109 - Hergé

Hergé HERGÉ TINTIN Flight 714 to Sydney (Vol. 22), Casterman 1968 Set of 8 original panel sketches Ballpoint pen on paper Panel No. 1: 7 × 6 cm - Panel No. 2: 7.3 × 3 cm Panel No. 3: 7.6 × 6 cm - Panel No. 4: 7.5 × 6.4 cm Panel No. 5: 3.5 × 6.5 cm - Panel No. 6: 8.3 × 6 cm Panel No. 7: 4.3 × 6 cm - Panel No. 8: 7.2 × 6 cm These eight storyboard panels offer a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of *Flight 714 to Sydney*. One of them is of particular interest: it’s a remnant of the Bigotudos storyline. It shows Carreidas speaking to a Tupamaro—or rather, a Bigotudo, a Spanish term meaning “mustachioed.” As drawn by Hergé, the character is instantly recognizable: large sideburns, a thick mustache, and a big cigar paint the portrait of a colorful South American. Carreidas exclaims to him: “You’re a… a… atcha… madman! ” A line that, in the final version of the album, will become: “I’ll cha… a… atcha… chase you, Spalding! ” The other panels take us back to the beginning of *Flight 714 to Sydney*, when Tintin, Haddock, and Calculus meet Carreidas, the famous multi-billionaire aircraft manufacturer. We see several familiar scenes there, sometimes with slight variations. For example, Carreidas tells Professor Calculus that he recognizes him from photographs. But the professor, true to form and as hard of hearing as ever, responds completely off the mark: “Excuse me?” he says, before pulling out a one-dollar bill sticking out of his interlocutor’s hat. A dollar that Haddock had slipped in a few panels earlier, taking pity on the man he believed to be a poor, unfortunate soul. The irony of the scene, of course, rests entirely on this misunderstanding: the supposed pauper is actually one of the richest men in the world! After offering his new companions a glass of chlorophyll-flavored Sani-Cola, Carreidas asks Captain Haddock if he plays Battleship, before inviting them to continue their journey aboard his private plane. In another panel of this layout, he also reveals that he has guessed their destination: like him, they are heading to the astronautics conference in Sydney. Finally, two other panels are worth noting, as they will appear in the album almost unchanged. In the first, Tintin, holding Snowy on a leash, is surprised that Spalding feels the need to justify himself by citing a sick friend. In the second, Allan pushes Carreidas’s hat down over Captain Haddock’s head until it completely covers his eyes. These eight sketches thus allow us to gauge the extent to which certain scenes were already fully formed in Hergé’s mind, while revealing the adjustments—sometimes minute—that would lead them to their final form. Gaétan Laloy