Les Aventures De Tintin – Objectif Lune – The Adventures Of Tintin – Destination Moon – Reprint – 1959

Author: Hergé
Price: £125.00
Publisher: Casterman
Publication Date: 1959
Format: Original cloth-backed boards with pictorial endpapers
Condition: Very good plus
Pages: 62
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout in colour by the author

Description:

Casterman, c.1959. Printed in Belgium. Reprint. Copyright page dated 1953. Original cloth-backed boards. Red spine cloth. Pictorial blue endpapers. Pp. 62. Illustrated throughout in colour by the author. Rear panel shows last printed title as ‘Coke En Stock’. Binding nice and tight with very minor rubbing and creasing to the spine and edges of the boards. Slight age toning to the pages as usual. A very good plus, tight, bright, clean copy.

Objectif Lune: A Brief Summary

The story opens with Tintin receiving an urgent summons from Professor Cuthbert Calculus, who is working under conditions of extreme secrecy in the kingdom of Syldavia. Calculus refuses to explain his project by correspondence, hinting only that it involves a matter of the highest scientific importance.

Tintin travels to Syldavia with Captain Haddock, entering a climate of surveillance, restricted access, and military security. The country is presented as a tightly controlled research environment, where even minor details are classified.

The lunar rocket revealed

Tintin and Haddock are brought to a hidden research centre in the Syldavian mountains. There, Calculus reveals his ambition: the construction of a rocket capable of travelling to the Moon and returning safely to Earth.

The rocket is not experimental fantasy but a rigorously planned scientific endeavour. It is powered by atomic energy and guided by advanced mathematics and engineering. Calculus insists that the mission will be unmanned at first, though this assurance is ambiguous.

The scale of the project immediately establishes that this is no ordinary adventure, but a leap into the unknown.

Espionage and sabotage

Almost as soon as the project is revealed, it becomes clear that foreign powers are attempting to steal or destroy the technology. Sabotage occurs within the base: equipment is damaged, communications compromised, and security breached.

Tintin uncovers evidence of an infiltrator among the staff. The enemy is not a single villain but a network of agents representing rival states, reflecting the emerging Cold War atmosphere of technological competition and secrecy.

Life inside the base

Much of the narrative is devoted to the daily life of the research centre:

• Scientists working under pressure
• Military discipline and restricted movement
• The psychological strain of secrecy

Captain Haddock struggles with confinement and authority, providing comic contrast but also highlighting the human cost of large-scale scientific projects.

Meanwhile, Thomson and Thompson arrive, ostensibly to help with security, but their incompetence repeatedly creates new dangers.

The test launches

A series of test launches are conducted. One fails catastrophically, narrowly avoiding disaster. Another succeeds, proving that the rocket can leave Earth’s atmosphere and return.

These sequences are tense and methodical, emphasising calculation, procedure, and the possibility of fatal error. Success feels provisional rather than triumphant.

Calculus’s true intention

As the project nears completion, Tintin realises that Calculus intends to travel to the Moon himself, despite earlier assurances that the mission would be unmanned. Calculus’s determination borders on obsession, raising ethical questions about responsibility and risk.

Tintin and Haddock decide to accompany him, unwilling to let the professor face the danger alone.

Countdown to launch

In the final act, sabotage reaches its peak. The infiltrator attempts one last intervention to prevent the launch. Tintin exposes the traitor just in time, restoring control of the base.

With the countdown underway, the rocket is fuelled and sealed. Tintin, Haddock, Calculus, and a small crew board the vessel.

Cliffhanger ending

Objectif Lune ends at the moment of launch. The rocket rises from its platform, engines roaring, leaving Earth behind.

The outcome of the mission—whether the crew will survive, land on the Moon, or return—is left entirely unresolved, leading directly into the sequel, On a marché sur la Lune.

Narrative significance

Objectif Lune is one of the most technically ambitious Tintin albums. It is notable for:

• A serious, realistic portrayal of space travel
• Sustained tension without a conventional villain
• Emphasis on preparation, process, and risk

The album replaces exotic travel with scientific precision, marking a decisive turn towards modernity.

Thematic overview

Key themes include:

• Scientific ambition and responsibility
• Secrecy and surveillance
• Human limits in the face of technological power
• Trust under conditions of pressure

Adventure here lies not in conquest, but in commitment to an uncertain future.

Concluding assessment

Objectif Lune transforms The Adventures of Tintin into a work of speculative realism. It treats science with respect, danger with seriousness, and progress with moral caution. By ending at the point of maximum uncertainty, it reframes adventure as a question rather than an answer—one that will only be resolved on the Moon itself.

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, ephemera, and collectors’ editions for over thirty years. As a long-standing member of the antiquarian book trade, he has advised private collectors, curated catalogues, and sourced works for leading dealers, libraries and institutions across the world.

Hornseys’ exhibit regularly at book and map fairs in London and throughout the UK and are members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, the PBFA.

His fascination with Hergé’s work — especially ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ — began in childhood. Daniel recalls reading Tintin in original European editions and quickly recognising that these were not merely children’s books, but finely illustrated narratives crafted with artistic depth and wit.

As noted by the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, Hergé’s ‘ligne claire’ style has influenced generations of European comic artists and his original drawings and paintings command very high prices with his painting of ‘The Blue Lotus’ jar fetching £2.8m at auction in 2021.

By presenting these works through Hornseys’, he hopes to contribute to the continued appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most influential illustrators, helping new generations discover the artistry and legacy of Hergé.