The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 5: Land of Black Gold / Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon (3 Volumes in 1)

Of the seven volumes that make up the "Adventures of Tintin," Volume 5 is my favorite. It includes both the first story by Hergé that I ever read with "Land of Black Gold," and also my favorite two-part Tintin adventure when out young intrepid reporter, Snowy, and their friends head for the moon. I realize the science fiction aspects of that particular pair of tales makes them atypical Tintin adventures, but Hergé's attention to detail makes the story stand out quite well, even in comparison to science fiction films that were putting men on the moon at that time.Because "Land of Black Gold" was the first Adventure of Tintin I ever read it has a special place in my heart. It seems that all around the world cars (or lighters) using petrol are exploding. In a storyline eerily prescient of what would happen decades later with the rise of OPEC, the world is on the brink of an oil crisis. In the Middle East the evil Sheik Bab El Ehr tries to overthrow Sheik Ben Kalish Ezab, so Tintin heads to the Middle East to save the day. Throwing a monkey wrench into the proceedings, in addition to the omnipresent evil agents and hapless Thompson brothers, is Abdullah, son of Sheik ben Kalish Ezab, who pulls a constant string of practical jokes on everybody in sight (Historical Note: This is where the Thom(p)sons first develop their habit of becoming extremely hairy at inopportune moments).I always think of Tintin as constituting "realistic absurdity," which reflects the way our hero plunges on despite the lunacy around him, which exists mainly in the characters rather than the situation. This delicate balance seems to be reflected even in Herge's artwork, where his "clear-line" style combines iconic characters with unusually realistic backgrounds, appeals to me. I also admire his remarkable restraint with Snowy, who "talks" less than any other "talking" dog in comic book history. These are truly timeless tales (More Historical Notes: "Tintin in the Land of Black Gold" was the adventure in progress in "Le Vingtieme Siecle" when German troops invaded Belgium on May 10, 1940. Herge suspended the story for eight years and actually began another adventure, "The Crab with the Golden Claws," in the interim, which was published in "Le Soir," one of the few newspapers authorized during the German occupation)."Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune") gives a detailed account on the preparation and the launching of the expedition to the Moon from the Sprodj Atomic Research Center in Syldavaia using the rocket designed by Professor Calculus. This involves the Thom(p)sons in what they think is Syldavian national dress and a whole bunch of bear clubs who love honey sandwiches. Of course the mission is in danger from enemy spies from Klow trying to thwart the mission, so there is some political intrigue and danger mixed in with the science fiction (and danger). This Tintin adventure has one of my favorite sequences in the entire series and it was not the cliffhanger ending with Tintin and the crew heading to the moon. It comes when Captain Haddock dismisses the preparations and accuses Calculus of "acting the goat." The normal placid professor goes off the deep end and drags the captain to show him the spaceship destined for the moon, demanding to know if that is what the good captain means by "acting the goat." The worm finally turning is one of those great moments you cherish in a series because it has been so long in coming.What makes "Explorers on the Moon" ("On a Marche Sur La Lune") so fascinating is the documentary detail that Herge infuses into the story as Tintin walks on the moon (where he declares: "I've walked a few steps!...For the first time n the history of mankind there is an EXPLORER ON THE MOON!"). I cannot think of a 1950s science fiction film that predicts as accurately what happened when Apollo 11 went to the moon a decade and a half later. One of the chief charms of Herge's artwork has always been the way his caricature drawings of Tintin and friends are contrasted by the realistic backgrounds, and this artistic style achieves its apex when we see the spaceship approaching the moon. "Explorers on the Moon" would work as a straight-forward first man on the moon type story, but, of course, in Herge's hands it becomes so much more. Together these volumes constitute Tintin's greatest adventure if for no other reason than how can you top being the first man on the moon?

Belgian artist Herge wrote many adventures for his cartoon hero Tintin, a young journalist, and many recurring characters, including Tintin's faithful dog Snowy, his seafaring friend Captain Haddock, the absent-minded and hilariously deaf Professor Calculus, and the bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson. Herge's Tintin stories combined adventure and humor, often in exotic locales. Three of the best are captured in Volume Five of a series which includes all 21 completed stories.In "Land of Black Gold", Tintin's investigation of a plot to contaminate oil supplies puts him first on a ship as a radio operator, then ashore in Arabia during a coup. His fearless pursuit of a trail of clues brings him face to face with a familar villain (from "The Black Isle") and leads to a desperate race to save the life of the son of the local Emir. The bumbling detectives Thompson and Thomson make a trademark appearences when they accidentally ingest some mysterious pills.In "Destination Moon" and "Explorers on the Moon", a two-part adventure, Tintin and Captain Haddock are summoned to the Balkan state of Syldavia to join Professor Calculus' rocket project. Although dogged by sabotage attempts, the Moon rocket eventually lifts off, taking Tintin, Snowy, the reluctant astronaut Captain Haddock, and the Professor on a dangerous voyage to the Moon. On the surface of the Moon, the sabotage plot will reappear in even more lethal form. The explorers will race a dwindling oxygen supply back to the safety of Earth.Although these stories were written over half a century ago, Herge's simple but dramatically effective artwork and stories hold up extraordinarily well. This volume and the Tintin series are very highly recommended to Tintin fans of all ages.

Love Tintin. They've been around almost 100 years! Fantastic reads from an bygone era.

I grew up in Belgium and still have most of the Tintin albums in French (I have some twice, because Herge re-drew some of the albums to make them more modern; this series has the modern versions).Some years ago, I found a handful of these "poststamp" cover editions in a discount store, and picked them up for a few bucks each. My kids and their friends have loved them. When I found them here on Amazon, I decided to complete that collection: It's a bit pricier than the first ones I bought, but still a great value. Clearly, the artwork loses a little brilliance in the format reduction, but that's much less of an issue to me than some other reviewers here opine (and, frankly, it's *far* less bothersome than the elements lost in translation). On the plus side, the smaller format makes for more convenient storage.I was a little disappointed that the copies I was sent (I ordered some as gifts) have a different cover (it follows the modernized style shown for The Adventures of Tintin, vol. 7: The Castafiore Emerald / Flight 714 / Tintin and the Picaros (3 Volumes in 1)) than the "poststamp" design shown here: I would have liked to have a consistent collection. I dropped a star because of that.Otherwise, this is a very cost-effective way to get introduced to the world of Belgian comics ("ligne claire" style in particular). Several others have been translated as well; e.g. Yoko Tsuno (On the Edge of Life: Yoko Tsuno 1), Papyrus (The Rameses' Revenge: Papyrus Vol. 1), or Spirou & Fantasio (Adventure Down Under: Spirou Vol. 1 (Spirou & Fantasio)).