42179 Tintin In The Land of The Soviets – Hors Serie Figurine Resine 10cm

Author: Hergé
Price: £95.00 including UK postage
Publisher: Moulinsart
Format: Resin in original cello tube packaging
Condition: Brand new.
Size: 18.5cm including packaging

Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets: A Brief Account

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is the very first adventure of Hergé’s celebrated boy reporter, The Adventures of Tintin. Published in serial form between January 1929 and May 1930 in the Belgian children’s supplement Le Petit Vingtième, it marks the birth of a global cultural phenomenon, though it differs strikingly from the polished, mature albums that would follow.

Background and Creation

At the time of its creation, Georges Remi—better known by his pen name Hergé—was a young illustrator working under the supervision of Abbé Norbert Wallez, the conservative editor of Le Vingtième Siècle. Wallez, an ardent Catholic and staunch anti-communist, directed Hergé to send his new hero to the Soviet Union as a means of warning young Belgian readers about the supposed dangers of Bolshevism. The result was Tintin au pays des Soviets, a work born as much from political propaganda as from artistic ambition.

Story and Themes

The story follows Tintin, a cub reporter for the newspaper Le Petit Vingtième, who travels to the Soviet Union to report on conditions there. Accompanied by his faithful fox terrier, Milou, he quickly becomes embroiled in a series of perilous encounters with Soviet secret police, saboteurs, and officials intent on silencing him. Through a succession of frantic chases, narrow escapes, and slapstick mishaps, Tintin exposes corruption, fakery, and oppression within the Communist regime—at least as imagined by Hergé’s early sources.

The narrative, largely episodic, portrays a caricatured version of the USSR. Hergé, having never visited the country, relied on anti-Bolshevik publications circulating in Belgium at the time, notably Joseph Douillet’s Moscou sans voiles. The result is a depiction that mirrors Western fears of the Soviet experiment rather than any balanced reportage. Factories are shown producing empty goods to deceive inspectors, elections are rigged, and peasants suffer under state control.

Artistic Style

Stylistically, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is raw, spontaneous, and unrefined. Drawn entirely in black and white, it lacks the ligne claire precision and compositional discipline that would later define Hergé’s mature work. Panels brim with frenetic energy and exaggerated movement, more akin to the anarchic humour of early newspaper strips than to the elegant pacing of later Tintin albums. Despite these technical shortcomings, the strip already displays key features of Hergé’s storytelling—visual clarity, strong narrative rhythm, and a flair for comic timing.

Milou, in particular, emerges as a fully formed comic foil: cynical, witty, and occasionally more perceptive than his master. The dynamic between boy and dog establishes the emotional core that would endure throughout the series.

Reception and Legacy

Upon its serial release, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets was an immediate success with young readers, who eagerly awaited each instalment. When Tintin “returned” to Brussels in 1930, the newspaper staged a mock reception at the Gare du Nord, complete with actors and cheering crowds. This publicity stunt confirmed the character’s popularity and paved the way for further adventures.

Yet in later years, Hergé grew embarrassed by his debut. He refused to redraw or colourise it for decades, describing it as “a youthful sin”. Only in 1973 did he permit a limited facsimile edition, and it was not until 2017 that the album was officially published in English translation by Egmont.

Critical Reappraisal

Modern scholars view Tintin in the Land of the Soviets as a revealing artefact of its era rather than a polished artistic statement. It reflects both the political anxieties of interwar Europe and the formative stages of one of the twentieth century’s most influential comic artists. While the album’s caricatures of the Soviet Union are crude and propagandistic, its historical importance lies in its raw energy and the early emergence of Hergé’s visual language.

From an artistic standpoint, it shows Hergé learning his craft in public—experimenting with pacing, gag structure, and visual storytelling that would later reach perfection in works such as The Blue Lotus and The Secret of the Unicorn.

Conclusion

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets remains a curious mixture of youthful enthusiasm and ideological naivety. Though far removed from the sophistication of later adventures, it stands as the indispensable beginning of Tintin’s long journey. For all its rough edges, the album captures a pivotal moment in European popular culture, when a simple comic strip about a boy reporter first set out into the world—and began its transformation into a classic.

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Cataloguer: Daniel Hornsey

Daniel Hornsey has specialised in fine and rare books, ephemera, and collectors’ editions for over thirty years. As a long-standing member of the antiquarian book trade, he has advised private collectors, curated catalogues, and sourced works for leading dealers, libraries and institutions across the world.

Hornseys’ exhibit regularly at book and map fairs in London and throughout the UK and are members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association, the PBFA.

His fascination with Hergé’s work — especially ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ — began in childhood. Daniel recalls reading Tintin in original European editions and quickly recognising that these were not merely children’s books, but finely illustrated narratives crafted with artistic depth and wit.

As noted by the Musée Hergé in Louvain-la-Neuve, Hergé’s ‘ligne claire’ style has influenced generations of European comic artists and his original drawings and paintings command very high prices with his painting of ‘The Blue Lotus’ jar fetching £2.8m at auction in 2021.

By presenting these works through Hornseys’, he hopes to contribute to the continued appreciation of one of the 20th century’s most influential illustrators, helping new generations discover the artistry and legacy of Hergé.