 Following the publication of Tintin in America , Hergé had been keen to produce a mystery story , and had been inspired by the tabloid speculation surrounding an alleged Curse of the Pharaohs following the 1922 discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun . Cigars of the Pharaoh proved a commercial success in Belgium , and Hergé followed it with The Blue Lotus , a story which continues many of the plot elements that began in Cigars . The series itself became a defining part of the Franco @-@ Belgian comics tradition . In 1955 , Cigars of the Pharaoh was re @-@ drawn and coloured in Hergé 's distinctive ligne @-@ claire style by the cartoonist and his Studios Hergé team ; during this process a number of minor plot elements were changed . The comic was adapted for a 1991 episode of the Ellipse / Nelvana animated series The Adventures of Tintin . Critical reception of the story has been positive , with analysis being focused on its innovative narrative and stylistic choices , as well as its introduction of three recurring characters , the detectives Thomson and Thompson and villain Rastapopoulos . 
