The Secret of the Unicorn (1943)
The Secret of the Unicorn Review
The Secret of the Unicorn is the 11th volume of The Adventures of Tintin comics series by Belgian cartoonist Herge. It was published in 1943 and it is a very strong installment.
Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock discover a riddle left by Haddock’s ancestor, the 17th century Sir Francis Haddock, which could lead them to the hidden treasure of the pirate Red Rackham. To unravel the riddle, Tintin and Haddock must obtain three identical models of Sir Francis’s ship, the Unicorn, but they discover that criminals are also after these model ships and are willing to kill in order to obtain them. This was the first part of a longer story that would conclude with the next installment and it was the second time Herge did this after ‘The Blue Lotus’ and ‘Cigars of the Pharaoh’.
My only problem with this book is that it very much felt like a first part of a two-part story. It cannot really stand on its own and it was too much of a precursor to the next entry. With that being said, this was still Herge’s most ambitious undertaking up to this point as the storytelling is rich, expansive and varied in tone.
The villains aren’t particularly interesting here and the second half saw a lot of convenient plot developments that are typical for the series. It all wrapped up with little adventuring, but a lot of great stakes and a terrific hook for the next chapter. The highlight is the humor as every character got a moment to shine.
Haddock was very funny in the scene where he recreates the famous battle that his ancestor fought. Herge was at his most capable and most artistic during these panels where the action seamlessly shifted from the present to the past and then back again. The storyline is very intriguing and full of interesting historical details, treasure chests and hidden hints. Snowy and Tintin were both very memorable here while the captain shined as he got a solid backstory, the first backstory in the series.
