The Black Island
Encyclopedia
The Black Island is the seventh of The Adventures of Tintin
, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé
, featuring young reporter Tintin
as the hero. It was first published in the newspaper supplement Le Petit Vingtième
in the late 1930s and subsequently in a black-and-white album. Two more versions of the story were published in 1943 and 1966.
In France it was first published in 1937 in the magazine Coeurs Vaillants as Le Mystère de l'avion gris (The Mystery of the Grey Plane).
The book is known for Snowy's repeated misbehavior and heroism. This is the only book in which Tintin physically disciplines Snowy. Snowy plays a major role in the plot also, both good and bad.
countryside Tintin sees an airplane
making an emergency landing. He goes to help and notices that it does not have a registration number on it. As he approaches the plane he is shot by the pilot. Tintin recovers at a hospital
where police
detectives Thomson and Thompson inform him that a similar plane has crashed in a field in Sussex
, England
. Tintin decides to investigate for himself.
Tintin takes a train from Brussels
to the coast in order to board the ferry
from Ostend
to Dover
, England
. During the journey he is framed
for the assault and robbery of a fellow passenger (who is in fact part of the mysterious criminal gang Tintin has inadvertently stumbled upon). Thompson and Thomson arrest Tintin, but he escapes by handcuffing
them to each other while they are asleep.
Arriving in England
, Tintin is kidnapped by the same men who framed him. They take him to a clifftop, intending to make him jump off it, but Tintin escapes with Snowy's help. His investigations lead him to Dr. J.W. Müller who, with his chauffeur Ivan, is part of a gang of money
counterfeit
ers, led by Puschov, the so-called victim on the train.
Tintin's pursuit of Müller and Ivan results in a plane crash in rural Scotland
, where a friendly farmer gives him a kilt
to wear. He visits the pub in the coastal village of Kiltoch, where he is told strange stories about the Black Island, where an evil beast is said to roam, killing humans. Tintin buys a boat from a villager and heads for the island, where he is almost killed by a gorilla
named Ranko and finds his boat missing. Stranded on the island, Tintin discovers that it is the hideout of the gang of counterfeiters led by Puschov and Müller.
Tintin temporarily manages to subdue the gang (they free themselevs shortly afterwards) and calls the police on their radio
signaling device after watching Thompson and Thomson win an air show race on a television set (though they didn't mean to). After a desperate holding-out action (in which Ranko's arm is broken), the gang is captured and Tintin returns to mainland Kiltoch, but the media and press do not stay very long after Ranko appears. The gang is jailed, the now submissive Ranko is placed in a Glasgow
zoo
, and Tintin decides to return home via a plane trip, which Thompson and Thomson, who have reconciled with Tintin, turn down due to their previous harrowing experience.
between 15 April 1937 and 16 June 1938. It was then published in book form.
This version contains several scenes that were deleted or altered in later editions. These included:
paper shortages (the original version had spanned 120 pages with the panels twice the size of the 62-page edition).
As in the original black-and-white edition, the opening panel has a newspaper report with a crude "photo" of Tintin and Snowy walking in the countryside. Next to it is a report from London
of which only a few words can be made out: they include references to an island.
in 1966, Hergé's British publishers, Methuen, decided that the book did not portray Great Britain
accurately enough, and Hergé was asked to rework it completely, updating it to the 1960s. The resulting book is the version most commonly available today.
Hergé's assistant, Bob de Moor
was sent to Britain to gather material and take photos of various locations. He even obtained a uniform of the Scottish police. The police officers with whom Tintin is shown posing with were given more Scottish-sounding names. The original versions had Officers Edwards, Johnson, Wright and O'Rally. These were changed to McGregor, Stewart, Robertson and Macleod.
Another change was less accurate: in the original versions, Tintin and Snowy travel on a Johnnie Walker
tanker train, a real brand of whisky from Scotland
; this was changed to Loch Lomond
, which was to be a prominent brand in Tintin and the Picaros
.
The story was updated from the 1930s to the 1960s: the cars and aircraft became contemporary 1960s models; fire hoses manually pulled by firemen were replaced with a Dennis
fire engine; the counterfeited 1 pound
notes were updated to 5 pound notes, and the 50 French francs to 100.
The LNER V2
steam engine that is hijacked by Müller and Ivan is replaced by a BR Class D16
diesel, and the steam engine (possibly a LNER V1) that is pulling the goods train that Tintin jumps on is replaced by BR Class 42
diesel.
Much of this work was done by de Moor, with Roger Leloup
working on the aircraft. In keeping with Hergé's current style, the panels had more detailed backgrounds, such as the landscape of the countryside and the inside of Müller's residence. Other changes included the darkening of Tintin's hair colour and his brown suit being changed to his iconic blue sweater and plus fours
. The other characters' clothing was updated.
The 1966 version also toned down the violence. Although guns remained in the 1966 version their presence was reduced compared to the previous editions: in the previous versions Tintin was shown armed when running in the panel prior to climbing the tree from which he tries to jump onto Müller's car; the police were also shown armed while confronting the gang at the castle.
Some of Snowy's injuries, either from Tintin's doing or by accident, were removed: in the originals Tintin grabbed hold of Snowy's ears while jumping onto a passing truck and Snowy fell on his face when they got off to examine Müller's crashed car. This was replaced by Tintin simply hitching a ride on an MG 1100.
Another change brought in minor characters from the recently-published The Castafiore Emerald
(1963): journalist Christopher Willoughby-Drupe is shown interviewing the old man in the pub, while his colleague Marco Rizotto is in the crowd receiving Tintin.
Critics attacked this updated version, claiming that the story lost a lot of its charm as a result.
series Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
. However, this adaptation changed the story significantly. Most obvious is the presence of Captain Haddock
and Professor Calculus
, neither of whom had appeared in the books yet. Also, Dr. Müller is drawn differently in the TV version than in the book. The ferry and train early in the book are replaced with an airliner. Although the VHS
edition of this episode
uses the book's cover (showing Tintin in a kilt and tam), Tintin stays in his normal attire during the entire episode, since his airplane does not crash upon his landing in Scotland.
is the station where Tintin leaps onto a passing train during his pursuit of Ivan and Muller; and Castlebay
and Kisimul Castle
were the locations of Kiltoch and Ben More Castle.
in 1937, many aspects of the story reflected popular movies of the time, such as Alfred Hitchcock
's The Thirty-Nine Steps
(an innocent man on the run from the police pursues the real crooks to Scotland) and King Kong
(Ranko the gorilla).
While talking to the old local in the pub, Tintin mentions the Loch Ness Monster
which had been the subject of recent newspaper reports: the famous "Surgeon's photo" of the monster by Robert Kenneth Wilson had been published in newspapers some three years earlier.
The gang that Tintin confronts is made up of a wide variety of figures:
On 19 March 2010, the British TV network Channel 4
broadcasted a documentary entitled Dom Joly and The Black Island in which the comedian
Dom Joly
re-enacted the story, with him acting as Tintin.
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
, featuring young reporter Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
as the hero. It was first published in the newspaper supplement Le Petit Vingtième
Le Petit Vingtième
Le Petit Vingtième was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle from 1928 to 1940. The comics series The Adventures of Tintin first appeared in its pages.-History:...
in the late 1930s and subsequently in a black-and-white album. Two more versions of the story were published in 1943 and 1966.
In France it was first published in 1937 in the magazine Coeurs Vaillants as Le Mystère de l'avion gris (The Mystery of the Grey Plane).
The book is known for Snowy's repeated misbehavior and heroism. This is the only book in which Tintin physically disciplines Snowy. Snowy plays a major role in the plot also, both good and bad.
Plot
While walking in the BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
countryside Tintin sees an airplane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
making an emergency landing. He goes to help and notices that it does not have a registration number on it. As he approaches the plane he is shot by the pilot. Tintin recovers at a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
where police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
detectives Thomson and Thompson inform him that a similar plane has crashed in a field in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Tintin decides to investigate for himself.
Tintin takes a train from Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to the coast in order to board the ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
from Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
to Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. During the journey he is framed
Frameup
A frame-up or setup is an American term referring to the act of framing someone, that is, providing false evidence or false testimony in order to falsely prove someone guilty of a crime....
for the assault and robbery of a fellow passenger (who is in fact part of the mysterious criminal gang Tintin has inadvertently stumbled upon). Thompson and Thomson arrest Tintin, but he escapes by handcuffing
Handcuffs
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists close together. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each half has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist...
them to each other while they are asleep.
Arriving in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Tintin is kidnapped by the same men who framed him. They take him to a clifftop, intending to make him jump off it, but Tintin escapes with Snowy's help. His investigations lead him to Dr. J.W. Müller who, with his chauffeur Ivan, is part of a gang of money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
ers, led by Puschov, the so-called victim on the train.
Tintin's pursuit of Müller and Ivan results in a plane crash in rural Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, where a friendly farmer gives him a kilt
Kilt
The kilt is a knee-length garment with pleats at the rear, originating in the traditional dress of men and boys in the Scottish Highlands of the 16th century. Since the 19th century it has become associated with the wider culture of Scotland in general, or with Celtic heritage even more broadly...
to wear. He visits the pub in the coastal village of Kiltoch, where he is told strange stories about the Black Island, where an evil beast is said to roam, killing humans. Tintin buys a boat from a villager and heads for the island, where he is almost killed by a gorilla
Gorilla
Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
named Ranko and finds his boat missing. Stranded on the island, Tintin discovers that it is the hideout of the gang of counterfeiters led by Puschov and Müller.
Tintin temporarily manages to subdue the gang (they free themselevs shortly afterwards) and calls the police on their radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
signaling device after watching Thompson and Thomson win an air show race on a television set (though they didn't mean to). After a desperate holding-out action (in which Ranko's arm is broken), the gang is captured and Tintin returns to mainland Kiltoch, but the media and press do not stay very long after Ranko appears. The gang is jailed, the now submissive Ranko is placed in a Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
, and Tintin decides to return home via a plane trip, which Thompson and Thomson, who have reconciled with Tintin, turn down due to their previous harrowing experience.
Publication history
The Black Island is the only Tintin story to have had three major different editions published in French: 1937, 1943 and 1966.First version, 1937-1938
The Black Island first appeared in black-and-white installments in the newspaper supplement Le Petit VingtièmeLe Petit Vingtième
Le Petit Vingtième was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle from 1928 to 1940. The comics series The Adventures of Tintin first appeared in its pages.-History:...
between 15 April 1937 and 16 June 1938. It was then published in book form.
This version contains several scenes that were deleted or altered in later editions. These included:
- Tintin taking the BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
train and referring to OstendOstendOstend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
as the port from which he will take the ferryFerryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
. Specific references to Belgium as Tintin's country of residence were taken out of the later editions of his adventures; in the 1966 edition the train is from CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
to London via Brussels.
- In the cliff top incident Tintin chases Puschov and his associate back to the car only to come under fire by Ivan who is armed with an automatic rifle. Tintin ducks for cover. (In the later editions, this was replaced by Tintin tripping over a stone and no sign of Ivan.)
- When Tintin finds the airmen's clothes hidden in a tree, he notices bloodstains on one of the leather suits and believes one of them was injured during the crash landing. He thinks this will be a helpful clue, but the injured crewman is not referred to in the rest of the story.
- Ivan and Müller are shown leaving the hijacked locomotiveLocomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
after knocking out the two-man crew. Ivan wonders where they are, but Müller assures him that he knows the country like the back of his hand.
Second version, 1943
In 1943, a colourised version of the book was published. It was similar to the previous one, but there were some changes, the most notable being the deletion or alteration of the scenes noted above. In addition, some of the panels were cropped or even expanded to make the story fit the 62-page limit that was required due to wartimeWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
paper shortages (the original version had spanned 120 pages with the panels twice the size of the 62-page edition).
As in the original black-and-white edition, the opening panel has a newspaper report with a crude "photo" of Tintin and Snowy walking in the countryside. Next to it is a report from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
of which only a few words can be made out: they include references to an island.
Third version, 1966
When The Black Island came to be published in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
in 1966, Hergé's British publishers, Methuen, decided that the book did not portray Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
accurately enough, and Hergé was asked to rework it completely, updating it to the 1960s. The resulting book is the version most commonly available today.
Hergé's assistant, Bob de Moor
Bob de Moor
Bob de Moor is the pen name of Robert Frans Marie De Moor , a Belgian comics creator. Chiefly noted as an artist, he is considered an early master of the Ligne claire style. He wrote and drew several comics series on his own, but also collaborated with Hergé on several volumes of The Adventures of...
was sent to Britain to gather material and take photos of various locations. He even obtained a uniform of the Scottish police. The police officers with whom Tintin is shown posing with were given more Scottish-sounding names. The original versions had Officers Edwards, Johnson, Wright and O'Rally. These were changed to McGregor, Stewart, Robertson and Macleod.
Another change was less accurate: in the original versions, Tintin and Snowy travel on a Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and originated in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland.It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.-History:Originally known as Walker's...
tanker train, a real brand of whisky from Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; this was changed to Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
, which was to be a prominent brand in Tintin and the Picaros
Tintin and the Picaros
Tintin and the Picaros is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip graphic novels, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
.
The story was updated from the 1930s to the 1960s: the cars and aircraft became contemporary 1960s models; fire hoses manually pulled by firemen were replaced with a Dennis
Dennis Specialist Vehicles
Dennis Specialist Vehicles is a major British coachbuilder and manufacturer of specialised commercial vehicles based in Guildford, England...
fire engine; the counterfeited 1 pound
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
notes were updated to 5 pound notes, and the 50 French francs to 100.
The LNER V2
LNER Class V2
The London and North Eastern Railway Class V2 2-6-2 steam locomotives were designed by Sir Nigel Gresley for express mixed traffic work, and built between 1936–1944. The best known is the first of the class, 4771 Green Arrow, which is the only preserved example.-Construction:The V2s were the only...
steam engine that is hijacked by Müller and Ivan is replaced by a BR Class D16
British Rail Class D16/2
British Railways Class D16/2 was a class of prototype diesel locomotive built by BR at Ashford Works and introduced in 1950-1951, with a third example being introduced in 1954. They had been designed by Oliver Bulleid for the Southern Railway before the 1948 nationalisation but did not appear until...
diesel, and the steam engine (possibly a LNER V1) that is pulling the goods train that Tintin jumps on is replaced by BR Class 42
British Rail Class 42
British Railways' Type 4 Warship class diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958. It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in Germany...
diesel.
Much of this work was done by de Moor, with Roger Leloup
Roger Leloup
Roger Leloup is a Belgian comic strip artist, novelist, and a former collaborator of Hergé. He is most famous for the Yoko Tsuno comic series.- Biography :...
working on the aircraft. In keeping with Hergé's current style, the panels had more detailed backgrounds, such as the landscape of the countryside and the inside of Müller's residence. Other changes included the darkening of Tintin's hair colour and his brown suit being changed to his iconic blue sweater and plus fours
Plus fours
Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend 4 inches below the knee...
. The other characters' clothing was updated.
The 1966 version also toned down the violence. Although guns remained in the 1966 version their presence was reduced compared to the previous editions: in the previous versions Tintin was shown armed when running in the panel prior to climbing the tree from which he tries to jump onto Müller's car; the police were also shown armed while confronting the gang at the castle.
Some of Snowy's injuries, either from Tintin's doing or by accident, were removed: in the originals Tintin grabbed hold of Snowy's ears while jumping onto a passing truck and Snowy fell on his face when they got off to examine Müller's crashed car. This was replaced by Tintin simply hitching a ride on an MG 1100.
Another change brought in minor characters from the recently-published The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald
The Castafiore Emerald is an album in the classic comic-strip series The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
(1963): journalist Christopher Willoughby-Drupe is shown interviewing the old man in the pub, while his colleague Marco Rizotto is in the crowd receiving Tintin.
Critics attacked this updated version, claiming that the story lost a lot of its charm as a result.
Cartoon version 1960s
The Black Island is one of the books in the franchise that got adapted for the 1960s TVTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
Hergé's Adventures of Tintin was an animated television series based on Hergé's popular comic book series, The Adventures of Tintin. The series was produced by Belvision and aired from 1959 to 1963, with 104 five-minute episodes produced...
. However, this adaptation changed the story significantly. Most obvious is the presence of Captain Haddock
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
and Professor Calculus
Professor Calculus
Professor Cuthbert Calculus is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
, neither of whom had appeared in the books yet. Also, Dr. Müller is drawn differently in the TV version than in the book. The ferry and train early in the book are replaced with an airliner. Although the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
edition of this episode
Episode
An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. An episode is a part of a sequence of a body of work, akin to a chapter of a book. The term sometimes applies to works based on other forms of mass media as well, as in Star Wars...
uses the book's cover (showing Tintin in a kilt and tam), Tintin stays in his normal attire during the entire episode, since his airplane does not crash upon his landing in Scotland.
Cartoon version 1991
In the cartoon version the story is shorter, and there are some other changes in the story.- Ivan is portrayed as Puschov's assistant.
- Instead of the electric powered train Tintin took in Britain in the book, Tintin took a steam powered train in the cartoon.
Locations
Bishop's StortfordBishop's Stortford railway station
Bishop's Stortford railway station serves the town of Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, England. The station, and all trains serving it, are operated by National Express East Anglia; this includes the 2 or 3tph Stansted Express service.-History:...
is the station where Tintin leaps onto a passing train during his pursuit of Ivan and Muller; and Castlebay
Castlebay
Castlebay is the main village and a community council area on the island of Barra in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. It is located on the south coast of the island, and overlooks a bay in the Atlantic Ocean dominated by Kisimul Castle, as well as nearby islands such as Vatersay.- Church :The...
and Kisimul Castle
Kisimul Castle
Kisimul Castle is a small medieval castle located in the centre of Castlebay on Barra, an island of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland....
were the locations of Kiltoch and Ben More Castle.
Contemporary connections
When The Black Island was originally published in Le Petit VingtièmeLe Petit Vingtième
Le Petit Vingtième was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle from 1928 to 1940. The comics series The Adventures of Tintin first appeared in its pages.-History:...
in 1937, many aspects of the story reflected popular movies of the time, such as Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
's The Thirty-Nine Steps
The 39 Steps (1935 film)
The 39 Steps is a British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. The film stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll....
(an innocent man on the run from the police pursues the real crooks to Scotland) and King Kong
King Kong (1933 film)
King Kong is a Pre-Code 1933 fantasy monster adventure film co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, and written by Ruth Rose and James Ashmore Creelman after a story by Cooper and Edgar Wallace. The film tells of a gigantic island-dwelling apeman creature called Kong who dies in...
(Ranko the gorilla).
While talking to the old local in the pub, Tintin mentions the Loch Ness Monster
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster is a cryptid that is reputed to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is similar to other supposed lake monsters in Scotland and elsewhere, though its description varies from one account to the next....
which had been the subject of recent newspaper reports: the famous "Surgeon's photo" of the monster by Robert Kenneth Wilson had been published in newspapers some three years earlier.
The gang that Tintin confronts is made up of a wide variety of figures:
- The unnamed moustached associate of Wronzoff (or Puschov in the English version) could pass off as a typical cockneyCockneyThe term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
crook, similar to Flash HarryFlash Harry (St Trinian's)Henry Cuthbert Edwards aka Flash Harry is a fictional character from the St. Trinian's series of films who first appears in the 1954 The Belles of St Trinian's. The term refers to "an ostentatious, loudly-dressed, and usually ill-mannered man", who may also be a spiv...
of St. Trinian'sSt Trinian's SchoolSt Trinian's is a fictional girls' boarding school, the creation of English cartoonist Ronald Searle, that later became the subject of a popular series of comedy films....
or WalkerPrivate Joe WalkerPrivate Joe Walker is a fictional black market spiv and Home Guard platoon member portrayed by actor James Beck on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. James Beck died suddenly in 1973, and is featured in just under three-quarters of the episodes...
of Dad's ArmyDad's ArmyDad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
.
- The name Ivan suggests that Müller's chauffeur is a White RussianWhite movementThe White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, exiled by the Bolshevik RevolutionOctober RevolutionThe October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
.
- The name Dr. J.W. Müller implies that the character is a German. Some have suggested that the 1930s version of Müller is a Nazi GermanNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
secret agent out to destabilise the British economy. It has been suggested that Müller was based on the adventurer Georg Bell, who was an associate of Nazi leader Ernst RöhmErnst RöhmErnst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
, and was involved in a counterfeiting operation against the RussianRussian Soviet Federative Socialist RepublicThe Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
RubleRubleThe ruble or rouble is a unit of currency. Currently, the currency units of Belarus, Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria, and, in the past, the currency units of several other countries, notably countries influenced by Russia and the Soviet Union, are named rubles, though they all are...
.
On 19 March 2010, the British TV network Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
broadcasted a documentary entitled Dom Joly and The Black Island in which the comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Dom Joly
Dom Joly
Dominic John Romulus "Dom" Joly is a British television comedian and journalist. He came to note as the star of Trigger Happy TV, a hidden camera show that was sold to over seventy countries worldwide...
re-enacted the story, with him acting as Tintin.
External links
- The Black Island at Tintinologist.org
- the black island book