Editing Hergé (section)

=== ''Totor'' and early career: 1925–1928 ===

[[File:Totor the Boy Scout.gif|right|thumb|The ''Totor'' series was Hergé's first published comic strip.]]

Alongside his stand-alone illustrations, in July 1926 Hergé began production of a comic strip for ''Le Boy-Scout Belge'', ''[[The Adventures of Totor|Les Aventures de Totor]]'' (''The Adventures of Totor''), which continued intermittent publication until 1929. Revolving around the adventures of a Boy Scout patrol leader, the comic initially featured written captions underneath the scenes, but Hergé began to experiment with other forms of conveying information, including [[speech balloon]]s.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=9|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=22}} Illustrations were also published in ''Le Blé qui lève'' (''The Wheat That Grows'') and other publications of the {{ill|Catholic Action for the Belgian Youth|fr|Action catholique de la jeunesse belge}} (''Action catholique de la jeunesse belge''), and Hergé produced a book jacket for Weverbergh's novel, ''The Soul of the Sea''.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=15|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=17}} Being young and inexperienced, still learning his craft, Hergé sought guidance from an older cartoonist, Pierre Ickx, and together they founded the short-lived ''Atelier de la Fleur de Lys'' (AFL), an organisation for Christian cartoonists.{{Sfn|Peeters|2012|p=18}}

After graduating from secondary school in 1925, Hergé enrolled in the École Saint-Luc art school, but finding the teaching boring, he left after one lesson.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=10|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=20}} He hoped for a job as an illustrator alongside Ickx at ''[[Le Vingtième Siècle]]'' (''The Twentieth Century'')&nbsp;– a conservative "Catholic Newspaper of Doctrine and Information"&nbsp;– but no positions were available. Instead he got a job in the paper's subscriptions department, starting in September 1925.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=11|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=20}} Despising the boredom of this position, he enlisted for military service before he was called up, and in August 1926 was assigned to the Dailly barracks at [[Schaerbeek]]. Joining the first infantry regiment, he was also bored by his military training, but continued sketching and producing episodes of ''Totor''.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=11|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=21–23}}

Toward the end of his military service, in August 1927, Hergé met the editor of ''Le Vingtième Siècle'', the Abbé [[Norbert Wallez]], a vocal fascist who kept a signed photograph of the Italian Fascist leader [[Benito Mussolini]] on his desk.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=11–13|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=27}} Impressed by Hergé's repertoire, Wallez agreed to give him a job as a photographic reporter and cartoonist for the paper, something for which Hergé always remained grateful, coming to view the Abbé as a father figure.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=12, 14–15|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=27–28}} Supplemented by commissions for other publications, Hergé illustrated a number of texts for "The Children's Corner" and the literary pages; the illustrations of this period show his interest in woodcuts and the early prototype of his ''ligne claire'' style.{{Sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=15–16|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=28–29}}