If you'll recall, the eleventh in 'The Adventures of Tintin' was 'The Secret of the Unicorn', the first half of a two-part story, in which Tintin and Captain Haddock discover the clues leading to a pirate treasure, one hidden by the latter's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock back in the seventeenth century. However, there was no actual pirate treasure in that book because they hadn't yet set out to find it. That's what this book is for, the gap between them serving as the time needed to put together an expedition.

Now they've done that, they can get down to business quickly. As we join them, they're preparing to set sail in a trawler, the 'Sirius', to seek Red Rackham's treasure. Unfortunately, the ship's cook spills the beans to a friend in the Anchor and a journalist overhears their conversation and that's enough to slap their secret mission into the pages of the 'Daily Reporter' in the morning. A whole bunch of supposed descendants of Red Rackham promptly show up to stake their claim, but Capt. Haddock capably chases them off. Thomson and Thompson are trampled by their departure.

If that's four regular characters in play already, there's another one due any moment now, who's making his first appearance. That’s Prof. Cuthbert Calculus, an inventor who believes himself to be a little hard of hearing but who is really stone deaf. He's come up with a "machine for underwater exploration" that's shark-proof. It's actually a personal submarine shaped like a shark, but which breaks in half the moment he sits inside it to demonstrate. Sabotage, he cries, and promises that he can build a new one in eight days even though they don't want it.

They get it anyway, because he stows away on the 'Sirius' with his brand new submarine secreted in crates that formerly contained all Capt. Haddock's bottles of whisky. I bet you can guess how well that goes down with the captain! He's already been dragged through a clothes-brushing machine in Prof. Calculus's laboratory, leading him to cry "Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles!" Oh, this is definitely heyday stuff, the whole gang together again for the first time and textbook Capt. Haddock cursing in an alliterative stream of consciousness.

Once we get where we're going and Tintin figures out why it's not where they thought it was, they find the boat immediately. It's mostly buried on an island that was clearly home to Sir Francis for a considerable time, given that the parrots are still cursing precisely like he did. His vocabulary has been handed down over the centuries, as indeed it has to our own captain. He was like his ancestor in many ways beyond mere looks. I'd argue that he's the best thing about this book, as he was the last one, too. My favourite scene here has him blister sarcasm at the inept Thomson and Thompson, who are naturally along for the ride.

The visuals are wonderful here, most obviously the shark submarine in whole sequences of scenes underwater, but with many other panels worthy of note, whether they contain graffiti, distorted mirrors or the passage of time. Inevitably, of course, there's the wreck of the 'Unicorn', which is a gorgeous sight. Many panels are beautifully framed, whether it's speedboats through binoculars, or our explorers in the jungle through a twisted tree. I've always remembered the 'Tintin' albums for Hergé's storytelling ability, but this runthrough of all of them in order has underlined for me that his art is equally as good, if not better.

'The Secret of the Unicorn' was apparently Hergé's favourite of all his 'Tintin' books until 'Tintin in Tibet' took its crown, and I thoroughly enjoyed it too. It felt much more leisurely than any previous book, in part because its story, as complete as it was, was also half a story, to be finished here. That makes this one another story, complete in itself, that's also the second half of that broader one. It gave Hergé much more room to let both halves breathe and everything I said about that last time out holds true here. 'Red Rackham's Treasure' isn't as good, because it's fundamentally simpler, a lot of the complexity of the initial mystery done with its solution and so not carrying over here.

There's also a lack of overt villain, even though Max Bird escapes custody early in the book, which prompts a lesser sequence for Capt. Haddock. There's still danger to be found, of course, and they promptly find it, but it's never as fraught as when there's a palpable human enemy plotting their downfall. What's more, the end could be considered convenient, but I'd consider it more poetic. It certainly seems to supply the final piece to the puzzle that is 'The Adventures of Tintin'. I gave out a sigh of satisfaction at the end of this book, not just because I enjoyed it both as a single volume and a double, but also because it feels like everything's in place now.

We had Tintin and Snowy from moment one, of course. Thomson and Thompson joined relatively quickly and were almost fully formed from the outset; they've been a reliable source of slapstick ever since. Capt. Haddock didn't show up for quite a while and didn't seem to be himself when he did, but it didn't take too long for him to develop into the Capt. Haddock we know and love. Here, we're given Prof. Calculus for the first time, who's immediately the character we remember. And there's Marlinspike Hall, in a different way to its introduction last time out; it would function as home base for this crew in many a future adventure.

There are a bunch of other things I'd love to say here, but they'd count as spoilers and they would be even worse for the fact that the story is relatively unencumbered by complexity and nuance. It would be worth your while, if you haven't read any of the 'Tintin' books to start with 'The Secret of the Unicorn' and follow up with 'Red Rackham's Treasure'. Between them they cover most of what the series does and they do it seamlessly. Get hooked here and then explore the series as a whole.

Which, of course, is what I'm doing right now, having read many but not all of these books as a kid. Next up is one I believe I read back in the day but never owned, 'The Seven Crystal Balls'. ~~ Hal C F Astell

For more titles by Hergé click here