Small creatures, big impact

And with Halloween approaching, it's hard to find a better subject to send shivers down your spine.

So let's lift the web... or rather, the veil on these little creatures with big legs that say a lot about Hergé's art and the fears he loved to subtly provoke.

The eight-legged creature made its first official appearance in Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. It is not directly depicted here, but a clue reveals its presence: two of its famous geometric traps “decorate” the wooden hut where Tintin and Snowy take refuge after wandering through the snow.

A few vignettes further on, the occupant of the premises finally reveals herself. But you need a keen eye to spot her, as the creature is suspended in mid-air, hanging from the neck of the skeleton's femur, which is lodged in the 13-chime clock. Proof, if any were needed, that the “artist” never strays far from his creations.

There are no spider's webs in Cigars of the Pharaoh, even though the young hero finds himself, at one point, in an Egyptian tomb that is several thousand years old. It is therefore in The Blue Lotus that it reappears proudly. But this time, in a symbolic way.

Didi, one of the secondary characters, has been struck by an arrow coated with Rajaïjah juice, which causes madness. To visually convey its effect, Hergé draws a spider suspended on its thread in one of his speech bubbles.

There are no more spiders in Kih-Oskh's tomb than there are in the South American jungle in The Broken Ear. We therefore have to wait until The Black Island to find any trace of the creature.

On the misty grounds of Craig Dhui Castle, the little creature returns to action, but this time to remind us that when it comes to fear, it is rarely the most imposing creatures that scare us the most.

Just look at the chain reaction drawn by Hergé in the famous gorilla sequence. After scaring Ranko away in a burst of courage and heroism, Snowy – still full of pride – runs away himself, paralysed by a spider that appears at that precise moment in the story. It's a comical scene, worthy of ‘the hoaxer hoaxed’, which shows that a simple shiver is enough to put even the strongest in their place.

After Scotland, we head to Brussels and the observatory in The Shooting Star to follow the weaver's thread. Once again, she chooses her moment with perfect timing. The scene is ‘hilarious’ (according to Snowy) as she slips onto the magnifying lens of the telescope just as Tintin is about to use it. This causes him to jump back with a brief and intense jolt.

But the little ‘big’ beast hasn't had its last word. A few pages before the end of the adventure, it reappears on the meteorite after escaping from the young reporter's sandwich box.

Due to the supernatural phenomenon of the place, it grows disproportionately large and transforms into a terrifying creature. Fortunately, it is soon neutralised by an apple – which is just as gigantic. Phew, that was a close call!

From one scare to the next. Let's now move on from gigantism to an ingenious... mechanism. In Land of Black Gold, Emir Ben Kalish Ezab is caught off guard by one of the practical jokes that only his son – the turbulent Prince Abdullah – knows how to pull off.

His offspring is, in fact, an expert in the field, and his latest invention is none other than a plastic spider, spring-loaded and hidden in a matchbox – a small masterpiece of its kind, inspired by the principle of the ‘jack-in-the-box’ – just waiting to spring out.

It's done when the Emir opens the case to light his cigar. ‘Another trick from that little devil! I wonder how he got hold of this,’ he says, looking helplessly at the object of the crime. Even as a fake, the creature still has the same effect.

After this comical episode, there was no further mention of the beast in the next seven adventures. Flight 714 to Sydney marks its grand return and final appearance in the saga. On this occasion, it finds itself facing a formidable opponent in the form of none other than Rastapopoulos, Tintin's arch-enemy. Dressed in cowboy attire, Rastapopoulos threatens to crush it under his enormous boots.

But that was without counting on the animal's agility, which manages to slip between his legs. What follows is a burlesque scene in which the billionaire struggles, gets angry and finds himself ridiculed by a tiny opponent, in a lively gesticulation worthy of the energetic and swaying movements of country dances. Yeehaw!

The spider thus completes its work... within the work, not through fear, but through a charming dance step coupled with a nice twist!