Cigars of The Pharaoh (1934, redrawn 1955)

Finally unshackled from a desire to make the world more like "virtuous" Catholic Belgium, Cigars of The Pharaoh sees Tintin embarking on the kind of mystery-solving adventure for which he would become famous.

This is the first album that feels like it should be accompanied by a John Williams score instead of the Yakety Sax of The Benny Hill theme tune as the narrative, despite occasional wobbles, is focused on driving forward a single story rather than a series of disjointed, high-speed "random encounters" (to use gaming parlance for a moment).

The symbol of Kih-Ohsk, one of the
most iconic graphics in Tintin lore

While the inciting incident, a chance meeting with Professor Sophocles Sarcophagus on a cruise ship, is unplanned, from then on the book concentrates on Tintin's investigations into what's going on, why sinister forces are trying to keep him out of the picture, and what's with all the mummified Egyptologists and the cigars bearing the symbol of the Pharaoh Kih-Oskh?

Having explored the mysterious, subterranean tomb of Kih-Oskh with the Professor (who promptly disappears), Tintin and Snowy are gassed and transported to a ship captained by Allan Thompson (a retroactive addition when the book was redrawn of the first mate of Captain Haddock's ship, the Karaboudjan, from 1941's The Crab With The Golden Claws).

Promptly dumped overboard, they wash up in Arabia, encounter a fan of Tintin's adventures, Sheikh Patrash Pasha; reacquaint themselves with the film producer Rastapopoulos (who they had previously met on their cruise); then - bizarrely - get drafted into the army when the pasty, ginger-haired European is mistaken for a local.

Consequently accused of spying, Tintin is sentenced to death by firing squad, but miraculously escapes thanks to some help from unexpected quarters, steals a plane and flies off.

Running out of fuel over India, he crashes into the jungle, befriends some elephants (by learning to 'speak' their language) - who clearly aren't au fait with his trophy hunting exploits in the Congo - and, by amazing good fortune, stumbles upon the (now insane) Professor Sarcophagus wandering through the trees.

Sarcophagus is the template for future eccentric professors that Tintin will meet

Tintin himself ends up incarcerated in a mental hospital when he tries to help the professor, only to escape (of course) and befriend the kindly Maharaja of Gaipajama, who is waging his own war on drugs smugglers operating in the region.

As with the previous books, Cigars of The Pharaoh is a breathless, almost non-stop, pulp adventure of wild escapes, ridiculous coincidences, and larger-than-life villains (including a supernaturally-empowered fakir and a drug smuggling cult), but it's also a major step forward in Hergé's storytelling.

While the smuggling of precious stones by Al Capone's gang in Tintin in The Congo may have segued into Tintin in America, the escape of the mysterious leader of the drug smugglers at the end of Cigars of The Pharaoh is far more dramatic and exciting, propelling us towards The Blue Lotus (which is generally regarded as the first of Hergé's masterpieces).

The sinister cabal at the head of the drug-smuggling ring

Cigars of The Pharaoh is our first, proper introduction to the bungling police duo Thomson and Thompson, even though they feature in a single panel cameo in the redrawn edition of Tintin in The Congo.

Although Cigars of The Pharaoh benefits from having been redrawn from its original 1930's Le Petit Vingtième serialised style, with the colour art better reflecting the Tintin that exists in the global zeitgeist, it did create some "continuity" issues.

The adventures of Tintin unfold in the chronological order they were originally published in, however with subsequent select publications in new markets, some readers and editors ended up encountering this world 'out of order'.

For instance, the current English language edition of Cigars of The Pharaoh opens with Snowy pining for the luxury of Marlinspike Hall... even though it wasn't introduced until 1943's The Secret of the Unicorn. 

Then, of course, we have - as I mentioned the other day - Sheikh Patrash Pasha proudly showing Tintin his copy of Destination Moon, an album detailing an adventure of Tintin's a couple of decades in the reporter's future!

Despite these minor (lost in translation) glitches, Cigars of The Pharaoh is a solid bridge between the weaker earlier volumes and the stronger stories to come later in the series. 

• Cigars of The Pharaoh also serves as the inspiration for the forthcoming Tintin video game.

RATING (2.5 Snowies out of 5):