The Calculus Affair (The Adventures of Tintin) [Paperback]

Hergé (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: The Adventures of Tintin: Original Classic

The classic graphic novel. Tintin and Captain Haddock peek in Professor Calculus' laboratory to find a sonic device and a very mysterious-and violent!-stranger. Realizing that Calculus' life is in danger, Tintin and the Captain rush to warn him before it's too late.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Of Herge's many Tintin adventures, The Calculus Affair is generally considered the crown jewel. The intricate plot concerns Professor Calculus, who has stumbled upon an invention of devastating possibilities. Naturally the Bordurians will stop at nothing to shift the balance of power, so they kidnap the professor, sending Tintin and Captain Haddock on a dizzying chase. Also includes an extended set-piece involving a piece of sticky tape, and the first appearance by the insurance agent from hell, Jolyon Wagg. --David Horiuchi

Review

The Adventures of Tintin (also known as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn[4] in the United Kingdom) is a 2011 American performance capture 3D film based on The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé (Georges Remi). Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, and written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the film is based on three of the original comic books: The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944).[5]
Spielberg first acquired rights to produce a film based upon the Adventures of Tintin series following Hergé's death in 1983, and re-optioned them in 2002. Filming was due to begin in October 2008 for a 2010 release, but release was delayed to 2011 after Universal opted out of producing the film with Paramount, who provided $30 million on pre-production. Sony chose to co-produce the films. The delay resulted in Thomas Sangster, who had been cast as Tintin, departing from the project. Producer Peter Jackson, whose company Weta Digital is providing the computer animation, intends to direct a sequel. Spielberg and Jackson also hope to co-direct a third film.[6] --Wikipedia --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 62 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 30, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316358479
• ISBN-13: 978-0316358477
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.2 x 11.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hergé, one of the most famous Belgians in the world, was a comics writer and artist. The internationally successful Adventures of Tintin are his most well-known and beloved works. They have been translated into 38 different languages and have inspired such legends as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. He wrote and illustrated for "The Adventures of Tintin" until his death in 1983.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hergé's finest. A great adventure with expert precision., July 6, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Calculus Affair (The Adventures of Tintin) (Paperback)

"The Calculus Affair" may not be immediately entertaining, as in Explorers on the Moon or the Shooting Star, but it slowly develops the plot, with just enough suspense to put the reader at the edge of his seat at the last panel. And it starts with a boom, too. The mysterious phenomenon of breaking glass and china, including the Captain's whisky glass, is only fully explained on page 51, and the later pages expose many other plot details which contributed to the overall controlled confusion in the beginning and middle of the book. In some adventures, an answer is readily available to the various people and clues which meet up with Tintin and his friends, but in this book you feel just like a character, not knowing what will happen next. For Tintin and the Captain's dash through Switzerland, every little detail--the Hotel Cornavin, Professor Topolino's villa in Nyon, even the positioning of signposts and billboards--was mapped out by Hergé, with his usual extreme attention to detail. And for Tintin and Haddock's unexpected visit to Szohod, Hergé based most of the city on bits and pieces from the USSR--after all, it began in TINTIN magazine in 1954, the height of the Cold War. The Bordurians' habit of constantly reproducing their laughable leader Kurvi-Tasch's whiskers, even in their alphabet, was another Soviet touch, and their phrase "By the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch" was probably taken from chants used at 1930s Stalinistic rallies. Overall, the book was an expert work, one of Hergé's finest, and certainly a complicated and precision instrument, even when compared to his much-hyped works preceding it, Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Childhood Thrills Revisited, October 10, 2006

By 

Eric Wilson "novelist" (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Calculus Affair (Tintin) (Hardcover)

As a kid, travelling with my parents in Europe, I was exposed to the brilliance of Tintin books. Across the board, they are entertaining, comical, suspenseful, and somewhat educational.

"The Calculus Affair" has long stood as one of my top five of the Tintin series. It features the absentminded professor, the blustery captain, the intrepid Tintin and his dog Snowy, and the British inspectors Thomson and Thompson. It's the quintessential Tintin story, full of miscues, clues, adventure, and comedy. I picked up a new copy the other day (now that I'm reaching forty years old), and sped through the story, reliving all the joy of my childhood. This is still fun stuff. Worth every penny.

May a whole new generation discover the genius of the Tintin books, as I did back in the seventies.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for Tintin fans!, August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Calculus Affair (The Adventures of Tintin) (Paperback)

This adventure is well written and well illustrated, as all the Tintin books are, but is unique in how it is completly non-stop. Tintin and the Captain follow Calculus, the absent minded professor, as he travels, only to discover Calculus has been kiddnapped! An exciting story.