TINTIN IN THE LAND OF THE SOVIETS

A Nightmarish RussiaAnti-communist obsession waseverywhere and those runningthe XXe Siecle did not think it abad thing to inform their youngreaders of the evils ofBolshevism.

Herge himself did not havethe time either to visit thecountry to which he wassending his newly-createdcharacter, or to analyse all thathad been written about it. Allthe local colour which appearsin Tintin in the land of theSoviets is derived from a solesource: the book Moscou sansvoiles (Moscow Unveiled) byJoseph Douillet, a formerBelgian consul in Rostov-on-Don, which appeared in 1928.

Reading Douillet's booktoday is quite amusing becauseof the line he takes and thesometimes curious causes of hisindignation. For example: 'In avillage where once there wereten schools, there now existsunder the Soviet regime onlyone high school: mixed, for boysand girls; thus the communists,with premeditated immorality,

are bringing together the twosexes in schools.'

Other passages are evenmore surprising, since they arethe origin of whole scenes ofTintin in the land of the Soviets,which at times seems to benothing else but a cartoon stripadaptation of particular parts ofMoscou sans voiles. Forexample, the following section ispicked up almost word for wordin the Tintin book:

'Comrade Oubiykone(retiring chairman of theexecutive committee) made aspeech. This is how heharanped the crowd:

"There are three lists: one isthat of the communist party.Those who oppose this list raisetheir hand!"

At the same time Oubiykoneand his four comrades producedtheir revolvers and levelledthem threateningly at the crowdof peasants. Oubiykonecontinued:

"Who then declares himselfagainst this list? Nobody? I thendeclare the communist list to

have been passed unanimously.It is therefore unnecessary tovote for the other two lists."'

The Birth of an ArtApart from its political aspect,what is interesting today aboutthis book is that with it we seethe invention of the cartoonstrip as Herge saw it.Influenced by American comics,the author has moved on fromthe illustrative concept seenwith Totor to that of a newlanguage where text andpicture complement each otherwithout repeating themselves.

The technique of dialogueintegrated with drawing was sounusual at the time that whenTintin in the land of the Sovietswas featured in the Frenchweekly Coeurs vaillants, theeditors, believing that readerswould not be able tounderstand the story, addedexplanatory text underneaththe pictures. Herge had to stop

them.The book is also compelling

on account of the page-by-pageprogress it reveals of Herge'stalent. Compare the first platewith its rudimentary qualityand the sometimes remarkablelater sequences. At the start ofthe book Tintin is little morethan an awkward and ratherridiculous boy scout. By the endof his adventure with theBolsheviks, he resembles prettymuch the character we know sowell. In the course of 138 plates,Herge had completed hisapprenticeship.

J o s e p h DOUILLETAncicD Con.nl d< Bel

MOSCOUSANS VOILES

(Neuf ans de travail au pays des Soviets)

CINQUANT1EME M1LLE

e Soufftot, Paris (K-)1928

The source for Tintin in the land of the Soviets.

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TINTIN IN THE LAND OF THE SOVIETS

The Book's HistoryInitially published in a print runof 5,000 by Editions du PetitVingtieme, Tintin in the land ofthe Soviets was the only earlyTintin book not to have beenrepublished susequently byEditions Casterman.

As Herge's reputationcontinued to grow, this rarebook soon became something ofa myth in the world of the stripcartoon. Only a few fanaticalcollectors could hope to lay theirhands on a first edition at afantastic price. Then in 1969, tomark Tintin's 40th birthday,a privileged few were recipientsof the 500 numbered copies of asumptuously produced limitededition brought out by theHerge Studios.

Demand was such thatseveral unscrupulous publisherssaw the chance of cashing in.Soon a number of mediocre-quality pirated editions begansurfacing at very high prices.Herge tried at first to takeaction.

But as the flow of piratededitions continued, he finallydecided to cut the ground fromunder their feet by authorisingthe book's republication. So in1973 it was published as part ofthe Herge Archives anthologytogether with Tintin in theCongo and Tintin in America.

That, one might havethought, would have been theend of the affair. But collectorsdo not give up easily. After aquiet period, new piratededitions reappeared on themarket, imitating as closely aspossible the original edition andoften sold as such to gulliblebuyers.

There remained only onething to do: to publish a truefacsimile edition of the originalTintin in the land of the Soviets.The success of this venture wasextraordinary, with almost100,000 copies more thanexpected sold in the last threemonths of 1981.

It was this which convincedHerge and Editions Casterman

MOCKBAr.n.u. t« 88 mars, t930.

« "Petit vingtieme "Bnaelles.

Messieurs,

tfvua avons peu de chdses d VOUB dire. IIdu reportage de votre rSdacteur Tintin,

Noua voua avertlasons que ai voug ne f al -tes cessor la parution de cea documents qui ne sont qy'untisau d'sttoques centre les Soviets et le Proletariat r6-volutionnalre de Rusaie, c'eat pour vous la mort d breve

Frenez garde, 1'oell de Uouscou-la-RougeVous surveilles n'oublles pas 1« tort qul fut rfiservS euG-'n£rol Koutepoff , Le proletariat ruase eat outrd de vo-tre canpapne qui no cherche qu'S nuire & la cause de laRevolution,

ChQisiesejs dofio i la fin <3e cette campagneou la raort.

prfiaidejit du Gue'pe'ou,

to bring out in the samefacsimile edition form all theother Tintin books that hadoriginally been published inblack and white — to thedelight of all enthusiasts...

A fake letter from the Soviet secretpolice . . . An April Fool's letter'proving' Tintin's existence.

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