Le Crabe Aux Pinces D'Or / The Crab with the Golden Claw (Tintin)

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Summary: At long last Tintin and Milou rendevous with Captain Haddock
Review: "Le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or" ("The Crab with the Golden Claws") has a simple beginning, when Milou goes scavenging in the rubbish and gets his muzzle stuck in a can of crabmeat. However, that crab of tin meat quickly leads our hero on a new adventure, which starts off rather horribly when Tintin is knocked unconscious aboard a mysterious ship and taken out to sea where the bad guys intend to send him to the bottom. Of course, Tintin leads a charmed life, which takes a major turn for the better when he comes across the ship's drunken captain, who introduces himself as Captain Haddock.

The rest, as they say is history, because this is the first of many aventures de Tintin where our hero is joined by the person who, along with Snowy, becomes his almost constant companion in the years to come. Even though this is the good captain in his rawest form, Hergé knew he was onto something with the emotional, blustering, cursing (in his own peculiar way) Haddock, who plays increasingly pivotal roles in the next Tintin adventures, "L'Etoile Mysterieuse" and "Le Secret de La Licorne." As for Milou, he does manage to find some of the biggest bones in his long career, so he is certainly a happy dog in this one.

"Le Crabe aux Pinces d'Or" takes Tintin and his companions from the perils of the high sea to the burning sands of the desert. Of course, all those cans of crab are not actually filled with crab. This 1941 story is a traditional exotic adventure for the intrepid reporter, filled with slapstick and narrow escapes in equal measure, which might indicate Hergé's desire to forget about what was happening in Europe at that point in history.

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Summary: Counterfeiters and drug smugglers unmasked
Review: On a visit to his friends the detectives Thomson and Thompson, Tintin recognizes a piece of paper torn from the label of a can. Earlier in the day Snowy had found the can with the rest of the label attached on the street. The label shows a picture of a red crab on a golden background and is evidence in an investigation into counterfeit money. Written on the back is the name of the ship. When Tintin accompanies the detectives on a visit to the ship, he is kidnapped and held in the hold as the ship leave port for an unknown destination.

This Tintin adventure is notable for the first appearance of Captain Haddock. He is a major repeat character in subsequent adventures, with cries of artificial profanity like "blistering barnacles". This book, unlike previous books in the series, has four pages in which a single frame fills a page, each showing a particularly dramatic or humorous moment in the story.

If you are reading this to help learn French, Tintin comics are good for reading at a French 2 level. There are a lot of words that aren't basic vocabulary but it is still easy to follow the story because the writing and pictures tend to reinforce each other. This particular one isn't so good for studying because the captain, a major character, spends most of this one drunk and speaking with a severe stutter.

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Summary: BeSt EvEr!!
Review: This Tintin is one of the best ever. A timeless plot mixed with humor and non-stop adventure. The french version is the best because french is Herge's first language and it is simple and easy to read (Im learning french now so I know!)