THE THINGS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED IN...
THE CALCULUS AFFAIR COVER TRIVIA • Did you ever notice the shattered glass effect on the cover? Herge actually wanted fragments of glass to feature on the cover to give it a really realistic effect. This idea however was deemed too expensive by the publishers at the time! • Many people regard the “Affair” as Herge’s technical masterpiece and the most dectective-like of the adventures - even the cover is gripping! • Professor Calculus is the only character apart from Tintin to have an adventure named after him…. Bet Snowy and the Captain are jealous!
• Herge features in a cameo fulfilling the role of a reporter!
• The two policeman of Marlinspike are also featured, who are no doubt annoyed by all the disruption!
• Jolyon Waggis telling his “death defying” tale to whoever cares to listen!
• A boy scout features near the gate. Herge, being a boy scout in his youth - never forgot his roots!
THINGS TO SPOT...
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p13
p38
• The old man in black with the cane looks an awful lot like the mental patient from The Shooting Star - except for the missing beard!
• See the street name? Victor Hugo is arguable France’s greatest poet most known for “Les Miserables” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.
• The pot plant is about to hit the poor old lady... Ouch!
• Notice the black cat? It’s meant to be bad luck. It’s certainly fulfilling the promise here!
Flags, statues, buildings car bumpers p47
Uniform p46
Signs p46
Hotel sign and entrance p47
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Door handles p47
Picture frames p47
Light fittings p48 Statues and table sides p48
Language, Kurvi-Tasch portrait, Arm bands p46
In case you never noticed, moustaches litter so many frames of The Calculus Affair whilst Tintin is in Borduria! Their leader Kurvi – Tasch’s celebrated moustache adorns practically everything! Take a look at the list below - How many did you already spot ?
THE MANY MOUSTACHES (whiskers) OF BORDURIA
Calender & portrait p56
Guard caps p51
Fortress entrance & guard hut p56
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Car boot and motorbike rear p57
Frontier sign p59
Arm band again! p55
NB: Had to include this again due to the humour of the scene!
Arguably ever car model in Borduria! p51
Statue adorning yet another public area! p53
Hotel signs p50
More collars p52
Dining room lights p49
Collars of uniform p51
The poor Captain... He wishes he was having some of the champagne! Haha! p54
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Green helmet rear p58
Car interior and Tintin’s car p57
Blue helmet rear p58
THE CAPTAIN, ALWAYS THIRSTY!
Yet another portrait! p60
Tank rear and side p58
Pen holder p56
Customs house p60
This is a pun by Herge on Calculus moon exploits. Bianca says the remark as a flippant response without knowing the true meaning (ie - Calculus resent moon travels). We see the joke in the next frame as Sponsz is so quick to point out how real her remark actually was. p55
A MOON CONNECTION!
WHICH IS HERGE’S FAVOURITE TINTIN STORY? OR DOES HE LIKE THEM ALL? At one stage Herge’s favourite was ‘The Secret of the Unicorn’. It’s not hard to see why, as it’s a great Tintin adventure and very funny! However, this was changed with ‘Tintin in Tibet’ - due to the intensely personal themes of the story it displayed. From a fan’s point of view - Tibet is also ranked by a significant majority as their favourite also!
HOW DO YOU SAY “HERGE”? SOUNDS LIKE A STRANGE NAME! Herge is pronounced “Air-Jay”. The name comes from his birth name being - Georges Remi. He reversed the R and G in his last/first name respectively to come up with his new identity, while he was starting out with art. When spoken in French, the letters R and G = Herge, hence his name! According to Herge: “I was young then, of course and I intended to keep my own name for the great, serious painting I was going to do later on. ‘Herge’ was just for a laugh on the side.”
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WHY DOESN’T TINTIN HAVE A GIRLFRIEND IN THE SERIES? Herge loved creating action and adventure for Tintin in the stories. He felt the intrusion of women would dull the pace of the books events and is indeed quite possibly the reason Tintin never had a relationship in the books. None of the main characters actually show any romantic interest except save Professor Calculus who develops a crush on Bianca Castafiore in ‘The Castafiore Emerald’!
For more information, you can visit their website at www.lochlomonddistillery.com
DOES THE LOCH LOMOND WHISKEY THAT THE CAPTAIN DRINKS ACTUALLY EXIST? Yes it does in fact! Loch Lomond have their own distillery in Alexandria, Scotland. Debate does continue whether Herge knew of the real life counterpart when he devised the name for the adventures. Many think he simply created the name as it was a Scottish sounding name without actually realising a real brand existed!
THE “BIG” QUESTIONS - WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW!