Year: 1954

Important Characters: Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, The Thompsons, Professor Calculus, Jolyon Wagg, Colonel Sponsz

French Title: L'Affaire Tournesol

The Calculus Affair is considered by many to be Hergé's masterwork. It is certainly extremely rich in subject, speed of action, skill in drawing and dialogue. The opening pages present a flying start. The telephone rings, Nestor picks it up, for the tenth time he is not Mr Cutts the butcher.

Outside, Haddock, lord of the manor, tells Tintin: "And from now on all I want is my daily stroll.....No,no, this time I'm quite serious. All I want now is to settle down in peace and quiet." And suddenly a violent BROOOOM shatters the precious silence. "So much for your peace and quiet, Captain!" adds Tintin ironically. And so, in the driving rain, they go racing back to Marlinspike Hall, being observed by spies concealed in the grounds. The storm continues after they reach the house. A window shatters, followed by a collection of priceless ornaments. Then the power supply is suddenly cut off, and it is in an atmosphere of extreme tension that a hand knocks forcefully on the door: "What shall I do? Shall I...Shall I open it, sir?" asks an agitated Nestor. "Yes, Nestor", replies the Captain, bracing himself.

And who should enter into The Adventures of Tintin than the irreplaceable Jolyon Wagg of Rock Bottom Insurance.

After this remarkable opening, the plot quickly thickens, and a spy thriller develops which sends Tintin and Haddock to Geneva in search of Professor Calculus. Hergé did some on the spot research for this section of the story. He floated around Geneva with his sketchpad drawing houses and villas, all of which contributed to the realism of the story. The end of the story unfolds in Borduria, last seen in King Ottokar's Sceptre. But times have changed and, although losing none of its military agressiveness, it now seems more like an Eastern-Bloc country.

One should remember that the story began appearing in Tintin magazine in 1954, when the Cold War was at its height. The relationship between Syldavia and Borduria is similar to a confrontation between the two blocs, just as it had earlier mimicked the conflict between the Western democracies and Hitler's Germany. One of the advantages of using imaginary countries is the lack of risk in conjuring up ideas, including the ultimate weapon referred to in this book, "a weapon that will soon make H-bombs and ballistic missiles as obsolete as pikes and muskets."

Aware of his responsibilities as a scientist, Calculus prefers at the end of the story to destroy the microfilms with the secrets of his discovery. A sensible and commendible decision, even if he does set fire to the Captain's beard in the process.