The Fine Art of Pretending by Unknown (2 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Ed. Near Fine in white pictorial wraps with blue & red lettering & cover art by M.E. Sherwood picturing a guy holding a knife & approaching a brunette in bed holding a gun & pretending to sleep. Includes stories by Bill Ryder, Don Unatin, Bryce Walton & Henry Slezar. Detective Magazine, Digest Paperback.

Softcover. Condition: Fine!. King Ottokar's SceptreÂ(French:ÂLe Sceptre d'Ottokar) is the eighth volume ofÂThe Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonistÂHergà . Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaperÂLe Vingtià me Sià cleÂfor its children's supplementÂLe Petit Vingtià me, it was serialised weekly from August 1938 to August 1939. Hergà intended the story as a satirical criticism of the expansionist policies ofÂNazi Germany, in particular theÂannexationÂofÂAustriaÂin March 1938 (theÂAnschluss). The story tells of young Belgian reporterÂTintinÂand his dogÂSnowy, who travel to the fictional Balkan nation ofÂSyldavia, where they combat a plot to overthrow the monarchy ofÂKing Muskar XII.Having discovered a lost briefcase in a Belgian park, Tintin returns it to its owner, theÂsigillographerÂProfessorÂHector Alembick, who informs the reporter of his plans to travel to theÂBalkan nationÂof Syldavia. Tintin discovers agents spying on the professor and follows those responsible to a nearby Syldavian restaurant.[1]ÂAn unknown man agrees to meet with Tintin but is found unconscious and appears to haveÂamnesia. Shortly after, the reporter receives a threatening note and is then the target of a bomb attack; Tintin survives the latter when police detectivesÂThomson and ThompsonÂintercept the bomb. Suspecting that these events are linked to Syldavia, Tintin decides to accompany Professor Alembick on his forthcoming visit to the country.[2]ÂOn the plane journey there, Tintin notices Alembick acting out of character, and suspects that an imposter has replaced him. Reading a brochure on Syldavian history, Tintin theorises that the imposter is part of a plot to steal theÂsceptreÂof the Medieval King Ottokar IV from the currentÂKing Muskar XIIÂbefore St. Vladimir's Day, thus forcing him toÂabdicate.[3]Forcibly ejected from the plane by the pilot, Tintin survives and informs local police of his fears regarding the plot. However, the police captain is part of the conspiracy, and he organises an ambush in the woods where Tintin will be eliminated. Tintin evades death, and heads to the capital city of Klow in a car carrying the opera singerÂBianca Castafiore.[4]ÂLeaving the car to evade Castafiore's singing, Tintin is arrested again and survives another assassination attempt before heading to Klow on foot. Arriving in the city, he meets the King'sÂaide-de-camp,ÂColonel Boris Jorgen, and warns him of the plot. However, Jorgen is also a conspirator and organises a further unsuccessful assassination attempt aimed at Tintin.[5]Tintin succeeds in personally warning the King about the plot. Concerned, Tintin and Muskar rush to Kropow Castle, where the sceptre is kept, to find that the imposter pretending to be Alembick has succeeded in smuggling it out of the building to his accomplices.[6]ÂWith the aid of Thomson and Thompson, who have recently arrived in Syldavia, Tintin pursues the thieves, first by car and then by foot. He is able to prevent the sceptre being carried over the border into neighbouring Borduria, discovering a letter on one of the conspirators. It reveals that the plot has been orchestrated byÂMüsstler, a political agitator who runs the Syldavian Iron Guard, or Zyldav Zentral Revolutzionär Komitzät (ZZRK), and who intends to stir up unrest in Syldavia, thereby allowing Borduria to invade and annex the country.[7]ÂEntering Borduria, Tintin commandeers a fighter plane and heads to Klow, but the Syldavian military shoot him down. Parachuting, he continues to Klow by foot, returning the sceptre to the King on St. Vladimir's Day and securing the monarchy. In thanks, the king makes Tintin a Knight of the Order of the Golden Pelican; the first foreigner to receive the honour. Tintin later learns that the imposter was Alembick's twin brother while police arrest Müsstler and rescue Professor Alembick.[8]King Ottokar's SceptreÂwas a commercial success and was published in book form byÂCastermanÂshortly after its conclusion. Hergà continuedÂThe Adventures of TintinÂwithÂLand of Black GoldÂuntilÂLe Vingtià me Sià cle'sÂforced closure in 1940, while the series itself became a defining part of theÂFranco-Belgian comics tradition. In 1947, Hergà coloured and redrewÂKing Ottokar's SceptreÂin his distinctiveÂligne-claireÂstyle with the aid ofÂEdgar P. JacobsÂforÂCasterman's republication. The story introduces the recurring characterÂBianca Castafiore, and introduced the fictional countries of Syldavia andÂBorduria, both of which reappear in later stories. The first volume of the series to be translated into English,ÂKing Ottokar's SceptreÂwas adapted for both the 1956ÂBelvision StudiosÂanimationÂHergà 's Adventures of TintinÂand for the 1991ÂEllipse/NelvanaÂanimated seriesÂThe Adventures of Tintin.Originally published 1939, Tintin fights against a fascist coup d'etat in Syldavia. We stock the full range of Tintins. 'Hergà ' was born Georges Remi on 22 May, 1907 in Etterbeek, a suburb of Brussels, in Belgium. After leaving school, he worked for the daily newspaper, Le XXe Sià cle (The 20th Century). He was responsibe the for the section of the newspaper designed for children. Tintin, the main character in his works, was introduced on January 10, 1929 in a story entitled 'Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.' Each story ran as a comic strip in the newspaper and then was published as a book. Some of these books were adapted for the small screen including The Crab With The Golden Claws, Star of Mystery, Red Rakham's Treasure, Black Island, Objective Moon and The Calculus Affair. French TV produced longer versions of twenty of the books in 1992, which have been broadcast in over fifty countries. On 3 March, 1983, he died in Brussels. At the time of his death, he was working on Tintin and the Alpha-Art, which was published in an unfinished form. 191014/0518/1219/0420/0321/0621/050523 Elizabeth's Bookshops have been one of Australia's premier independent book dealers since 1973. Elizabeth's family-owned business operat.