Tintin and Alph-Art  (English, Hardcover, Herge)

Tintin and Alph-Art is the 24th and final graphic novel by Hergé. It is largely incomplete and it is presented as rough sketches with translated dialogues.

Summary of the Book

When Captain Haddock is awoken from a nightmare by Tintin, he tells him that he dreamt of Bianca Castafiore. In a strange coincidence, Tintin immediately receives a call from Castafiore herself who informs him that she is in Belgium for a few days. The next day, Captain Haddock almost bumps into Castafiore in a Brussels street and ducks into a nearby gallery. There, he meets the owner of the gallery, Henri Fourcart, and the Jamaican avant-garde artist, Ramó Nash. Nash is a master of the revolutionary “Alph-Art”. They convince Haddock to buy a perspex letter “H”, called “Personalph-Art”. Fourcart asks Haddock to let him meet Tintin, and Haddock arranges for him to come see the Belgian reporter. However, on the way to the meeting, Fourcart is killed in a car accident. Tintin grows suspicious and looks into the accident, only to discover it was a murder. This book is Hergé’s last work and it is entirely incomplete. The panels are rough sketches and the dialogue is translated for readers to understand the plot. Hergé did not want his series to be continued after his death, which is why this book was published as he left it. In melancholic irony, this book is in itself a work of art, one that every Tintin fan should possess.

About Hergé

Georges Prosper Remi, better known as Hergé, was a Belgian cartoonist best known for creating the characters in the Tintin comics series. He completed 23 books in the series and is best remembered for Tintin in Tibet and Prisoners of the Sun.

After working for a brief stint at various newspapers, he started serialization of the Tintin stories in 1929. He is considered to have greatly influenced the world of comics, majorly European comics, and was included in the Harvey Award Jack Kirby Hall of Fame and the Eisner Award Hall of Fame as the Judge's choice. The Tintin series has since been adapted into two TV series, one radio series and five full-length movies, including a 2011 hit movie directed by Steven Spielberg.

Series Reading Order

Tintin fans, this is the final book in the series. If you feel nostalgic, go back and read the very first Tintin comic, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.