The Adventures of Tintin, reporter for "Le Petit Vingtieme" in the Land of the Soviets by Hergé

"Tintin in the Land of the Soviets" is the first collected story by Hergé about his titular reporter and his white Terrier, Snowy.

Those who are used to Hergé's later art style will find something oddly unformed and crude about the art in this story, which is more than a little recursive. Tintin sets off for Russia from Belgium, but along the way he's falsely accused, arrested and escapes from policemen and soldiers every step of the way. In each case, Snowy helps Tintin escape and continue on his journey. In the end, though, he ends up on a train back to Belgium when he thinks he is going once again to Russia, and gives up, returning to his country of origin.

The usual joks are made against Russia. Tintin discovers a group of reporters being shown a huge Russian factory as an example of how far Russia has come in manufacturing and how quickly they are building their manufacturing capabilities. But when he looks inside, he sees that the building is mostly empty, with coal being burned for the smoke that comes out of the chimmney, guarded by a sleeping peasant, and a man with a hammer and a piece of hanging metal is providing the sounds of "manufacturing".

This was an okay book, but it's awfully crude and unfinished looking compared to Hergé's later work. I actually found it bland and uninteresting, much less interesting than I thought it was going to be. For someone who is interested in how Hergé's art evolved, it's interesting, otherwise, rather recursive and uninteresting.