A new twist in the work of Hergé

However, a change can be observed: the adventure is rather unexpected and tinged with mystery.

The story begins thus: Tintin makes a cruise on a ship to China (in Shanghai, instead of the next adventure: The Blue Lotus). But the route explained at the beginning of the story will be partly distorted by a series of mishaps. Thus the adventure comes to our heroes unlike previous stories.

Three meetings on board the cruise ship will be the trigger for what follows: meet the wacky Egyptolologue (Pr Sarcophagus), that of Rastapopoulos (anonymous in the previous story) and 2 police officers Thomson and Thompson (aka X33 & X33 bis).

It is in this album that appear personages called to share other adventures, which leads us to say that the series begins this album.

Tintin plays the wrong rectifier role as in Tintin in America and bandits as they arise dependent on a single tape opium traffickers by cigars that have a den in an Egyptian tomb that whether Saudi or India, or even in the next album in China.

It does not get bored in this album since it is held in suspense, whether with respect to Thompsons who seek to stop Tintin or bandits, including a fakir with magical powers ready to go crazy every opponent .

However, it remains hungry at the end since it is not known the identity of the leader of the band fell into the rocks and whose body was not found (appointments in the "Blue Lotus")

An incredible album, full of action where appears the theme of madness and that of the curse (reference to Toutan Khamon tomb discovered in 1922) and also a tribute to Henry Montfreid (the captain of the dhow who engages in trafficking weapons and saved from drowning Tintin).

Note that this album released in 1934 was to appear in colored version from 1945 to 1946 with recovery of black and white drawings. But the lunar adventure left unfinished the first color version, and it took until 1955 to rediscover this adventure with Allan integration replacing the anonymous Master of the "City of doodlecastle" in Black & White Version and removing snakes glasses. With modern designs, the album, is inconsistent with the Blue Lotus which were taken over original drawings.

The character of Tintin "human" will appear in the next album. However, it is already gaining the sympathy of the son of Maharaja for having delivered bandits.