Seven Crystal balls

Seven Crystal balls ( adventures of Tintin: The 7 Crystal balls , Hergé, 1948) is the thirteenth album of Cartoon of the adventures of Tintin whose continuation is the Temple of the Sun .

Synopsis

Of return of South America, the seven members of a forwarding devoted to the INCA S are victims, the ones after the others, of a curse and plunged in deep a Léthargie of which it seems impossible to leave them. Each time, one finds close to them the glares of a small crystal ball. Tintin seeks to elucidate the business and to protect the remaining members of forwarding…

In spite of the efforts of Tintin, six of the members of forwarding finish in a state of lethargy. Thereafter, Tintin, the Captain Haddock and the Professor Tournesol go to the Professor Bergamotte, the last still unscathed and friendly member of childhood of Sunflower. The brought back mummy of the Peru is in its house. During one night of storm, a fireball is introduced into the house and makes disappear the mummy. Bergamotte is victim in its turn of the curse and Tournesol is removed after being itself avoided bracelet of the mummy. Tintin and Haddock launch out to its research and leave soon for South America. The history continues in the album the Temple of the Sun .

Historical context

Allusion to the pled vexations of the team of the discoverers of the tomb of Toutankhamon (see the article on the “Curse of the Pharaon”) is clear in this work.

Anecdote

Although the publication of the 7 crystal balls started in 1943-44 in the newspaper the Evening , it is only into 1946 that the account was finished then published in album, in 1948. With the Release, Hergé had been shown of “collaboration” and its work was stopped during some time until the creation of the newspaper Tintin in 1946. Hergé benefitted besides from this period to put colors the albums of pre-war period.
During this album, Tintin will pass by Saint-Nazaire, then by La Rochelle (probably with the commercial port of Pallice).
the phenomenon of Foudre in ball is largely shown there, in particular on the cover (It had already been employed besides in the broken Ear ).
the title the 7 Crystal balls as for him is employed on interior cover and pages, in a “graphic” goal purely and symbolic system.
Edgar Pierre Jacobs (the creator of Blake and Mortimer) appears in the album (page 16 puts 4). It is surely about a thanks on behalf of Hergé, indeed Jacobs helped it to carry out this album. One feels even in this album the style of Jacobs which drew him even, inter alia, the villa of professor Bergamotte…
After the publication of the album, certain people reproached Hergé for having represented a star of David on the bottom of the scene of the variety at the time of the number of the conjurer (page 16). Having been regarded as anti-semite during one moment, Hergé explained that this figure did not have anything racist but whom it gave simply the magic side, illusory number.
Page 23, D3 box: one notes an spelling error on the plate of the door of the office of Mr. Hornet: It misses a " R" with CONSE' R' VATEUR.

Adaptations

Animated version

This album was adapted in the animated series of 1962 and in the animated series of 1992

Musical comedy

the Seven Crystal balls and the Temple of the Sun were adapted in a musical comedy, Tintin - the Temple of the Sun .

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