The case of the bees
The Fall of the Bienlein ( French original title: Les aventures de Tintin: L'Affaire Tournesol ) is the 17th Tintin volume by the Belgian comic artist Hergé . It appeared in 1956.
action
In Schlossmühlenhof be strange things happen: windows and mirrors go for no apparent reason to break glasses shatter in your hand. A man is gunned down in the park, but while Tim tries to find the shooter, the victim disappears without a trace. The police are also at a loss. In the general chaos, Professor Bienlein appears unexpectedly . He says he has to travel to Geneva for a few days and leaves without further explanation.
Since no windows have broken since the professor's departure, Tim suspects that he may have had something to do with the mysterious events. In his laboratory they discover a strange device, which they are initially unable to classify. They also meet a man who apparently had broken into there. Although he managed to escape, he lost a packet of cigarettes with the name of a Geneva hotel on it.
Tim and Captain Haddock fly to Geneva immediately, realizing that the professor is in danger. You are being watched at every turn, evidently by agents of a foreign state. In the hotel, they just miss the professor, but learn that he wants to take the train to Nyon - which they can no longer get either (due to an "accident"). While taking a taxi, it becomes clear for the first time that you are not supposed to reach your destination: You are pushed off the street by a black car and end up in Lake Geneva . You can get yourself out of the predicament and travel on to Nyon, where the same black car tries to run over you.
When Tim and the captain arrive at the desired address in Nyon, they discover documents according to which Bienlein had worked on the development of an ultrasonic weapon. If completed it would be a weapon of mass destruction . In the basement of the building they find Professor Topolino, Bienlein’s contact man, bound and gagged. He explains to them that Bienlein contacted him because he needed his advice. While the three are talking, the house they are in is blown up.
After they left the hospital, Tim recapitulates: Little Bien has succeeded in developing a weapon of mass destruction and two groups of agents from Syldavia and Borduria are trying to get them into their possession. A cigarette of the brand found in Bienlein’s laboratory and Topolino’s house leads them to the Bordurian embassy, where they get into a scuffle between Borduren and Syldavians during the night. Bienlein is kidnapped again, this time by the Syldavians. The two pursue the fugitives across the lake into France , first with a helicopter and then with a stopped car of an Italian who at breakneck speed overtakes the wanted car. They don't find Bienlein there because he was hidden under the back seat and not in the trunk as expected. The kidnappers then take off in a small plane towards Syldavien.
Back in Geneva, Tim and the captain organize plane tickets to Syldavien, but learn that the plane with the kidnapped professor was forced to land in Bordurien. They manage (with the help of their conspicuously inconspicuous shadows , of all places) to switch flights and fly to Szohôd, the capital of Borduria. There (announced) they are first kindly received - to congratulate them on their successful flight to the moon - and personal bodyguards are set aside for them. These, of course, are agents who should oversee the heroes. However, the two manage to fill up the agents at dinner and then flee.
They hide in the opera where they meet Bianca Castafiore . With their help, they can steal Bienlein 's discharge papers from the police chief of Bordurien, Sponsz , who is waiting for her. He is sitting in a castle in the secret service prison and is said to be forced to cooperate and (“voluntarily”) surrender his plans. Tim and the captain set out in disguise to where they manage to free the professor just before the dizziness is exposed. A breakneck drive to the border begins, including a stolen tank .
On arrival at home, the professor destroys (in a manner painful for the captain as usual) the plans for his development, since he has understood how dangerous they are.
Historical background
In the volume, published in 1956, the old hostilities between Syldavien and Bordurien flare up again - as before in King Ottokar's Scepter and in Destination Moon and Steps on the Moon . This time Hergé caricatures the Cold War between capitalism and communism . Plekszy-Gladz, the dictator of Bordurias, is reminiscent of Stalin , while the borders themselves are often seen as caricatures of the Nazis . This because of their SS-like uniforms and because of their greeting "Amaih Pleksy-Gladz", which is reminiscent of the National Socialist " Heil Hitler ".
plant
The work is also considered to be one of Hergé's best drawings. The pictures are very detailed and vivid. Hergé also depicts the personality cult around Plekszy-Gladz in all possible forms. His icon, the mustache , which also adorns the Bordurian flag, appears on uniforms as a degree badge , on the facade of buildings and as a trademark and in the bumper shape of cars.
The band is the only one that is partly trading in Switzerland . The real locations, namely Nyon and Geneva, are mapped very precisely. Hergé had often visited the area himself. He realistically drew the Genève Cornavin train station (the interior is based on the Lausanne train station) and the Hotel Cornavin , where a statue of Tintin is still located today. Only Bienlein’s room (“Room 122, fourth floor”) does not exist. Topolino's house at the “Route de Saint-Cergue” address in Nyon still exists as the “maison de Tintin”.
In addition to Colonel Sponsz, who can be traced back to Hergé's brother (meaning “sponge” in the Brussels dialect), Fridolin Kiesewetter from Salbad also makes his first appearance. Except for Tim in Tibet , he will appear in all subsequent albums. It goes back to a trader whom Herge met in Boitsfort during the war. As a recurring nuisance - especially for Haddock - Hergé also introduces the butcher schnitzel. Like a leitmotif , the telephone number of the Mühlenhof is confused again and again with that of the butcher's, which leads to all sorts of strange situations.
The illustrated book by Leslie E. Simons "German Research in World War II" really exists, except that Herge took the liberty of changing the cover sheet.
The eccentric traffic hooligan Arturo Cartoffoli with his Lancia probably goes back to Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli , who was also enthusiastic about cars. EP Jacobs is immortalized on the poster "Faust" under the name Jacobini with Bianca Castafiore.
Adaptations
The adventure has been used in two previous comic adaptations, the one from 1962 and the one from 1992.
Web links
literature
- Hergé : L'affaire Tournesol (= Les aventures de Tintin . Volume 17 ). Casterman, Paris / Tournai 1984, ISBN 2-203-00117-8 (French, first edition: 1956).
- Hergé: Tintin. (= The adventures of Tintin . Volume 7 ). 23rd edition. tape 10 : The Bees case . Carlsen, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1993, ISBN 3-551-01510-4 (first edition: 1968).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Farr: In the footsteps of Tintin and Struppi. Carlsen Comics, Hamburg 2006, p. 146.
- ↑ Michael Farr: In the footsteps of Tintin and Struppi. Carlsen Comics, Hamburg 2006, p. 148.
- ↑ Michael Farr: In the footsteps of Tintin and Struppi. Carlsen Comics, Hamburg 2006, p. 145.
- ↑ Michael Farr: In the footsteps of Tintin and Struppi. Carlsen Comics, Hamburg 2006, pp. 148–149.