Thursday, February 8, 2018

Red Rackham's Treasure

Red Rackham's Treasure (Tintin, #12)

Red Rackham's Treasure is the twelfth book in the Tintin series. Tintin is an intrepid reporter who investigates various mysteries around the world, getting into all kinds of trouble in the process. Aided by his faithful dog Snowy and an eccentric cast of supporting characters, these are characterized by clean artwork, humor and involving plots. 

In this one Tintin and his friend Captain Haddock are in search of lost treasure. Haddock's ancestor had done battle with a pirate named Red Rackham, and his ship the Unicorn had sunk somewhere at sea. In the previous book The Secret of the Unicorn some parchments were found with a riddle that gives the location of the treasure- and now Tintin and Haddock think they know where to look. So this is a continuation of sorts of that earlier adventure. Most of the Tintin stories are standalones, this is one of the few that are a two parter. 

Tintin and Haddock set sail, but before they do they meet an eccentric named Professor Calculus. The professor is hard of hearing, and one of the tropes of the series is that he misunderstands everything he hears. Which of course sets Haddock off to no end. Calculus is also an inventor, and comes up with a submarine prototype to aid them in their search. Tintin and Haddock are initially not interested, so Calculus stows away aboard their ship. 

Thomson and Thompson are the intrepid (and bumbling) detectives who also often appear in the series, and they are assigned to protect Tintin after news breaks that a criminal from a previous book has escaped. So our cast is in place and off they go in search of treasure. Missing supplies soon lead them to the stowaway Calculus, and after Haddock blows a gasket they settle down to treasure hunting. They eventually find the island they're looking for, and after encounters with parrots (who have a rather colorful vocabulary) and hungry sharks, they begin to dive in search of the Unicorn

Unfortunately after various mishaps and more shark encounters, they come up empty on the treasure (although Haddock does find lots of rum) and finally call a halt. After another visit to the island and another dead end, they head for home- only to find later that some evidence they've had actually points a different way.  

This is a fun adventure at sea and is one of my favorites. The artwork is lush and clean, easy to follow and a pleasure to look at. Today's comic artists could take a lesson from this guy on how to tell a story. And the way the trademark humor is incorporated into the artwork is amazing- sometimes you have to really look at a panel or you'll miss it! Good stuff.   

21 comments:

  1. I love LOVE the Tintin books! AND the Asterix ones too --my dad introduced them to me growing up! Thank goodness our local library had a good selection of titles of both!

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    1. Yes they are the best. I'm glad the Tintin's are still in print too , especially here in the US where that's not a sure thing necessarily. I've never read Asterix though.

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  2. That sounds like it would be a lot of fun.

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  3. Oh this looks like a lot of fun and I really didn't know it was a series. I'm going to have to put this on my list of middle grades to read next year.

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  4. I keep reading the title and thinking it was Arthur Rackham (illustrator). Don't ask. Strange brain. LOL I've never read a Tin Tin novel. This looks like a book I would have nor problem gifting.

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  5. This cover won me over immediately, I adore it! Like I want to be on the cute whale ship! I think after I finish reading Harry Potter to Lena, I am going to have to see if the library has this series, they seem like so much fun!

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  6. Red Rackham's Treasure is one of my favorite Tintin adventures! I recently watched the Spielberg movie again recently on Netflix...made me want to pick up the books with the Unicorn storyline again.

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  7. Sounds there are a lot of bumbling characters in this series lol. And mishaps. At least there's rum ;-) This sounds like a lot of fun!

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  8. I used to love watching Tintin although I've never read the books. They sound great.
    Lynn :D

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  9. I can't believe I've never read any of these books. Kind of sad - they sound like fun.

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  10. Yes, I love the Tintin artwork! 💜

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  11. How have I never heard of these? I was probably too busy reading Nancy Drew as a kid. lol

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  12. Oh never read these! But this sounds like so fun and perfect for my kids!!

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  13. I was also a Nancy Drew fan as a kid and must have missed these. So many people seem to love them though so I may have to give them a try! Thanks for sharing!
    Laura :)

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