While The Black Island has to be one of the silliest Tintin stories, this volume is redeemed by the inclusion of King Ottokar's Sceptre, which is one of the best of the Tintin adventures.

That said, the art in The Black Island is wonderful in parts, especially the depictions of a lonely, abandoned castle on the Black Island itself. And then the gorilla enters the story and the whole thing goes downhill rapidly, but the story as a whole is not without it's merits.

The Broken Ear is mediocre at best, despite the charming and antiquated views of early twentieth-century revolutionaries in South America. A frothier brew of sombreros and ethnic stereotypes has rarely been seen outside of these pages.

But then we have King Ottokar's Sceptre, one of the best of the bunch. What I like about this sotry is both it's lovely (yet respectful) evocation of an Eastern European monarchy (remember those?) paired with a storyline that actually grants the Thompson twins a moment of dignity (among many other moments of slapstick tomfoolery) and even gives Bianca Castafiore a brief chance to shine. The central mystery of "how was the sceptre stolen?" provides an intriguing puzzle for Tintin to solve, and even Snowy gets a little extra time in the spotlight in this adventure. Overall, a true Tintin classic, and well worth the price of admission. ( )