Cigars of the Pharaoh

Writer(s): Hergé
Artist(s): Hergé
Publisher: Little, Brown and Co.
ISBN: 978-0316358361
Price: $10.99
Page count: 62
Year Released: 1971
Status: in print
Original Source: Les Cigares du pharaon (1934)
Other Collected Edition(s): The Adventures of Tintin, vol. 1 (ISBN 978-0316359405); boxed set (ISBN 978-0316006682)
Genres: all ages; adventure; foreign lit; humor; mystery/crime; suspense/thriller; teen/young adult
Recommended for Fans Of: action-adventure stories
Possibly Objectionable Material: racial stereotypes; mild violence
If You Like This Book, Try: Bone
Also in This Series: preceded by Tintin in America; followed by The Blue Lotus

Plot Summary
While on a cruise in the Mediterranean, Tintin meets Dr. Sarcophagus, an absent-minded professor who believes he can find the undiscovered tomb of the Pharaoh Kih-Oskh, and invites Tintin to join him on his quest. Tintin quickly loses contact with Dr. Sarcophagus, but his own adventures take him across the desert and, eventually, to India, where he once again meets up with Dr. Sarcophagus
and learns that a gang of drug smugglers is out to kill him for his meddling in their plans.

My Own 2 Cents
I enjoyed Cigars of the Pharaoh more than Tintin in America, partly because the settings are more exotic but also because the story is not quite as hectic (though Tintin sure does get around in just 62 pages). There are still too many coincidences that allow Tintin to escape certain death, for my taste, but this volume was funnier and it seems Hergé put more thought into this one than the last one. I'm still waiting for him to knock my socks off, though.