Tintin By Plane – 47 – The Aeroplane Of The German Police From Tintin In The Land Of The Soviets – L’Avion De La Police Allemande De Tintin Au Pays Des Soviets – En Avion Tintin

Author: Hergé & Editions Moulinsart
Price: £65.00
Publisher: Editions Moulinsart
Publication date: 2015
Format: Original pictorial boards with plane on plinth
Condition: In near fine condition
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout

Description:

Original pictorial boards. Text in French. Includes the accompanying model and figurine. One from the collection of 50 books and models. Very slight wear. In very near fine, clean condition overall.

Tintin in The Land Of The Soviets: A Brief Account

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (Tintin au pays des Soviets), first published in 1929–1930, is the inaugural volume of The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé (Georges Remi). It marks the birth of one of the most enduring characters in twentieth-century literature and graphic art, yet it also stands apart from the later albums — raw, propagandistic, and impulsive, but charged with the youthful energy of an artist discovering his voice.

Origins and Context

The story was conceived in 1928 by Abbé Norbert Wallez, editor of the Belgian Catholic newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle, where Hergé worked as an illustrator. Wallez, a fervent right-wing Catholic and admirer of Mussolini, sought to use the paper’s youth supplement, Le Petit Vingtième, as a vehicle for moral and political instruction. He commissioned Hergé to create a comic strip that would warn young readers against the dangers of Bolshevism, then widely regarded in conservative Europe as a godless and violent ideology threatening Western civilisation.

Hergé, at that point only twenty-one years old, had no firsthand knowledge of the Soviet Union and based his story on anti-communist propaganda tracts, particularly Joseph Douillet’s Moscou sans voiles (Moscow Unmasked). The result was a work of political caricature rather than reportage — a fast-moving adventure drawn from fear and imagination rather than observation.

Plot Summary

The story begins as Tintin, a young Belgian reporter for Le Petit Vingtième, is dispatched to the Soviet Union to expose the truth about life under communism. Accompanied by his loyal dog Snowy (Milou), he embarks on a journey from Belgium through Germany to Russia, pursued at every turn by agents of the OGPU (the Soviet secret police).

Upon reaching Soviet territory, Tintin witnesses what he perceives as the realities of Bolshevik rule: sham elections, secret police brutality, poverty, and deceit. Factories produce no real goods, food is stolen from the people, and communist officials live in luxury while peasants starve. Tintin uncovers a plot to export stolen gold to finance Soviet propaganda abroad and narrowly escapes assassination attempts before returning triumphantly to Belgium, hailed as a hero who has revealed “the truth” about the Soviet regime.

The story ends with Tintin’s triumphant reception at the Brussels train station — a scene of nationalistic celebration that contrasts sharply with the grim caricature of Soviet life that precedes it.

Themes and Tone

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is a political fable rather than a realistic narrative. Its message is clear and unambiguous: communism is portrayed as a system of lies, violence, and oppression. While the tone is simplistic and polemical, it reflects the climate of interwar European conservatism, which viewed the Soviet Union with fear and moral revulsion.

Thematically, it introduces the moral framework that would shape Tintin’s later adventures: courage, truth, and moral clarity in the face of tyranny. Even in this early, ideologically charged form, Tintin emerges as the archetype of the incorruptible young reporter, driven by integrity and a desire to expose injustice — qualities that would later transcend political boundaries.

Artistic Style

Graphically, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is primitive yet energetic. It was drawn entirely in black and white, using ink on paper, without the refinement or technical control of Hergé’s later ligne claire style. The panels are densely packed with action — car chases, explosions, escapes, and slapstick humour abound — revealing Hergé’s early fascination with cinematic pacing.

Though lacking the compositional precision of his mature work, the album is notable for its spontaneity and expressive freedom. The exaggerated caricatures of Soviet officials and peasants reflect both Hergé’s satirical intent and his limited exposure to real-world models. Even so, his instinct for storytelling — clean visual sequencing, clear gestures, and mounting suspense — is already unmistakable.

Reception and Legacy

Upon its serialisation beginning 10 January 1929, the strip proved an immediate success with Belgian readers, largely due to its relentless pace and humour rather than its politics. When collected as a book in 1930, it became a bestseller — the first sign of Tintin’s immense popular appeal.

However, in later decades, both critics and Hergé himself distanced the work from his artistic legacy. Hergé came to regard Tintin in the Land of the Soviets as an immature product of political influence rather than conviction. As he later admitted:

“I was fed the prejudices of the time. I drew the Soviets as I had been told to draw them, without knowing anything about them myself.”

For decades, the album was out of print, existing mainly as a collector’s item. Only in 1973 did Hergé allow its limited republication, and it was not widely reissued until 2017, when modern audiences were encouraged to view it as a historical curiosity — a starting point in the evolution of a major artist rather than a representative work.

Historical and Artistic Significance

Despite its crudity, Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is invaluable as a document of artistic beginnings. It reveals Hergé’s instinct for pace, humour, and visual storytelling — the seeds of the discipline that would later yield masterpieces such as The Blue Lotus and The Calculus Affair. It also captures the ideological climate of interwar Europe, when comics served as instruments of persuasion as well as entertainment.

From an ethical perspective, the album is problematic but instructive: it embodies the dangers of uncritical propaganda, yet also the possibility of artistic growth and redemption. Hergé’s later work, marked by empathy, research, and cross-cultural respect, can be read as a lifelong correction of the assumptions that shaped his debut.

Conclusion

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets is both a product of its time and a prelude to greatness. Politically naïve but narratively dynamic, it introduced Tintin as the fearless reporter whose pursuit of truth would define a generation of storytelling.

While its caricatured portrayal of Soviet life reflects the ideological biases of late-1920s Europe, its enduring significance lies in what it reveals about Hergé’s early creative spirit — energetic, inventive, and hungry for adventure.

In retrospect, the album stands not as propaganda but as the birth of a myth: the moment when Tintin, still rough-edged and idealistic, first set out into the world — a symbol of youthful curiosity that would, over time, transcend politics to become universal.

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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.