18. The Calculus Affair (1954–1956)
Some, such as Benoit Peeters,
in his book Tintin and the World of Hergé have labelled this as the
greatest of the series. The Tintin website dubbs The Calculus Affair as
the most "detective-like" of the whole series.
The
story is supposedly set several months after Tintin and his friends
have returned from the Moon. Tintin and Captain Haddock are on a stroll
in the countryside around Marlinspike, but are suddenly caught out by an
approaching thunderstorm and rush back to the manor.
Events
take a mysterious turn during the storm. Inside Marlinspike, several
items of glass within the house mysteriously break for no apparent
reason. Then, Jolyon Wagg, a somewhat annoyingly gregarious and impolite
insurance lender, turns up uninvited to seek shelter. He claims that
all the windows of his car have somehow blown to bits.
Once
the storm passes, Wagg leaves, but gunshots are heard from outside, and
Wagg is found hiding in the bushes. Another man is also found injured
but then disappears. In the midst of the mystery, Professor Calculus,
returns to the house that night with bullet holes in his hat. Calculus,
somewhat apathetic to the whole series of events, leaves the following
day to attend a conference in Geneva.