Editing Cigars of the Pharaoh (section)

===Original publication, 1932–34===
[[File:Cigars at Le Petit Vingtieme.jpg|thumb|upright|''Cigars'' on the front of ''Le Petit Vingtième''; the frieze is based on an example in the Louvre.{{sfn|Goddin|2008|p=118}}]]
On 24 November 1932, ''Le Petit Vingtième'' published a fictional interview between Jamin and Tintin in which the reporter announced that he would be travelling to China via Egypt, India, Ceylon, and Indochina.{{sfnm|1a1=Goddin|1y=2008|1p=112|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=62}} Later on 8 December, the story began serialisation in the supplement under the title of ''The Adventures of Tintin, Reporter, in the Orient''.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=42}} As the story began in Egypt rather than China, Hergé briefly renamed the story to ''The Cairo Affair''.{{sfn|Thompson|1991|p=56}} The story was not following any plan or pre-written plot, with Hergé as usual devising the story on a week-by-week basis.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=56|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=63}}
In Autumn 1934, the adventure was published in a book. ''Cigars'' was the first of the ''Adventures'' published by [[Casterman]], with whom Hergé had signed a contract in late 1933, although much to his annoyance, they delayed publication until the autumn of 1934, after the culmination of the summer holidays.{{sfnm|1a1=Lofficier|1a2=Lofficier|1y=2002|1p=30|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=67–69}} In 1936, they successfully requested that he produce several colour plates to be inserted into the reprint of the book.{{sfn|Goddin|2008|p=96}}

''Cigars of the Pharaoh'' saw the introduction of several characters who would gain a recurring role in ''The Adventures of Tintin''.{{sfnm|1a1=Lofficier|1a2=Lofficier|1y=2002|1p=31|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=64}} The most notable are the two detectives, who were initially called "Agent X33 and Agent X33 {{lang|fr|bis}}". In his 1941 Tintin play co-written with [[Jacques Van Melkebeke]], ''[[Tintin in India: The Mystery of the Blue Diamond]]'', Hergé named them "Durant and Durand", although he later renamed them "Dupont and Dupond".{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=52|2a1=Lofficier|2a2=Lofficier|2y=2002|2p=31|3a1=Assouline|3y=2009|3p=42|4a1=Peeters|4y=2012|4p=65}} The series' English-language translators, Michael Turner and Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, renamed them "Thomson and Thompson."{{sfn|Lofficier|Lofficier|2002|p=31}} They were based on a combination of the stereotypical Belgian policeman of the 1930s with Hergé's observations of his father and uncle, Alexis and Léon Remi, who were identical twins.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=53|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=41|3a1=Assouline|3y=2009|3pp=42–43}}

The series introduced Tintin's adversary Roberto Rastapopoulos in ''Cigars of the Pharaoh'', here depicted as a famous [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] film director. It is only in the successor volume, ''The Blue Lotus'', that he is also revealed as the head of an international criminal organisation. His name was developed by one of Hergé's friends; Hergé thought it was hilarious and decided to use it.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=53|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=41|3a1=Peeters|3y=2012|3pp=64–65}} He devised Rastapopoulos as an Italian with a Greek surname, but the character fitted [[antisemitism|anti-Semitic]] stereotypes of Jews; Hergé was adamant that the character was not Jewish.{{sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1p=42|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=64–65}} A fourth recurring character introduced in this story was the Portuguese merchant [[Oliveira da Figueira]], who would reappear in both the subsequent ''Adventures'' set in the [[Middle East]], ''[[Land of Black Gold]]'' and ''[[The Red Sea Sharks]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=54|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=41}} One of the core characters of the story was Sophocles Sarcophagus, an Egyptologist who is the stereotype of an eccentric professor. In this respect, he is a prototype for the character of [[Cuthbert Calculus]], whom Hergé would introduce later in ''[[Red Rackham's Treasure]]''.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=54|2a1=Assouline|2y=2009|2p=43}}

It was during the serialisation of ''Cigars'' that Wallez was embroiled in a scandal after he was accused of defaming the Bureau of Public Works. The accusation resulted in a legal case being brought against the newspaper, and in response its owners demanded Wallez's resignation, which was tended in August 1933.{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=60}} Without Wallez, Hergé became despondent, and in March 1934 he tried to resign, but was encouraged to stay after his workload was reduced and his monthly salary was increased from 2000 to 3000 francs. Jamin subsequently took over Hergé's responsibility for the day-to-day running of ''Le Petit Vingtième''.{{sfnm|1a1=Assouline|1y=2009|1pp=40–41|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2pp=67–68}}