Tintin Forums

I've always had a particular fondness for the final frame on p.47 of "The Castafiore Emerald", which shows the departing line of caravans, drifting away from Marlinspike as the dawn breaks - it's in marked contrast to the preceding frame showing the shrill police radio message, casting them as fleeing deperados.
It's interesting to compare it to the way it first appeared in "Tintin" magazine, which is subtly different. I've put the images on our Facebook page (where this post originally appeared) so that you can make the comparisons yourself.
The first version is in and of itself a great frame, but the brighter colours and the clear sky don't bring the same level of engagement with the Romanies that the re-worked version of the scene for the book, where more muted tones prevail, better reflecting the time of day, perhaps, but also giving an emotional depth to the scene, as the wisps of dark cloud still hang above them as they depart,as if to indicate that they may be out of the woods, but they aren't wholly free yet.
Subtle changes, as I said, but still showing, I think, Hergé's ability to finesse his work to great effect.

Thanks for the link to that. I've not seen the magazine version before and that's very interesting to see that subtle tweak adding so much poignancy. A great frame, as you say.