Land of Black Gold
Following the German invasion of Poland, Hergé was conscripted into the Belgian Army and temporarily stationed in Herenthout. Discharged within the month, he returned to Brussels and began "Land of Black Gold". The story subsequently began serialisation in "Le Vingtième Siècle" on 25 September 1939. He was re-mobilised in December and stationed in Antwerp, from where he continued to send the Tintin strip to "Le Petit Vingtième". However, he fell ill with sinusitis and boils and was declared unfit for service in May 1940. That same day, Germany invaded Belgium, and "Le Vingtième Siècle" was shut down part way through the serialisation of "Land of Black Gold", on 8 May. The point at which the story was ended corresponds to pages 28 and 30 of the current book edition, when Tintin is caught in a sandstorm following his first confrontation with Müller. This version, which amounts to 58 pages, has never been collected in book form.