Editing The Adventures of Tintin (section)

== History ==
==={{lang|fr|Le Vingtième Siècle}}: 1929–1939===
{{quote box|width=250px|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=right|quote="The idea for the character of Tintin and the sort of adventures that would befall him came to me, I believe, in five minutes, the moment I first made a sketch of the figure of this hero: that is to say, he had not haunted my youth nor even my dreams. Although it's possible that as a child I imagined myself in the role of a sort of Tintin".|source=—Hergé, 15 November 1966.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=19}} }}

Georges Prosper Remi, best known under the pen name [[Hergé]], was employed as an illustrator at {{lang|fr|[[Le Vingtième Siècle]]}} (''The Twentieth Century''), a staunchly Roman Catholic, [[social conservatism|conservative]] Belgian newspaper based in Hergé's native [[Brussels]]. Run by the [[Abbé]] [[Norbert Wallez]], the paper described itself as a "Catholic Newspaper for Doctrine and Information" and disseminated a fascist viewpoint.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=24|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=20–29}} Wallez appointed Hergé editor of a new Thursday youth supplement, titled {{lang|fr|[[Le Petit Vingtième]]}} ("''The Little Twentieth''").{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1pp=24–25|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=31–32}} Propagating Wallez's sociopolitical views to its young readership, it contained explicitly pro-fascist and [[antisemitism|antisemitic]] sentiment.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=38}} In addition to editing the supplement, Hergé illustrated {{lang|fr|L'extraordinaire aventure de Flup, Nénesse, Poussette et Cochonnet}} (''The Extraordinary Adventure of Flup, Nénesse, Poussette and Cochonnet''),{{sfn|Goddin|2008|p=44}} a comic strip authored by a member of the newspaper's sport staff. Dissatisfied with this, Hergé wanted to write and draw his own cartoon strip.{{sfn|Farr|2001|p=12}}

He already had experience creating comic strips. From July 1926, he had written a strip about a Boy Scout patrol leader titled {{lang|fr|[[Totor|Les Aventures de Totor C.P. des Hannetons]]}} (''The Adventures of Totor, Scout Leader of the Cockchafers'') for the [[Scouting]] newspaper {{lang|fr|Le Boy Scout Belge}} (''The Belgian Boy Scout'').{{sfn|Farr|2001|p=12}} Totor was a strong influence on [[Tintin (character)|Tintin]],{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1p=12|2a1=Thompson|2y=1991|2p=25|3a1=Assouline|3y=2009|p=19}} with Hergé describing the latter as being like Totor's younger brother.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=19}} Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier stated that graphically, Totor and Tintin were "virtually identical" except for the Scout uniform,{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=29}} also noting many similarities between their respective adventures, particularly in the illustration style, the fast pace of the story, and the use of humour.{{sfn|Lofficier|Lofficier|2002|p=19}} He was fascinated by new techniques in the medium such as the systematic use of speech bubbles—found in such American comics as [[George McManus]]' ''[[Bringing up Father]]'', [[George Herriman]]'s ''[[Krazy Kat]]'', and [[Rudolph Dirks]]'s ''[[Katzenjammer Kids]]'', copies of which had been sent to him from Mexico by the paper's reporter [[Léon Degrelle]].{{sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=17|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=18|3a1=Lofficier|3a2=Lofficier|3y=2002|3p=18}}

[[File:Le Petit Vingtieme, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets.jpg|thumb|left|The front page of the 1 May 1930 edition of {{lang|fr|Le Petit Vingtième}}, declaring "{{lang|fr|Tintin revient!}}" ("Tintin Returns!") from his adventure in the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Goddin|2008|p=67}}]]

Although Hergé wanted to send Tintin to the United States, Wallez ordered him to set his adventure in the [[Soviet Union]], acting as antisocialist propaganda for children. The result, ''[[Tintin in the Land of the Soviets]]'', was serialised in {{lang|fr|Le Petit Vingtième}} from January 1929 to May 1930.{{sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=22–23|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=34–37}} Popular in Francophone Belgium, Wallez organised a publicity stunt at the [[Paris Gare du Nord]] railway station, following which he organised the publication of the story in book form.{{sfn|Peeters|2012|pp=39–41}} The story's popularity led to an increase in sales, so Wallez granted Hergé two assistants.{{sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=32–34|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=42–43}} At Wallez's direction, in June he began serialisation of the second story, ''[[Tintin in the Congo]]'', designed to encourage colonial sentiment towards the [[Belgian Congo]]. Authored in a paternalistic style that depicted the Congolese as childlike idiots, in later decades it was accused of racism, but at the time was uncontroversial and popular, and further publicity stunts were held to increase sales.{{sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=26–29|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=45–47}}

For the third adventure, ''[[Tintin in America]]'', serialised from September 1931 to October 1932, Hergé finally got to deal with a scenario of his own choice, and used the work to push an anti-capitalist, anti-consumerist agenda in keeping with the paper's ultraconservative ideology.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|pp=30–32}} ''The Adventures of Tintin'' had been [[print syndication|syndicated]] to a Catholic magazine named {{lang|fr|[[Cœurs Vaillants]]}} (''Brave Hearts'') since 1930, and Hergé was soon receiving syndication requests from Swiss and Portuguese newspapers, too.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=35}}

Hergé wrote a string of ''Adventures of Tintin'', sending his character to real locations such as the Belgian Congo, United States, [[Egypt]], [[India]], [[Tibet]], [[China]], and the [[United Kingdom]]. He also sent Tintin to fictional countries of his own devising, such as the Latin American republic of [[San Theodoros]], the East European kingdom of [[Syldavia]], or the fascist state of [[Borduria]]—whose leader's name, Müsstler, was a [[portmanteau]] of the names of the Nazi German Führer [[Adolf Hitler]] and the Italian Fascist Prime Minister [[Benito Mussolini]].{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=82}}

==={{lang|fr|Le Soir}}: 1940–1945===
In May 1940, [[Nazi Germany]] invaded Belgium as [[World War II]] spread further across Europe. Although Hergé briefly fled to France and was considered a self-imposed exile, he ultimately decided to return to his occupied homeland.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pp=91–92}} For political reasons, the Nazi authorities closed down {{lang|fr|Le Vingtième Siècle}}, leaving Hergé unemployed.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pp=90–91}} In search of employment, he got a job as an illustrator at Belgium's leading newspaper, {{lang|fr|[[Le Soir]]}} (''The Evening''), which was allowed to continue publication under German management.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pp=92–93}} On 17 October 1940, he was made editor of the children's supplement, {{lang|fr|[[Le Soir Jeunesse]]}}, in which he set about producing new Tintin adventures.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pp=98–99}} In this new, more repressive political climate of [[German occupation of Belgium during World War II|German-occupied Belgium]], Hergé could no longer politicize ''The Adventures of Tintin'' lest he be arrested by the [[Gestapo]]. As [[Harry Thompson]] noted, Tintin's role as a reporter came to an end, to be replaced by his new role as an explorer.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=147}}

==={{lang|fr|Le Journal de Tintin}}: 1946–1983===
In September 1944, the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] [[Liberation of Belgium|entered Brussels]] and Hergé's German employers fled. {{lang|fr|Le Soir}} was shut down and ''The Adventures of Tintin'' was put on hold.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=166}}
Then in 1946, Hergé accepted an invitation from Belgian comic publisher [[Raymond Leblanc]] and his new publishing company {{lang|fr|[[Le Lombard]]|italic=no}} to continue ''The Adventures of Tintin'' in the new {{lang|fr|Le journal de Tintin}} (''[[Tintin (magazine)|Tintin]]'' magazine).{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=173}}
Hergé quickly learned that he no longer had the independence he preferred; he was required to produce two coloured pages a week for Leblanc's magazine, a tall order.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=174}}

In 1950, Hergé began to poach the better members of the ''Tintin'' magazine staff to work in the large house on Avenue Louise that contained the fledgling {{lang|fr|[[Studios Hergé]]|italic=no}}.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=194}} [[Bob De Moor]] (who imitated Hergé's style and did half the work),{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=194}} Guy Dessicy (colourist), and Marcel DeHaye ([[secretary]]) were the nucleus. To this, Hergé added [[Jacques Martin (comics)|Jacques Martin]] (imitated Hergé's style), [[Roger Leloup]] (detailed, realistic drawings), Eugène Evany (later chief of the Studios),{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=173}} Michel Demaret ([[letterer]]), and Baudouin Van Den Branden (secretary).{{sfn|Thompson|1991|pp=202–203}}
As Harry Thompson observed, the idea was to turn the process of creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'' into a "veritable production line, the artwork passing from person to person, everyone knowing their part, like an artistic orchestra with Hergé conducting".{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=203}}
The studios produced eight new Tintin albums for ''Tintin'' magazine, and coloured and reformatted two old Tintin albums.
{{lang|fr|Studios Hergé|italic=no}} continued to release additional publications until Hergé's death in 1983. In 1986, a 24th [[Tintin and Alph-Art|unfinished album]] was released, the studios were disbanded, and the assets were transferred to the [[TintinImaginatio|Hergé Foundation]].{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=289}}