Destination Moon (The Adventures of Tintin)

Rating:
Summary: Tintin and friends prepare to take a spaceship to the Moon
Review: "Destination Moon" ("Objectif Lune," 1953) 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. However, be forewarned that this is the first half of the tale, which is continued in "Explorers on the Moon." So do not let the cliffhanger ending to this volume throw you for a loop. Just make a point of picking up both halves of the story and you can avoid any sleepless nights worrying about Tintin and his friends trapped in a spaceship that could well become their tomb.

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.

"Destination Moon" is really the set up, for which "Explorers on the Moon" is the payoff. What is most impressive is the attention to detail that Herge shows in these books, in terms of both the technical preparation for a trip to the moon and the actual trip. There is some intrigue, with agents from Klow trying to thwart the mission, but the main thing here is the preparation for the epic journey. These two volumes stack up well against any 1950s science fiction movie about traveling to the moon and anticipate a lot of what we would read about and see when Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon in 1969. Together these volumes constitute Tintin's greatest adventure (how can you top being the first man on the moon?).

Rating:
Summary: Futuristic Fantasy
Review: First written in 1953, 15 years before the first real moon landing in 1969!
I like these books because of their nostalgia value, good old-fashioned values of heroism, adventure good vs. evil. . I first got hold of copies of 'Destination Moon ' and 'Explorers on the Moon' when I was ten, and I was fascinated by the world which they opened up.
Tintin and Captain Haddock fly to the uranium-rich Balkan State of Syldavia, to work with Professor Calculus on his project to send a rocket to the moon, using the mountains of Syldavia as a base. You learn a lot about the fantasyland of Syldavia, and about the unusual perception of the world of his time, by the author, Herge.

This work is amazing in its futuristic scope. The super-modern (for when it was written in1953) Sprodj Atomic Research Center, and the details of the rocket where quite an amazing concept when the book was first published, 16 years before the first real moon landing by Neil Armstrong in 1969.

It is full of adventure, such as when Tintin is wounded while surprising villains at the ventilator grid in the picturesque Syldavian Mountains; and much humour such as escapades with Captain
Haddock's pipe and Professor Calculus' hearing aid , and the famous scene of an enraged Professor Calculus 'acting the goat'.

It is a great adventure for all ages, a wonderful album to have.

Rating:
Summary: Learn and have fun
Review: Why I like Tintin?
Basically, I would say, because it is an icon of French culture. In the era of globalisation, I do believe there are several poles of culture dissemination: Hollywood is one of them, though not the only one.
Travel with Tintin, and you will learn as much as you have fun. I wouldn't draw a parallel with Mickey Mouse (though my brother once suggested that Johnny Quest is closer to what Tintin is) but I do know that Tintin is a beloved character with francophones all around the world.
Ironically, Tintin does not come from France, but from Belgium. But what does it matter? Canada's Celine Dion has also made it to the top charts in far away France...