The Adventures of Tintin: Red Rackham’s Treasure - Hergé
Later in The Castafiore Emerald, Hergé would write an interesting Tintin story which goes through the motions of a typical Tintin adventure, but in reality nothing criminal actually occurs. Red Rackham's Treasure, the rather disappointing conclusion to the adventure that started in Secret of the Unicorn (both stories combined due to appear on the screen in a film by Steven Spielberg), is rather similar in that, after a terrific set-up, nothing really happens, and the potential is not really followed through. There are nonetheless important events that occur that are to have a major impact on the direction of the series and other pleasures to be found in Red Rackham's Treasure.
Red Rackham's Treasure even opens with one of those incidents that usually promise intrigue - a conversation between two dock workers about the journey to discover secret treasure being organised by Tintin and Captain Haddock that is overheard by an inquisitive eavesdropper. The "spy" however turns out to be nothing more than a journalist who reports the story in his newspaper. While the usual Tintin exploits are avoided here (the secrecy and espionage leaks surrounding the subsequent Moon adventure, for example, have rather more serious consequences), the set-up at the start is followed through since the news brings Professor Calculus and his shark-proof submarine onto the journey, and the tables are turned through Calculus on the reporter in a neat symmetrical manner at the end of the adventure.
The escape of Max Bird and rumours of his sighting near the exploration ship however are not followed-up, and the actual search for treasure consequently turns out to be rather uneventful. In place of intrigue however, there is more than enough going on with the exoticism of the locations, including a mysterious treasure island that still amusingly bears signs of the landing of Sir Francis Haddock there several centuries previously. Best of all however are the underwater sequences, the clear-line artwork of the wreck of the Unicorn, with sharks all around, simply magnificently rendered (as seen in the memorable cover for this book).
What Red Rackham's Treasure lacks in terms of adventure and intrigue however, it makes up in how each of the growing cast of characters find their places in the Tintin universe, the role that Calculus and the Thomsons play being defined as having a significant and often amusing role, while at the same time helping everything come together in unexpected ways. Most significantly, Haddock's inheritance (Nestor included in the package that comes with Marlinspike Hall) ensures that the team are not short of funds for the subsequent adventures that span the globe and even beyond.
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