Customer Reviews

Explorers on the Moon (Tintin)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was shocked to find that the dialogue in the story, handwritten in the original English versions, has all been replaced with a digital font. This completely changes the character of the story. Basically, 62 pages of calligraphy have been replaced with a typeset font. The font size is irregular, which is distracting, and there is a lot of empty white space in the dialogue bubbles.

The copyright says "First U.S. Edition: September 1976," but the names of the translators, which are included on editions of other Tintin books I have from the 70s, have been omitted in this edition. I'm not sure if the content has been edited.
This edition is printed in China. The old ones were "Printed by Casterman, S.A., Tornai, Belgium".

I would recommend purchasing the little 3-story hardbacks (about 6.5" x 9.5"), which seem to still have the original writing, or if you like the original large format (about 8.5" x 11.5"), look for an old edition from a used book store.

I think this applies to all of the new Tintin large format books.
I uploaded a customer image of the digital font to the Amazon "Look Inside" feature for Tintin Land of Black Gold.
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Update.
The Amazon "Look Inside" images are not from the current edition!
Amazon added images to the "Look Inside" feature the day that I made the above comment, but the images are from an old edition. You can tell by looking at the back cover. The old ones are "Printed in Belgium" and use the original title for "FLIGHT 714", which has been changed to "FLIGHT 714 TO SYDNEY" in the current editions.

This science fictional comic , written in 1954 , 14 years before the first actual moon landing , fails to disappoint , after the precedent set by its prequel , 'Destination Moon'.
This adventure sees Tintin and friends successfully go to the moon and back , defeating such problems as a rapidly depleting oxygen source and villains who have followed them into space .
I read it when I was ten and it led me to become interested in space.
I remember sitting on top of the roof of my home , reading it , and seeing a shooting star fly by. There is something intriguing about these comics.

Herge, Explorers on the Moon (Methuen, 1954)

What strikes me most about Explorers on the Moon is, having been written in the early fifties, how precise it is, and how accurate (until, of course, Herge has to wander off and throw in a few of those Martian "canals" that were all the rage in popular thinking at the time to supply some extra danger for our intrepid heroes). Great noises were made starting with The Black Island about Herge doing intensive research on the places he sent his crew in response to the charges of racism levelled at Tintin au Congo. You know as well as I do that Herge never set foot on the moon, but the intensive research was still there, and at a time when if you were doing that kind of research, you were more likely reading incomprehensible scientific articles than kids' books. Needless to say, all the research forms the grounds for the usual Tintin mix of adventure, intrigue, and danger, and adds into it the dream of many a kid who grew up in the fifties and sixties. ****

This was a great book! It surveyed knowledge of astronomy(which is always interesting), and then put on top of that a great mystery and awsome characters! You can't have a great Tintin story without Captain Haddock, Tintin, Proffesor Calculous, T&T, Snowy, and even Wolf make the story great. Herge really knows how to write!

Bought this as a birthday present for a 10 yr old boy. He loves it.... what else can you say...

What can you say its a classic. A simple but also an adventurous read. I read it when I was young and now my kids are reading it. Its at least the right comic book to read when the kids are young, especially when the comics these days when comic books represent to much violence, vulgarity and to much fiction, and yet only have action in them and nothing to fascinate the kids minds. These books are all against that and just plain yet clearly a novel type read.
Since this came out way before man actually made it on the moon can show how authors used to imagine the world to be. Also, there being comedy, some serious mysteries and situations, this makes it the perfect book.

Every Tintin lover needs this book in their collection. Although you best make sure you have the prequel: Tintin Destination Moon in your collection first.

Off they go into space, and of course Haddock wastes no time in getting wasted. Tintin, in a rare fit of pique, scolds him terrible (Haddock's had it coming for years). The detectives are discovered on board (no adventure can be complete without the delicate duo providing comic relief), and they have a relapse of purple hair growing - good timing. Thompson himself has another fit of pique - what is it with all the characters going out of character here - and there's plenty of weird science (magnetic boots, turning the rocket 180 degrees so it can be landed, etc). The words of the first man to walk the moon: "This is it!... I've walked a few steps!... For the first itme in the history of mankind there is an EXPLORER ON THE MOON." Tintin describes the place as "a nightmare land, a place of death, horrifying in its desolation... Not a tree, not a flower, not a blade of grass.... Not a bird, not a sound, not a cloud." The explorers proceed to have their bit of fun in low gravity, adventures in the moon-tank, and a mysterious accident. The detectives walk in circles again (a la Land of Black Gold), and there's lunar spelunking - need to have a bit of man-versus-nature danger to supplement the usual man-versus-man drama. Finally, with a stowaway discovered on board (there was so much security in book one getting into the rocket facility, but clearly none for getting into the bird itself) the real bloodthirsty action begins. The final part of the book is inventive, well-paced drama, with plenty of Tintin heroism - brave little guy. Even more drama when they get back to earth, as well as a bit of fun with a bottle of Loch Lamond whisky and some Haddock buffoonery giving the book a near-perfect finale.

I have always loved Tintin's adventures. This, along with "Destination Moon" is one of my favorites. My 8 year old son loves it!

Belgian artist Herge wrote many exotic adventures for his cartoon hero Tintin, a young journalist. One of the most prescient is the two-part story that begins with "Destination Moon" and concludes with "Explorers on the Moon." This extended story includes Tintin's faithful dog Snowy, seafaring friend and reluctant astronaut Captain Haddock, absent-minded Professor Calculus, and a returning villain from an earlier story.

As "Destination Moon" concluded, Tintin and his friends lifted off from the Balkan state of Syldavia in the nuclear-powered rocket built by Professor Calculus and his assistant Frank Wolf. The project had already survived attempted sabotage by an unknown group of conspirators. The voyage to the Moon is enlivened by the discovery of the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson, accidental stowaways and now a burden on the oxygen supply. Along the way, Captain Haddock and Tintin have a dangerous space walk, while Professor Calculus manages the approach to the Moon's surface.

Once on the Moon, the explorers take to the surface in space suits, while the conspiracy against the expedition takes on a new and extremely dangerous form. The explorers narrowly escape being marooned on the Moon, then must race an over-taxed oxygen supply in the return to Earth.

"Explorers on the Moon" is excellent entertainment, with a storyline that holds up well despite its age. It is highly recommended to fans of Tintin of all ages.