The Broken Ear

The Broken Ear book cover
Tintin © Hergé/Moulinsart.

Originally created by Jesper Jühne. Revised and maintained by Irene Mar
Contributors and sources: Aaron Remick, Stephen Hart, Chikahiro Masami, Etienne Chevalier (Tintinologist.org Belgium Correspondent), Luis Olavo Dantas, Chris Owens (Tintinologist.org UK Correspondent), BP= Tintin and the world of Hergé by Benoît Peeters. London: Methuen, 1989; TT= Tintinologisk Tidsskrift [http://www.akira.ruc.dk/~rsj/tintin/]; DT = Discover Tintin [defunct web site].

Last modified: 02 November 2007
Latest changes: Book title and album cover updated.

Original French title

L'Oreille Cassée

Publication history

First published in Le Petit Vingtième between 5 December 1935 and 25 February 1937. Published in book form in 1937 [black and white].
Edited and published in colour in 1943.

UK editions:

1975
Title Details: The broken ear / by Hergé ; translated [from the French] by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner
Series: Herge, Adventures of Tintin
Translation of: 'L'Oreille cassee'. Paris : Casterman, 1947
Publisher: London : Methuen, 1975
Physical Description: [2],62p : chiefly col ill ; 30cm
ISBN: 0416834507

1975
Title Details: The broken ear / [by] Hergé ; [translated from the French by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner]
Series: Herge, Adventures of Tintin
This translation originally published: 1975. - Translation of 'L'Oreille cassee'. Paris : Casterman, 1947
Publisher: London : Methuen, 1976
Physical Description: [2],62p : chiefly col ill ; 30cm
ISBN: 0416570305

1989
Series: The Adventures of Tintin
Publisher: London : Mammoth, 1989
Physical Description: 62 p : ill ; 30 cm
ISBN: 0749701706

1990
Publisher: Methuen Children's Books, 1990
ISBN: 0416148727

Related link: First publication dates of The Adventures of Tintin

Plot

An Indian fetish is stolen from the Museum of Ethnography. Why? Much to Snowy's disgust Tintin is soon up to his neck in one of his strangest and most exciting investigations, following a curious trail to South America, revolution, and General Alcazar. [AR]

Trivia

  1. On page 2, frame 19, the museum's conservator has a spoon behind his ear and uses a pen in his coffee.
  2. On page 3, frame 1, the museum's conservator puts on his coat inside out. [TT]
  3. On page 10, frame 10, Tintin's red notebook turns yellow. [SH]
  4. Several things in Mr Balthazar's room disappear between pages 4 and 9: on page 4, frame 1, several objects can be seen around the bed. On page 9, frame 3, the cup, the triangle, the lamp, the poster and the bust have all disappeared. [DT]
  5. The chess board used by Tintin and General Alcazar, as seen on pages 28 and 29, has a black right bottom square. Normally, the right bottom square of a chess board is white. [DT]
  6. On page 32: Hergé made a mistake drawing the tip of bananas pointing to the ground. Banana tips always point toward the sky. [DT]

Title in other languages

  1. Basque - Belarri hautsia
  2. Bengali - Kanbhanga Murti
  3. Brazilian Portuguese - O Ídolo Roubado
  4. Breton - Ar skouarn dorr
  5. Catalan - L'orella escapçada
  6. Chinese - China: 破损的耳朵(Puosun de erduo)Hong Kong and Taiwan: 破損的耳朵 (Puosun de erduo)
  7. Danish - Det knuste øre
  8. Dutch - Het gebroken oor
  9. Farsi/Persian - Gushi shikastih
  10. Finnish - Särkynyt korva
  11. Galician - A orella rota
  12. German - Der Arumbaya Fetisch
  13. Greek - To Spasméno autí
  14. Hebrew - Ha'ozer Ha'shvurah
  15. Icelandic - Skurðgoðið með skarð í eyra
  16. Indonesian - Patung kuping belah
  17. Italian - L'orecchio spezzato
  18. Japanese - かけた耳 Kaketa mimi
  19. Lëtzburgesch - d'Ouer mam krack
  20. Norwegian - Det knuste øret
  21. Portuguese - A orelha quebrada
  22. Spanish - La oreja rota
  23. Swedish - Det sönderslagna örat
  24. Turkish - Kirik Kulak
  25. Vietnamese - Búc tuong tai vô

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