Tintin Forums

I think that Tintin in the World of the Inca may simply be a double edition of the two-part adventure The Seven Crystal Balls/ Prisoners of the Sun, which was published some years ago.
In addition to the complete comic-book adventures, it had a foreword section about Hergé's researches and sketches etc for the story, and how he wrote and drew it, hence the book's full title: The Making of Tintin in the World of the Inca.
Or am I misremembering that title? I've seen the book but don't own it.

Anyway, if I'm right, then it was a proper authorised book (one of a few "Making of" editions), rather than an unauthorised new adventure or pastiche.

Moderator Note: Balthazar is indeed correct!

Can someone please help me with the series of books called The Making of Tintin?
The books have two stories in each, and I know of four of them: Mission to the Moon, World of the Inca, Cigars of the Pharaoh/ Blue Lotus and Secret of The Unicorn/ Red Rackham's Treasure.
Are there any titles I left out (I'm only aware of these four)?
But what is the series about?
What should one expect while reading one?
And how much are they worth?

Tintin Noob
'The Making of Tintin' series are double-volume hardcover books released after Hergé's death.
They are:
1. The Making of Tintin - Secret of The Unicorn/ Red Rackham's Treasure (1983)
2. The Making of Tintin - In the World of the Inca (Seven Crystal Balls/ Prisoners of the Sun (1985)
3. The Making of Tintin - Mission to the Moon (Destination Moon/ Explorers on the Moon (1989)
4. The Making of Tintin - Cigars of the Pharaoh / The Blue Lotus (1995)

At the end of two stories, there are a few pages with full colour feature on how these adventures came into being. Its quite a good read with actual photographs with facts and incidents that lead into making those adventures.
These titles are hard to find these days, but they do pop up on eBay and rarely go below £70. The fourth one is the rarest since it had a very short print run.
Fortunately I own the entire 'Making of Tintin' series. So, you may ask me about anything specific you need to know...

I'd have to be honest and say that the cost of many copies for sale second hand, often far outstrips the worth of the books, plus whilst people (especially dealers) try to sell them for huge amounts, I just don't know how many of them sell at those prices.
I think they have spotted them as "commodities" that they can manipulate the prices of, when the books are really just double volumes with a smattering of extra material - nice in their way, but not essential, even to the ardent fan.

It has to be remembered that when they first appeared, the Making of series were one of the few places for back-ground on Hergé's art. Now we have had several other behind-the-scenes volumes, notably the Companion and the Chronologies, and of course we now also have the internet; is there anything in them, other than the text, which can't be found elsewhere? I get the feeling that things like these will stop being treated as commodities as the need for their content drys up.

Hi all,
I was just wondering if anyone can please tell me about the book "The Making of Tintin - In the World of the Inca". I have been trying to buy a copy of this publication and almost everywhere I look, its for sale or has sold for anywhere from $300-$600? Why the heavy price tag? Did they not publish many?

These books were published in the 1980s. As well as the Incas, there were similar books about the Moon and the Unicorn adventures. I came across one of them myself in a book shop at the time but have never seen any of them since, so I imagine that they have become very rare.

You can find some details about the book here.

As has been indicated here and elsewhere, they may not be very common, but they aren't as rare as the prices asked for them suggests!

They were available for an extended period of time, and some were reprinted at least once; they did fill a void when they came out, as they had material that wasn't available anywhere else, but the majority of that is available from other sources now.

Rather than spend tens of pounds on these books, I'd suggest Tintinologists new to the subject and wishing to assemble a reference collection, bought the Young Reader editions which cover most of the original books, and supplemented these with the Complete Companion - you'd get better and more current information at a fraction of the cost!