Tintin and the Flute of the Wendigo

***Tintin and the Flute of the Wendigo*** is a 2005 pastiche by an artist only known as Conlan. The story follows Tintin and Captain Haddock investigating a mysterious flute that is said to be made from the bones of a mythical beast.

## Synopsis

### Volume 1

The story begins in 1936. Tintin is invited to Paris by a man named Tim O'Riley who needs help investigating his father's murder. Tintin accepts the case, but he first notices Tim's letter was postmarked - the letter discusses Bryan O'Riley's murder, but it was postmarked *before* his death. Keeping this in mind, Tintin, Snowy, and Captain Haddock go to Paris. The group goes to stay at the Regent Garden Hotel without any dangers, aside from a vagabond attempting to steal their luggage.

That night, Tintin and Haddock are picked up by Tim O'Riley's driver and brought back to his manor. O'Riley introduces them to his father's friends: University of Kenya professor Dr. Soona, Sergeant Henry from the Royal Air Force, and an Australian explorer named "Safari" Jack. The group meets for dinner, after which, O'Riley begins to explain the circumstances of his father's death. O'Riley Sr. was found with a large bruise on the back of his neck, and he was carrying a strange artifact called the Flute of the Wendigo: a seven-holed flute carved out of bone and stored in a custom wooden box. It is alleged to be carved from the bones of a wendigo, a dangerous creature from Plains Indigenous folklore. Dr. Soona says the flute is highly cursed and will doom anyone who owns it. Jack interrupts to dispute the flute's story, saying he has searched the world for a real wendigo and has never found one. The group is interrupted when Tim O'Riley's younger brother, Dennis, gets drunk in the dining hall and begins playing with a loaded gun.

The next morning, Tintin and Captain Haddock go to investigate the scene of Bryan O'Riley's death. He was found in the street with no signs of a struggle, but Tintin finds a small piece of painted wood and a single scratch mark on a lamppost. Tintin and Haddock go back to talk to Tim. They try to examine the flute, but realize it is gone: Dennis has taken it out into the nearby woods, and he is found dead in a patch of mud. No footprints are found near his body.

Safari Jack offers to help guard Tim O'Riley and the flute. Tintin investigates the scrap of wood he found at O'Riley Sr.'s death site, and finds it is made of wood from the Olea Africana tree, which is native to Kenya. Soon after, Jack goes missing, and someone is seen falling off a bridge; Dr. Soona is arrested after witnesses claim to have seen him nearby. Tintin talks to Soona in prison, and discovers Soona is innocent: he witnessed Jack taking the flute to someone, and he fled the area when he heard gunshots. The scrap of wood Tintin found likely fell when Soona went to visit the spot of O'Riley Sr.'s death. Tintin goes to investigate Jack's room at the O'Riley house, and finds a strange golden boomerang. With great haste, Tintin leads Captain Haddock to the airport, exclaiming, "He's had a half day's head start!"

### Volume 2: Tintin in Australia

Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Snowy arrive in Sydney, Australia. Immediately they are taken aback by the heat, so Tintin buys him and Haddock some safari clothes at an airport shop. Unbeknownst to them, one of Jack's lackeys has spotted them. The lackey phones Jack to let him know, and then slips a live scorpion into Tintin's suitcase. Meanwhile, Haddock panics after he thinks he has spotted Bianca Castafiore at the airport...but Jolyon Wagg is there, and he briefly pesters Haddock before Tintin is able to pull them away. Tintin's group drives out to the town of Buran in search of Jack's ranch. They find a roadside hotel, where Haddock goes to set up their lodgings, while Tintin goes to buy extra supplies. While in the shop, Tintin helps an Aborigine boy buy medicine for his grandfather. The boy runs off before Tintin can ask him any questions.

Volume 2 was put on hiatus after this page and it remains unfinished. In August 2020, an internet user named VGRetro expressed interest in remaking and finishing *Flute of the Wendigo*.

## Availability

Flute of the Wendigo was originally released on Conlan's homepage, Tintin Tribute. The website was part of the now-defunct Tintin Webring, which garnered Conlan some attention in the mid-2000s. Moulinsart Company ultimately forced the website to shut down in late 2009. The website's host, Yahoo!, reserved the domain until 2012, and then the URL was purchased by a cybersquatter.

The comic's pages were saved and recirculated by other *Tintin* fans. In recent years, the pages have been collected into a .PDF ebook. The ebook version of *Flute of the Wendigo* is easy to find online and has been kept in circulation by *Tintin* fans.

## References

1. ↑ Pastiche: Tintin and the Flute of the Wendigo - Page 2
2. ↑ Tintin Tribute Comics [Archive]