The Calculus Affair

Author Hergé
Artist Hergé
Format Hardcover
Number of pages 64
Age 7-10 years, 11-14 years
ISBN 978-5-00041-556-6
Series The Adventures of Tintin
Translated by Mikhail Khachaturov

Publisher: Melik-Pashaev

One evening in Moulins, strange things begin to happen – for no apparent reason, windowpanes, mirrors, vases, chandeliers... suddenly burst and shatter into tiny pieces. Trying to figure out what is going on, Tintin notices that all the incidents involving exploding glass occur when Professor Tournesol is in his laboratory. And indeed, as soon as the professor leaves for a nuclear physics conference in Geneva, everything suddenly stops! But the crates full of broken glass found in Professor Tournesol's laboratory only confirm this suspicion. Even worse, after visiting the laboratory, Tintin and Captain Haddock realize that someone is deeply interested in their friend's scientific developments. Without wasting any time, they fly to Geneva to warn the professor of the danger...

After three consecutive di-logues ("The Pirate", "The Inca", and "Destination Moon"), which took more than 10 years to complete, Hergé returned to the single-volume format, which he never abandoned again.

The publication of the 18th volume of "The Adventures of Tintin", "The Calculus Affair", began in December 1954 in Tintin magazine and continued for more than a year, until February 1956 (the album version was also released that same year). The growing international tensions could not fail to affect the author's thoughts and moods, so the introduction of a spy theme into the plot seems entirely natural: no wonder many critics call "The Calculus Affair" the most cinematic album in the series, comparing it to the films of Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed. However, Hergé by no means intended to create a spy thriller in the vein of "The 39 Steps" or "The Man Who Knew Too Much", so he infused this volume with a good deal of humor, making it related not so much to Hitchcock as to Billy Wilder. Strangely enough, this volume, which is arguably the most suspenseful in the series, also became one of the funniest: the book is literally bursting with gags, both visual (take the "great bandage journey", for example!) and textual (just think of the police chief of the border airport's spectacular monologue). An interesting fact: "The Calculus Affair" is one of the few Tintin adventures (completed ones, excluding the first volumes of the di-logues) in which the hero does not leave continental Europe.

Also read:

Destination Moon
First on the Moon
The Sceptre of Ottokar
The Seven Crystal Balls