1 Which of his characters did Herge base mostly on the Swiss Auguste Piccard, and what change did he make to the character’s appearance?
2 In the Cigars of The Pharaoh, what was the poison with which drug smugglers poisoned all opposition including the former Maharaja of Gaipajama?
5 Of which of his stories did Herge say, “My ambition was to try and tell a tale in which nothing happened just to see whether I was capable of keeping the readers attention till the end?”
6 In the English version, which esteemed organisation does insurance salesman Jolyon Wagg, often at the receiving end of Captain Haddock’s temper, represent?
7 Tintin won many honours and awards in his career. Which special award was he bestowed by the King of Syldavia after Tintin had recovered the royal sceptre and helped prevent a Bordurian-backed coup?
8 Which esteemed organisation feted Captain Haddock just before he left to recover the meteorite in Tintin and the Shooting Star?
9 Captain Haddock is shown to be drunk in many of the comics, but there’s only one comic that shows Tintin in a completely inebriated state just before he is due to be executed. Which story?
10 Who is the dictator of the fictional country of Borduria, who never appears as a character in the series, but is mentioned and shown in statues and portraits in at least two of the stories?
Answers
1 . Professor Calculus. He made Calculus much shorter than the towering Piccard, so that he could fit into the frames of the comic strip
2 . The Rajaijah juice
3 . Cutts the Butcher, who appears in quite a few comics and is also the president of the Music Society of Marlinspike
4 . Ranko, who later goes to a zoo
5 . The Castafiore Emerald, about a missing jewel which was actually a gift from the Maharaja of Gopal
6 . The Rock Bottom Insurance Company, it was Assurances Mondass in the original French version
7 . The Order of the Golden Pelican. Interestingly, Herge is portrayed as one of the guests at the ceremony
8 . The Society of Sober Sailors. Haddock was their president
9 . Tintin and the Broken Ear. Tintin is rescued by General Alcazar, who appoints him as his aide-de-camp
10 . Marshall Kurvi-Tasch. Bordurians often swear ‘by the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch’
Joy Bhattacharjya is a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup; Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj