When coloring the album, Hergé and EP Jacobs realized that the boards of printing remained in France Valiant Hearts newspaper where Tintin was also edited and there had disappeared during the war (they were not lost to everyone, a crafty tintin before time was the "set aside" and much later they reappeared in auctions).
Therefore they had to redesign much of the album and took the opportunity to give it a more local color ambiance. The work of EP Jacobs is breathtaking: the guards of the costumes are beautiful, the scenery of forests and mountains ditto, it's like in Albania!
Shortly after Hergé and Jacobs quarreled because the latter wanted his name to appear on the albums. Although respectful of Edgar Jacobs, Hergé always be wary of Blake and Mortimer's father envying his success in the Tintin magazine and has even lobbied to Lombard editions so as not to encourage the dissemination of the work of Jacobs.
Like Hitchcock in his movies, we can see here show Hergé and Jacobs courtiers in the Tintin arrest scene at the castle, and Hergé, Jacques Van Melkebeke his friend and his wife in the scene royal reception.
For lovers of aviation, Tintin travel aboard a yellow Junkers 52 and the seaplane in the final scene with Dupondts is an Italian Savoia-Marchetti reversed four engines. Contrary to what was claimed by "specialists", the fighter that Tintin "borrows" is not a Heinkel but rather a Messerschmitt 109 in operation at the time the Luftwaffe, but also in armies of Swiss and Hungarian air.
For lovers of medieval architecture, Schloss Oberhofen nestled alongside Lake Thun in Switzerland has many similarities with that of the album, especially the input perspective with the drawbridge and portcullis. The fact that Hergé had, at Interlaken on holiday at that time could make us believe that he was inspired ... one step, I would say even a moat, a gap that can not be crossed.
Finally, having Syldavian first language, I can tell you that the proverb "Eih bennet, BLAVET Eih", motto of the king, rather means "Christmas in the Balkans Easter in prison."
