely removed and we still have a consistent story, however to remove the Sticky Tab is to do a great injustice to this work (and the animated show pretty much does that). We also have the umbrella, which Snowy picks up and carries about with him through half the comic (until he loses it, and tries to take somebody elses). The glass shattering episodes at the beginning are thick and fast, and ends up turning Marlinspike into a comedy of errors and a media circus (as Herge so brilliantly draws in the beginning).
The Thompson Twins make a small appearance in this story as well, and while their entrance has been done similarly in Destination Moon, it is still a shock when they are brought in. We are told that 'two men have been arrested at the bomb site asking questions' and we know that the Bordurian agents were present, so we expect that it will be them. Turns out it is Thompson and Thomson in Swiss clothing, and their little antics in the hospital are to be expected of these two nitwits.
It is interesting that the only character in the Tintin comics that seems to have a family is Joylon Wagg, though there are a number of characters which we don't know much about their background. We know that the Thompson Twins are a couple of detectives and are silly, but we don't know much beyond that. In the same way we have little information on Tintin beyond him being a reporter, though we do know that he is young and unmarried. However, I am not entirely sure that Herge was intending anything with this because Tintin is purely an adventure story, and in the adventure story, we need not worry about such backgrounds.
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LibraryThing member sometimeunderwater
A gripping story - if a tad forgettable...? Doesn't have the same sense of place (i.e. treasure island, space, incas) that the other golden era Tintins do.
ISBN
9780316358477
UPC
351123457753