The Adventures of Tintin Volume 3: The Black Island/King Ottokar’s Sceptre/The Crab With the Golden Claws

Tintin #7-9

by Hergé, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper (Translator), Michael Turner (Translator)

Join the world's most famous travelling reporter in three exciting adventures as he visits the highlands of Scotland in The Black Island, solves a mysterious theft in King Ottokar's Sceptre, and meets a certain Captain Haddock for the first time in The Crab with the Golden Claws. The Black Island Wrongly accused of a theft, Tintin is led to set out with Snowy on an adventure to investigate a gang of forgers. King Ottokar's Sceptre Tintin travels to the Syldavia and uncovers a plot to dethrone King Muskar XII. But can he help the head of state before it's too late? The Crab with the Golden Claws Faced with a drowned sailor, counterfeit coins and a ship full of opium, Tintin sets out on another adventure. Aboard the Karaboudjan, Tintin is introduced to Captain Haddock for the first time, and they are soon both facing a deathly thirst in the Sahara desert. Join the most iconic character in comics as he embarks on an extraordinary adventure spanning historical and political events, and thrilling mysteries. Still selling over 100,000 copies every year in the UK and having been adapted for the silver screen by Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson in 2011, The Adventures of Tintin continue to charm more than 80 years after they first found their way into publication. Since then an estimated 230 million copies have been sold, proving that comic books have the same power to entertain children and adults in the 21st century as they did in the early 20th.

Genres: Comics

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Georges Prosper Remi (22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist.
His best known and most substantial work is The Adventures of Tintin comic book series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, leaving the twenty-fourth Tintin adventure Tintin and Alph-Art unfinished. His work remains a strong influence on comics, particularly in Europe.

"Hergé" is the pseudonym of George Remí, making a game with the initials of his name inverted. Throughout the evolution of his star character, Tintin, we can see the progress of this author: from the first titles marked by the ultraconservative doctrine of the director of the newspaper Le Petit Vingtième, to the breaking of conventions embodied from The Blue Lotus , as well as the evolution of the society of his time. The research carried out by Hergé to historically contextualize his Adventures, as well as his implicit social criticism, have made Tintin a masterpiece of the 20th century.

Series on Goodreads:
* The Adventures of Tintin
* Quick & Flupke
* The adventures of Jo, Zette and Jocko

Reviews

[Anna]

the stories are getting leaps and bounds better, with more lore and interesting storylines. it's also getting less obvious that these were initially published in a newspaper, i.e. cliffhangers every two panels lol

[Rhys]

I only became a proper fan of Tintin recently. True, I did read a couple of his adventures when I was young, but they didn't make such a big impression on me as they now do. They are exciting adventure stories and remind me a little of the novels of John Buchan or even Somerset Maugham at his more sensational, with their reliance on seaplanes and tramp steamers and open-topped automobiles. The pacing is incredibly fast and Tintin blunders his way into scrapes and pickles almost as if destiny has chosen him for the role of spanner in the cogs of the workings of villains, which in a way it has (if we regard Hergé as Fate). Tintin is highly competent most of the time, but he can also be inefficient and even inept at times, often hampered as well as helped by his dog Snowy. But no amount of hampering can keep him down for long, he is too good at seizing the opportunities of coincidence that extreme contrivance throws his way. And he is mentally very strong: no amount of trauma affects him psychologically. This omnibus volume includes the adventure that introduces Captain Haddock, that boisterous, drunken, bumbling, loquacious master mariner who frequently makes matters worse rather than better. Sublime.

[Arijit Saha]

Tintin is super special for me, always brings me to my childhood days, where I used to read it after coming from school or during holiday seasons. It gave me knowledge about some really good stuff at that age. The world is full of bad situations, you have to find your own sanctuary. Tintin is my sanctuary, whenever I feel down or want to relive my childhood days I dig into the pages of Tintin. It's an absolute timeless classic.

[Clive]

Great Tintin stories. I especially enjoyed ‘King Ottokar’s Sceptre’. Some of the pictures are quite wonderful with amazing detail.
My only criticism would be that in the edition I read some of the writing was so small I had to use a magnifying glass to read it.

[LudmilaM]

This was the best collection so far :-)

[Paul Wilson]

Haven’t read any Tintin for years. Always wanted to read black island. Great fun.

[Grace]

I honestly forgot that Tintin had an actual job until someone said, "the young reporter, Tintin”.

[PottWab Regional Library]

SM