Tintin Forums

I have both the Sinhala and English versions of Flight 714 to Sydney, and today I was comparing the translations when I noticed something interesting.

In my Sinhalese copy, published by Sarasavi Publishers (Sri Lanka, 2000), on page 54 — specifically in the 11th frame — Carreidas's jacket is shown as not burnt. However, it should be burnt, since on page 53 his jacket catches fire from the lava.

This error seems to have been corrected in later editions, because my English copy (republished in 2011) shows the jacket correctly burnt.

Has anyone else come across a copy of the book with this error?

Yes – the error is present in the first English edition from 1968. According to an article by Dominique Maricq (reproduced in La Revue des Amis du Musée Hergé) this is one of a number of errors that were corrected by the Studios for the second edition of the book in 1969. These include text and sound effects, plus some changes to artwork: on page 50, the coil of rope Spalding is carrying over his shoulder, which had vanished in frame B2, is restored (although not coloured). On page 60, the ice cube in Haddock's drink is redrawn so it floats at a more realistic angle.

The fact that the unburnt jacket is featured in your Sinhalese copy would suggest the artwork was sourced from the uncorrected first edition. Is the rope also missing and are the ice cubes different?

Even in the current edition, those ropes are missing from Spalding's previous scenes in front of the statue: page 47, panel 12; and page 48, panel 8.