Lake Michigan & Lake Michigan Waterfront - Chicago, IL
N 41° 52.095 W 087° 36.763
16T E 449151 N 4635329
In the adventure "Tintin in America," 1930s Chicago gangsters throw Tintin into Lake Michigan TWICE -- once from the Chicago waterfront and once from a hidden trapdoor over the lake -- in attempts to dispatch the pesky boy reporter on their trail.
Waymark Code: WMQMAX
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 03/02/2016
Views: 22
For the purposes of the waymark, the coordinates have been taken at the Lake Michigan waterfront near the Shedd Aquarium, but for purposes of a visit to this waymark, we will accept any photo TAKEN BY YOU of a spot along the Lake Michigan waterfront or on Lake Michigan in Chicago that shows part of the Chicago skyline.
In the adventure "Tintin in America" Tintin and Snowy range far and wide across the United States as they cleverly combat and finally wrap up the Chicago Crime Syndicate.
At one point, Tintin is captured by the baddies [page 12], who tie him up and throw him into Lake Michigan [page 13] on orders of Boss Bobby Smiles, one of the rivals of famed Chicago gangster Al Capone. Of course, Tintin manages to escape and cleverly captures the men who tried to drown him with their own guns, before turning them over to the Police [page 14].
After Tintin and Snowy miraculously and humorously escape from many other plots, captures, and miscellaneous perils visited upon them by the Syndicate, from Chicago to Indian Territory (and back), professional Syndicate hit-men capture Tintin and Snowy, deciding [page 59] this time to drown them by tossing Tintin and Snowy overboard into Lake Michigan with a weight tied to them, far from shore.
Fortunately for our heroes, the gangsters have stolen the false wooden barbell from a vaudeville act instead of the real iron barbell! When they tie Tintin and Snowy to it and throw them over the side, once the baddies speed away, the barbell floats to the surface, preventing Tintin and his dog from drowning. At the same time, a famous Vaudeville strongman's act is exposed as a fraud on stage [page 60] when he can't lift the iron barbell that was supposed to be secretly replaced with the wooden one. OOPS!!
Not long after they hit the water, Tintin and Snowy are spotted by a Chicago Police boat, and rescued -- OR ARE THEY?
On Page 61, the Police boat and cops who seem to be rescuers are revealed to be gangsters in costume! Despite being badly outgunned and outnumbered, Tintin and Snowy fight them off, take control of the boat, and return to a heroes' welcome complete with ticker-tape parade. [page 61].
Tintin's information results in the arrest of 355 gangsters, exposes all their hideouts, delivers into Police hands thousands of documents, and effectively destroys the Chicago Crime Syndicate. Not bad for a boy and his dog!
Type of waymark: Real World Location depicted in the Comic
Which title does the waymark relate to?: Tintin in America
Relevant website if any: [Web Link]
Physical address of item/location:
Lake Michigan and Lake Michigan Waterfront
Anywhere along N or S Lakeshore Drive
Chicago, IL US
Entrance fee: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
Opening hours: From: 12:01 AM To: 12:00 AM
A true Tintin fan?: I have read some of the comics/seen some of the films
Other: Not listed
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