Mr. Boullock's Disappearance

Among the two wartime Tintin stage plays produced with Hergé’s involvement, the second—and perhaps more intriguing—is Mr. Boullock’s Disappearance.

This play presents a surprisingly original storyline. It places the Thomson & Thompson detectives at the center of the action, alongside another pair of twins, in a narrative that carries a distinct “around the world” atmosphere reminiscent of Around the World in 80 Days. The tone is more theatrical and episodic than the other play, with the plot unfolding through a series of lively set-pieces.

Although Hergé was not the sole author of the script, his involvement helped ensure that the characters retained their familiar personalities and visual humor. The result is a curious blend of stage comedy and Tintin-style adventure, offering a different way to experience the world of the series during the wartime period when regular publication had been disrupted.

Having located and translated the script after years of searching, I’m sharing it here so that readers can finally explore this unusual and rarely seen corner of Tintin history.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD MR. BOULLOCK'S DISAPPEARANCE IN ENGLISH 

Tintin in India: The Mystery of the Blue Diamond

When Le Petit Vingtième ceased publication during World War II, Tintin did not disappear entirely. During this period, two stage plays featuring Tintin were produced with Hergé's involvement, offering audiences a chance to experience his famous characters in an entirely different medium.

Although Hergé did not write the plays himself, he collaborated on the productions while the scripts were primarily written by another author. The result was a pair of entertaining adventures that captured much of the humor, excitement, and spirit of Tintin, even if they are largely forgotten today.

Sadly, no recordings or films of these performances are known to exist. For decades, the plays have remained little more than a footnote in Tintin history, known to only a handful of dedicated researchers and collectors.

After years of searching, however, I was fortunate enough to track down the original scripts. I've translated them into English so that Tintin fans who have never had the opportunity to read them can finally experience these rare pieces of Hergé history.

While they may not be official Tintin albums, these plays offer a fascinating glimpse into an overlooked chapter of the series during one of the most difficult periods of Hergé's career. I hope you enjoy discovering these long-forgotten adventures as much as I enjoyed bringing them to light.

The first one is Tintin in India!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD TINTIN IN INDIA IN ENGLISH 

Miscellaneous Herge Items

Not every piece of Hergé's work fits neatly into one of his famous series. Throughout his career, he produced a wide variety of one-off comics, advertisements, games, and experimental projects that are often overlooked but provide fascinating insights into his creativity and versatility.

Among these is a fun game published in Tintin magazine, introduced by a short comic featuring Professor Calculus and the Thomson & Thompson detectives.

Hergé also created Colour Your Colours, a coloring page produced to advertise a popular Belgian chicory-root drink, blending his distinctive artwork with commercial illustration.

Another curious creation is Magneshal, a whimsical advertising character who first appeared in a series of single-panel illustrations without dialogue, performing absurd visual gags. Hergé later expanded the character into a one-page comic strip, giving readers a little more of this unusual figure's humorous world.

Perhaps the most intriguing items in this collection are the three opening pages created under the pseudonym Olav by Hergé and his friend, Edgar P. Jacobs. These were drawn in the uncertain years immediately following the end of World War II, when Hergé had been blacklisted and feared he might never be permitted to publish under his own name again. Together, the two artists began three completely different stories, producing only the first page of each before the projects were abandoned. Although none of these works developed into full-fledged adventures, they remain fascinating glimpses into Hergé's lesser-known output.

Whether created for advertising, entertainment, or during one of the most uncertain periods of his career, each offers a unique window into the imagination and artistic evolution of one of the twentieth century's greatest cartoonists. Here, I've translated these rare pieces into English so that more readers can enjoy this overlooked corner of Hergé's work.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD CALCULUS GAME IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD COLOR YOUR COLORS IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD MAGNESHAL IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD OLAV PAGES IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FSC CALENDARS IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD RANDOM 1-PAGE THINGS IN ENGLISH  

Deleted Frames from Jo, Zette, & Jocko in Cœurs Vaillants

When readers think of deleted material from Hergé's work, the focus almost always falls on the Tintin adventures. Yet another of Hergé's major series, Jo, Zette, & Jocko, also underwent revisions between its original newspaper serialization and its album publication.

Originally published in the French Catholic magazine Cœurs Vaillants, the adventures of Jo, Zette, and their mischievous chimpanzee Jocko were often edited before being collected into book form. Individual panels—and occasionally entire pages—were removed, altered, or rearranged to improve the pacing or fit the album format.

These deleted scenes rarely receive the same attention as their Tintin counterparts, but they are every bit as fascinating. They offer a unique glimpse into Hergé's creative process and allow us to see how he refined his storytelling before the adventures reached their final published form.

I've collected these deleted frames from the original Cœurs Vaillants publications and translated them into English. Whether they contain extra dialogue, humorous moments, or scenes that were ultimately left behind, they provide another opportunity to explore Hergé's work as it first appeared to readers and to appreciate the evolution of one of his lesser-known, but equally enjoyable, series.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD DELETED SCENES FROM THE SECRET RAY IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD DELETED SCENES FROM THE STRATOSHIP H.22 IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD DELETED SCENES FROM THE VALLEY OF THE COBRAS IN ENGLISH  

The Adventures of Tom & Millie

Following The Adventures of Tim the Squirrel, Hergé took another step toward what would eventually become Popol Out West. That intermediary work is The Adventures of Tom & Millie, a remarkably rare publication that is both familiar and surprisingly different.

Although it retains the same principal characters from Tim the Squirrel, Hergé reworked the story in several important ways. Most notably, he abandoned the illustrated-text format of Totor and Tim the Squirrel in favor of a true comic-strip format, complete with panels and speech balloons.

The setting also underwent a dramatic transformation. Instead of taking place in the American West, the story unfolds in the Sahara Desert. The rabbit natives are replaced with monkeys, and numerous plot elements were rewritten, resulting in a story that feels far more than just an early draft. In many respects, The Adventures of Tom & Millie stands as a unique adventure in its own right.

The publication actually consists of two separate stories. The first is the two-page Where There's a Will, a humorous tale that Hergé would later adapt into the Quick & Flupke gag The Toothpick. This is followed by the main 18-page adventure, In Search of the Sun, which contains the core narrative that would eventually evolve into Popol Out West.

Unfortunately, this work is extraordinarily rare. After years of searching, I have managed to locate and translate most of the story, but five pages still remain missing. Using descriptions found in books and archival references, I have been able to reconstruct and summarize the missing portions to help bridge the gaps, but I have yet to find the actual pages themselves.

If you happen to own, or have access to, a complete copy of The Adventures of Tom & Millie, I would be very grateful if you would contact me at tintinfan36@gmail.com. Any information that could help complete this remarkable chapter of Hergé's early career would be greatly appreciated.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE ADVENTURES OF TOM & MILLIE IN ENGLISH 

Tim the Squirrel

 

Before Popol Out West, it existed in a very different form. Titled The Adventures of Tim the Squirrel, this early version tells essentially the same story, featuring the same main characters and the foundations of the familiar plot, but in a much earlier storytelling style.

Rather than using the panel-by-panel comic format that Hergé would later perfect, Tim the Squirrel follows the format of his earlier Totor stories. Each page consists of a series of illustrations accompanied by descriptive text beneath the drawings, allowing the narrative to unfold through a combination of artwork and prose rather than speech balloons.

Even in this early presentation, Hergé's gift for expressive characters, engaging adventures, and visual storytelling is unmistakable. The story offers a fascinating glimpse into his artistic evolution, bridging the gap between his earliest illustrated narratives and the polished comic albums that would later bring him international acclaim.

For Hergé enthusiasts, The Adventures of Tim the Squirrel is much more than an early draft of Popol Out West. It is a valuable piece of comics history that reveals how one of the medium's greatest storytellers refined his craft and experimented with new ways of bringing his characters to life.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD TIM THE SQUIRREL IN ENGLISH

Le Sifflet Comic Strips

 

Long before Tintin made his debut, Hergé was already developing his artistic style through a variety of newspaper illustrations and comics. Among these early works are seven short comics published in the Belgian newspaper Le Sifflet.

Though these stories predate Tintin, they are filled with the humor, expressive artwork, and lively storytelling that would later become Hergé's trademark. Each comic introduces a cast of memorable and often eccentric characters, giving readers a glimpse into the imagination of a young artist whose talent was already beginning to shine.

These short comics also provide a fascinating look at Hergé's artistic development. His character designs, sense of movement, visual gags, and storytelling techniques reveal many of the qualities that would eventually mature into the famous ligne claire style recognized around the world.

While they are not as well known as Tintin or even Hergé's other early series, these seven comics are an important part of his creative journey. They offer fans a rare opportunity to see the foundations of one of the twentieth century's greatest comic artists and to discover a collection of entertaining stories that deserve to be remembered.

Enjoy each of these seven forgotten gems from Le Sifflet and the unique characters that inhabit their pages!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD YEAR'S END FEAST! IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE GOOD LITTLE CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD MR. SCHINLER'S DOG IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD SCHINLER AT THE DENTIST IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD MR. VANDERVELDE ON THE TIGHTROPE IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE ELECTORAL BODY AND THE MARIANNE SOCIALIST IN ENGLISH

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD MR. SCHINLER'S JOKE IN ENGLISH