Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
ASA (2010), 62 pages
Description
A huge fireball comes hurtling towards Earth from space Tintin sets sail with Captain Haddock to find the meteorite in the stormy Arctic Ocean, but a valuable metal is contained in the meteorite and Tintin's attempts to reach it are met with relentless sabotage.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Michael.Rimmer
Tintin's first science fiction adventure is a great one, although Hergé's better with the fiction than with the science! Nonetheless, the story is exciting and atmospheric, particularly the initial "Armageddon" sequence. There's a real feeling of desperation at the impending destruction of
The story has resonances with H.G. Wells's The Food of the Gods and Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Mysterious Island: giant growths of vegetation and animals; scientific expeditions in search of strange lands, etc. I don't know that Hergé had these books in mind, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't at least aware of the works of Wells and Verne, and the correspondences are there.
Although only introduced in the previous album, The Crab With The Golden Claws, Captain Haddock already seems to be a well-established part of Tintin's world and he adds an extra dimension of unpredictability to the adventures. Hergé relegated Thomson and Thompson's roles to a single-panel cameo, which was a good decision as it gave him the opportunity to get the Captain well bedded-in.
I did feel, however, that Tintin's use of whisky to manipulate the alcoholic Captain was morally suspect, but I guess we're dealing with a story written in simpler times as far as attitudes to substance abuse is concerned.
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civilization. Was this an expression of Hergé's angst at the Nazi occupation of Belgium? However that may be, it's certainly his most effective piece of work in Tintin's adventures to this point. The story has resonances with H.G. Wells's The Food of the Gods and Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Mysterious Island: giant growths of vegetation and animals; scientific expeditions in search of strange lands, etc. I don't know that Hergé had these books in mind, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't at least aware of the works of Wells and Verne, and the correspondences are there.
Although only introduced in the previous album, The Crab With The Golden Claws, Captain Haddock already seems to be a well-established part of Tintin's world and he adds an extra dimension of unpredictability to the adventures. Hergé relegated Thomson and Thompson's roles to a single-panel cameo, which was a good decision as it gave him the opportunity to get the Captain well bedded-in.
I did feel, however, that Tintin's use of whisky to manipulate the alcoholic Captain was morally suspect, but I guess we're dealing with a story written in simpler times as far as attitudes to substance abuse is concerned.
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LibraryThing member fullyarmedvishnu
A mysterious meteor has just missed Earth, but a piece falls down into the polar sea. Two expeditions race to find it and the new element it is made of. Tintin, Haddock and some scientists make up one expedition. The second is purely commercial. After some hubbub Tintin gets ashore on an island
Good clean fun.
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(the former meteor). The new metal has fun, but unlikely properties, such as accelerating the growth of trees, mushrooms and spiders. Eventually the new island sinks into the sea. Tintin is rescued just in time, returning with a piece of the new metal.Good clean fun.
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LibraryThing member gra29
The plot line and illustrations are well done.This was frist published in the late 40s and has been translated to English.
LibraryThing member swampygirl
I had forgotten what an alcoholic the Captain was, but I've turned out ok, so I guess this childhood favorite wasn't too damaging :p
LibraryThing member Frenzie
Yay, sci-fi and captain Haddock!
LibraryThing member bragan
I have a friend who's quite fond of these old Tintin comics, and he's taken to occasionally lending me some if he thinks they'll be of particular interest to me. (Which so far has just meant having something to do with outer space.) This one features a meteorite that hits the Earth and lands in the
The previous Tintin volumes I read featured a trip to the moon, and I was a little surprised by how a lot of the science in it was actually pretty good. This one... not so much. Mostly it's left me wondering how the same author can apparently understand the concept of spectroscopy perfectly well, yet clearly have no idea what a meteorite actually is. For that matter, he doesn't even seem to have a good grasp of the fact that the ocean is very deep.
But never mind that, I guess. It's not like this is trying to be hard SF. Really, it's just a silly little adventure story with a bit of humor. And, taken as such, it's mildly amusing, but not particularly memorable. I suspect, not for the first time, that one really has to encounter Tintin at an impressionable age to fully appreciate it, and I've simply missed the window.
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ocean, provoking a race between two rival expeditions to reach it first and collect a sample of the previously unknown metal it harbors.The previous Tintin volumes I read featured a trip to the moon, and I was a little surprised by how a lot of the science in it was actually pretty good. This one... not so much. Mostly it's left me wondering how the same author can apparently understand the concept of spectroscopy perfectly well, yet clearly have no idea what a meteorite actually is. For that matter, he doesn't even seem to have a good grasp of the fact that the ocean is very deep.
But never mind that, I guess. It's not like this is trying to be hard SF. Really, it's just a silly little adventure story with a bit of humor. And, taken as such, it's mildly amusing, but not particularly memorable. I suspect, not for the first time, that one really has to encounter Tintin at an impressionable age to fully appreciate it, and I've simply missed the window.
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LibraryThing member Ma_Washigeri
So good for my spanish lessons that I have ordered two more. Knowing the story as well as the pictures means I can read without looking everything up. And as with most Tintin books there is lots and lots of text and only very restrained slang. Bought this one first because I've always loved the
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astronomy and the exploding mushrooms! Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
French
Original publication date
1942
1961 (English translation)
Physical description
62 p.; 26.5 cm
ISBN
9789892309637