The Seven Crystal Balls
Encyclopedia
The Seven Crystal Balls is the thirteenth of The Adventures of Tintin
, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé
, featuring young reporter Tintin
as a hero.
It was first published in the Le Soir
newspaper from December 1943 to September 1944 but was postponed three-quarters of the way through when, following the liberation of Belgium at the end of World War II
, Hergé and other members of the Le Soir were investigated for working for a collaborationist newspaper. The story was resumed in Prisoners of the Sun
in the newly-launched Tintin magazine in 1946.
expedition in the Andes
, where they unearthed the tomb of the Inca, Rascar Capac. A man says to him, "Think of all those Egyptologists, dying in mysterious circumstances after they'd opened the tomb of the pharaoh...You wait, the same will happen to those busybodies violating the Inca's burial chamber."
Tintin's train arrives at Marlinspike Hall
, the new home of his friends Captain Haddock
and Professor Calculus
. The Captain, now a member of the aristocracy, invites Tintin to an evening at the music hall
. There they witness an unsettling performance of a clairvoyant who predicts the illness of one of the members of the expedition. They also view the act of Bianca Castafiore
, as well as a knife thrower—whom Tintin recognizes is General Alcazar of San Theodoros
. They have a glass of aguardiente
with the general who introduces them to his assistant Chiquito.
A mysterious illness begins afflicting the members of the expedition; one by one, they fall into a mysterious coma
. The only clue is fragments of a shattered crystal ball
found near each victim. Concerned, Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus go to stay with Calculus's old friend and only expedition member yet to be affected, the ebullient Professor Tarragon. Tarragon is keeping Rascar Capac's mummy in his house and is being tightly guarded against any attack. A lightning storm strikes the house and sends a ball of fire
down the chimney and onto the mummy—which evaporates. Tarragon, clearly shaken, informs them a prophecy has come true: Rascar Capac has returned to his element and punishment will descend upon the desecrators.
After Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus are each visited in their nightmares by the mummy, the three awaken to find Professor Tarragon comatose with the telltale shards of crystal by his bed. The attacker bypassed the police watch by coming down the chimney. The police shoot the attacker as he flees, but fail to capture him. Tintin states the crystal balls have done their work and claimed the last of the seven.
Tarragon awakens and screams about mysterious figures attacking him, before slipping back into a coma. The plot thickens even further when Calculus takes a stroll around Professor Tarragon's house, discovers a striking gold bracelet, puts it on (remarking on how nicely it goes with his coat), and then mysteriously disappears. The bracelet had previously been worn by the now-vanished mummy.
While searching the grounds, Tintin and Haddock discover the attacker had eluded them by taking refuge in a tree and deduce that he then jumped Calculus and stole the mummy's jewels. Tintin and the Captain are then fired upon by an unseen gunman who escapes, having kidnapped Calculus, in a black car. The alarm is raised and the police set up road blocks, but the kidnappers switch cars and slip through the net.
Tintin visits a hospital where all seven of the stricken explorers go through the same horror—they awaken from their coma, scream about figures attacking them, and slip back into their coma—at a precise time of day.
Back at Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock is devastated by the loss of Professor Calculus. But after he receives a telephone call from the police, he disappears into his bedroom, then reappears—dressed as a sailor again and ready for travel. As he and Tintin drive to Westermouth, he explains the kidnapper's car was seen there; he believes the kidnappers boarded a ship with Calculus and he intends to follow. When they reach the docks, they find the kidnapper's car abandoned and they spot General Alcazar boarding a ship to South America
. The General informs them his music hall career is over since the disappearance of his partner, Chiquito, one of the last descendants of the Incas. Tintin realizes Chiquito disappeared the same night Professor Tarragon was attacked and Calculus kidnapped and deduces he could be one of the kidnappers.
Out of leads, Tintin and Haddock decide to go to a different dock, Bridgeport, to visit Haddock's friend, Captain Chester. Snowy
retrieves an old hat found there, and Tintin recognizes it as belonging to Professor Calculus. Checking with the harbour master, they discover that Calculus must be on board the Pachacamac
, which is bound for Peru
. They board a flight and resolve to meet his ship there.
The story is continued in Prisoners of the Sun
.
. With Belgium
under German
occupation, Hergé decided to avoid the overt political content that he had included in previous Tintin stories, such as The Blue Lotus
, The Broken Ear
and King Ottokar's Sceptre
.
As the opening sequence of the book indicates, The Seven Crystal Balls and its theme of an ancient curse, was inspired by the "curse of the pharaohs
", the speculation that members of the Howard Carter
expedition, discoverers of the tomb of Tutankhamun
, died in tragic and mysterious ways due to a curse.
and was full of soldiers. However, they were able to slip away without any trouble.
The original serial version began regular publication in the Belgian newspaper Le Soir
on 16 December 1943. It was suspended on 3 September 1944, following the liberation of Brussels
, when Hergé and many of his colleagues had to answer for working for the collaborationist newspaper.
The strip ended with Tintin walking through the street reading a newspaper when he collides with General Alcazar. Alcazar tells him that he is now unemployed since the disappearance of his assistant Chiquito and how Chiquito is in fact a descendant of the Incas. Tintin then describes to him the man who was driving the car in which Calculus is believed to have been transferred to during the kidnapping. Alcazar identifies him as Fernando Ramirez, a major exporter of guano
whom Chiquito knew well. Tintin then rushes him to the police station in order to make a statement.
Publication resumed in the newly-launched Tintin Magazine
in 1946, under the title Le Temple du Soleil (French for "Temple of the Sun" but renamed Prisoners of the Sun in English). It begins with Tintin on his way to Marlinspike Hall where Haddock is in a state of depression over Calculus' disappearance. This and his sudden leap into action is said to be reflecting Hergé's mood at the time: his uncertain future due to the accusations of collaboration and the subsequent offer to help launch Tintin Magazine. (The scene with Alcazar would be re-located to a city port with the General about to set off to South America himself in order to lead an uprising and denying all knowledge of the driver in the car).
: Cantonneau had been on the receiving end of Tintin's suitcase, thrown down from the crow's nest by Philippulus the Prophet.
The nightmare of a South American native stalking a Westerner in his bedroom had been used before by Hergé in the original black-and-white publication of The Broken Ear
(though it is not included in the present edition most commonly available today).
General Alcazar of The Broken Ear
and Bianca Castafiore
of King Ottokar's Sceptre
also appear in the music-hall scenes. For Castafiore, this seems sharply at odds with all her other appearances in the Tintin series, where she is depicted as one of the world's leading operatic divas; not a music hall variety act. In a significant continuity error by the translators (which does not occur in the original version), Tintin observes that Castafiore "turns up" in unlikely locations, including "Syldavia, Borduria, and the Red Sea". At this point in the chronology of the series, Tintin has only met Castafiore once before, in Syldavia during the adventure King Ottokar's Sceptre. The adventures featuring Castafiore in Borduria (The Calculus Affair) and the Red Sea (The Red Sea Sharks) are in Tintin's future. Plus, Haddock appears to know Castafiore, yet he has never encountered her previously in the published series (however, he might have seen her at a previous evening at the Music Hall).
Alcazar and Castafiore were to guest-star in other adventures, including Tintin and the Picaros
.
The two boys, one blonde, the other dark-haired, who hide a brick in a hat as a prank on Captain Haddock, were quite likely inspired by Hergé's own Quick & Flupke
, another pair of young troublemakers.
.
The Adventures of Tintin
The Adventures of Tintin is a series of classic comic books created by Belgian artist , who wrote under the pen name of Hergé...
, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé
Hergé
Georges Prosper Remi , better known by the pen name Hergé, was a Belgian comics writer and artist. His best known and most substantial work is the 23 completed comic books in The Adventures of Tintin series, which he wrote and illustrated from 1929 until his death in 1983, although he was also...
, featuring young reporter Tintin
Tintin (character)
Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
as a hero.
It was first published in the Le Soir
Le Soir
Le Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
newspaper from December 1943 to September 1944 but was postponed three-quarters of the way through when, following the liberation of Belgium at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Hergé and other members of the Le Soir were investigated for working for a collaborationist newspaper. The story was resumed in Prisoners of the Sun
Prisoners of the Sun
Prisoners of the Sun is the fourteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a continuation of The Seven Crystal Balls, and is one of very few Tintin...
in the newly-launched Tintin magazine in 1946.
Synopsis
On board a train, Tintin reads a newspaper article about seven explorers who have returned from a two-year ethnographicEthnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
expedition in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, where they unearthed the tomb of the Inca, Rascar Capac. A man says to him, "Think of all those Egyptologists, dying in mysterious circumstances after they'd opened the tomb of the pharaoh...You wait, the same will happen to those busybodies violating the Inca's burial chamber."
Tintin's train arrives at Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall
Marlinspike Hall is Captain Haddock's country house in Hergé's comic book series The Adventures of Tintin.The hall is modeled after the central section of the Château de Cheverny...
, the new home of his friends Captain Haddock
Captain Haddock
Captain Archibald Haddock is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
and Professor Calculus
Professor Calculus
Professor Cuthbert Calculus is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
. The Captain, now a member of the aristocracy, invites Tintin to an evening at the music hall
Music hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
. There they witness an unsettling performance of a clairvoyant who predicts the illness of one of the members of the expedition. They also view the act of Bianca Castafiore
Bianca Castafiore
Bianca Castafiore, the "Milanese Nightingale", is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
, as well as a knife thrower—whom Tintin recognizes is General Alcazar of San Theodoros
San Theodoros
San Theodoros is a fictional Central American country in The Adventures of Tintin. It is a satirical version of a Latin American banana republic country under the yoke of military government.-History:...
. They have a glass of aguardiente
Aguardiente
Aguardiente , aiguardent , aguardente , and augardente are generic terms for alcoholic beverages that contain between 29% and 60% alcohol by volume...
with the general who introduces them to his assistant Chiquito.
A mysterious illness begins afflicting the members of the expedition; one by one, they fall into a mysterious coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. The only clue is fragments of a shattered crystal ball
Crystal ball
A crystal ball is a crystal or glass ball believed by some people to aid in the performance of clairvoyance. It is sometimes known as a shew stone...
found near each victim. Concerned, Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus go to stay with Calculus's old friend and only expedition member yet to be affected, the ebullient Professor Tarragon. Tarragon is keeping Rascar Capac's mummy in his house and is being tightly guarded against any attack. A lightning storm strikes the house and sends a ball of fire
Ball lightning
Ball lightning is an unexplained atmospheric electrical phenomenon. The term refers to reports of luminous, usually spherical objects which vary from pea-sized to several metres in diameter. It is usually associated with thunderstorms, but lasts considerably longer than the split-second flash of a...
down the chimney and onto the mummy—which evaporates. Tarragon, clearly shaken, informs them a prophecy has come true: Rascar Capac has returned to his element and punishment will descend upon the desecrators.
After Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus are each visited in their nightmares by the mummy, the three awaken to find Professor Tarragon comatose with the telltale shards of crystal by his bed. The attacker bypassed the police watch by coming down the chimney. The police shoot the attacker as he flees, but fail to capture him. Tintin states the crystal balls have done their work and claimed the last of the seven.
Tarragon awakens and screams about mysterious figures attacking him, before slipping back into a coma. The plot thickens even further when Calculus takes a stroll around Professor Tarragon's house, discovers a striking gold bracelet, puts it on (remarking on how nicely it goes with his coat), and then mysteriously disappears. The bracelet had previously been worn by the now-vanished mummy.
While searching the grounds, Tintin and Haddock discover the attacker had eluded them by taking refuge in a tree and deduce that he then jumped Calculus and stole the mummy's jewels. Tintin and the Captain are then fired upon by an unseen gunman who escapes, having kidnapped Calculus, in a black car. The alarm is raised and the police set up road blocks, but the kidnappers switch cars and slip through the net.
Tintin visits a hospital where all seven of the stricken explorers go through the same horror—they awaken from their coma, scream about figures attacking them, and slip back into their coma—at a precise time of day.
Back at Marlinspike Hall, Captain Haddock is devastated by the loss of Professor Calculus. But after he receives a telephone call from the police, he disappears into his bedroom, then reappears—dressed as a sailor again and ready for travel. As he and Tintin drive to Westermouth, he explains the kidnapper's car was seen there; he believes the kidnappers boarded a ship with Calculus and he intends to follow. When they reach the docks, they find the kidnapper's car abandoned and they spot General Alcazar boarding a ship to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The General informs them his music hall career is over since the disappearance of his partner, Chiquito, one of the last descendants of the Incas. Tintin realizes Chiquito disappeared the same night Professor Tarragon was attacked and Calculus kidnapped and deduces he could be one of the kidnappers.
Out of leads, Tintin and Haddock decide to go to a different dock, Bridgeport, to visit Haddock's friend, Captain Chester. Snowy
Snowy (character)
Snowy is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. He is a white Wire Fox Terrier and Tintin's four-legged companion who travels everywhere with him...
retrieves an old hat found there, and Tintin recognizes it as belonging to Professor Calculus. Checking with the harbour master, they discover that Calculus must be on board the Pachacamac
Pachacamac
The temple of Pachacamac is an archaeological site 40 km southeast of Lima, Peru in the Valley of the Lurín River. Most of the common buildings and temples were built c...
, which is bound for Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. They board a flight and resolve to meet his ship there.
The story is continued in Prisoners of the Sun
Prisoners of the Sun
Prisoners of the Sun is the fourteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a continuation of The Seven Crystal Balls, and is one of very few Tintin...
.
Background
The Seven Crystal Balls was written during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. With Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
under German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
occupation, Hergé decided to avoid the overt political content that he had included in previous Tintin stories, such as The Blue Lotus
The Blue Lotus
The Blue Lotus , first published in 1936, is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Hergé featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a sequel to Cigars of the Pharaoh, with Tintin continuing his struggle against a major gang of drug...
, The Broken Ear
The Broken Ear
The Broken Ear is the sixth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
and King Ottokar's Sceptre
King Ottokar's Sceptre
King Ottokar's Sceptre is the eighth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring the young reporter Tintin. It was first serialized as a black-and-white comic strip in Le Petit Vingtième on 4 August...
.
As the opening sequence of the book indicates, The Seven Crystal Balls and its theme of an ancient curse, was inspired by the "curse of the pharaohs
Curse of the Pharaohs
The curse of the pharaohs refers to the belief that any person who disturbs the mummy of an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh is placed under a curse.There are occasional instances of curses appearing inside or on the facade of a tomb as in the case of the mastaba of Khentika Ikhekhi of the 6th dynasty at...
", the speculation that members of the Howard Carter
Howard Carter
Howard Carter may refer to:* Howard Carter , English archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb* Howard Carter , American basketball player...
expedition, discoverers of the tomb of Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun
Tutankhamun , Egyptian , ; approx. 1341 BC – 1323 BC) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty , during the period of Egyptian history known as the New Kingdom...
, died in tragic and mysterious ways due to a curse.
Publication history
For Professor Taragon's residence, Hergé's collaborator Edgar P. Jacobs suggested a house he knew in Boitsfort. The two artists went there and made sketches of the house which appeared to be empty. It was only when they were leaving that they realised that the place was actually being used by the local SSSchutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
and was full of soldiers. However, they were able to slip away without any trouble.
The original serial version began regular publication in the Belgian newspaper Le Soir
Le Soir
Le Soir is a Berliner Format Belgian newspaper. Le Soir was founded in 1887 by Emile Rossel. It is the most popular Francophone newspaper in Belgium, and considered a newspaper of record.-Editorial stance:...
on 16 December 1943. It was suspended on 3 September 1944, following the liberation of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, when Hergé and many of his colleagues had to answer for working for the collaborationist newspaper.
The strip ended with Tintin walking through the street reading a newspaper when he collides with General Alcazar. Alcazar tells him that he is now unemployed since the disappearance of his assistant Chiquito and how Chiquito is in fact a descendant of the Incas. Tintin then describes to him the man who was driving the car in which Calculus is believed to have been transferred to during the kidnapping. Alcazar identifies him as Fernando Ramirez, a major exporter of guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
whom Chiquito knew well. Tintin then rushes him to the police station in order to make a statement.
Publication resumed in the newly-launched Tintin Magazine
Tintin (magazine)
Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...
in 1946, under the title Le Temple du Soleil (French for "Temple of the Sun" but renamed Prisoners of the Sun in English). It begins with Tintin on his way to Marlinspike Hall where Haddock is in a state of depression over Calculus' disappearance. This and his sudden leap into action is said to be reflecting Hergé's mood at the time: his uncertain future due to the accusations of collaboration and the subsequent offer to help launch Tintin Magazine. (The scene with Alcazar would be re-located to a city port with the General about to set off to South America himself in order to lead an uprising and denying all knowledge of the driver in the car).
Connections with other books
Tintin telephones Professor Paul Cantonneau to warn him about the danger of falling victim to one of the crystal balls. He and Tintin had known each other in the expedition of The Shooting StarThe Shooting Star
The Shooting Star is the tenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip books that were written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
: Cantonneau had been on the receiving end of Tintin's suitcase, thrown down from the crow's nest by Philippulus the Prophet.
The nightmare of a South American native stalking a Westerner in his bedroom had been used before by Hergé in the original black-and-white publication of The Broken Ear
The Broken Ear
The Broken Ear is the sixth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
(though it is not included in the present edition most commonly available today).
General Alcazar of The Broken Ear
The Broken Ear
The Broken Ear is the sixth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero...
and Bianca Castafiore
Bianca Castafiore
Bianca Castafiore, the "Milanese Nightingale", is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé...
of King Ottokar's Sceptre
King Ottokar's Sceptre
King Ottokar's Sceptre is the eighth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring the young reporter Tintin. It was first serialized as a black-and-white comic strip in Le Petit Vingtième on 4 August...
also appear in the music-hall scenes. For Castafiore, this seems sharply at odds with all her other appearances in the Tintin series, where she is depicted as one of the world's leading operatic divas; not a music hall variety act. In a significant continuity error by the translators (which does not occur in the original version), Tintin observes that Castafiore "turns up" in unlikely locations, including "Syldavia, Borduria, and the Red Sea". At this point in the chronology of the series, Tintin has only met Castafiore once before, in Syldavia during the adventure King Ottokar's Sceptre. The adventures featuring Castafiore in Borduria (The Calculus Affair) and the Red Sea (The Red Sea Sharks) are in Tintin's future. Plus, Haddock appears to know Castafiore, yet he has never encountered her previously in the published series (however, he might have seen her at a previous evening at the Music Hall).
Alcazar and Castafiore were to guest-star in other adventures, including Tintin and the Picaros
Tintin and the Picaros
Tintin and the Picaros is one of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip graphic novels, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero....
.
The two boys, one blonde, the other dark-haired, who hide a brick in a hat as a prank on Captain Haddock, were quite likely inspired by Hergé's own Quick & Flupke
Quick & Flupke
Quick & Flupke is a comic book series by Hergé about two street urchins in Brussels named Quick and Flupke...
, another pair of young troublemakers.
Spinoffs
A video game has been released based on this book and Prisoners of the SunPrisoners of the Sun
Prisoners of the Sun is the fourteenth of The Adventures of Tintin, a series of classic comic-strip albums written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring young reporter Tintin as a hero. It is a continuation of The Seven Crystal Balls, and is one of very few Tintin...
.
External links
- The Seven Crystal Balls at Tintinologist.org