A friend of mine bought many of the "Tintin Reporter" issues when they were originally published and has sent me the following details:
"Tintin magazine" abruptly ceased publication in November 1988 and was replaced by "Tintin Reporter" in December. It had been suffering from poor sales for some time and the new title was partly to give it a new look and feel. While there were still comic strips, much of the contents was informative articles in the manner of more grown-up publications.
"Tintin Reporter" contained a mixture of comic strips and text articles which included accounts of life and culture in foreign countries. These articles were sometimes connected to Tintin in that they would be about the lives of the people of Nepal (as in "Tibet") or the tribesmen of the Amazon ("Broken Ear"). This was further emphasised with the weekly comic strip "Natalie" by Sergio Salma, about a little girl who is keen on geography (which was not my case at school) and who daydreams of travelling to distant lands.
"Tintin Reporter" included the original magazine publication of Tintin's moon adventure which includes scenes which were not included in the book publication. However, the original "Tintin magazine" had included many other strips by other artists and authors, such as "Thorgal" by Rosiński (about a Viking whose adventures included elements of fantasy and science-fiction), "Ric Hochet" by Tibet (Gilbert Gascard) (about a reporter and detective similar to Tintin) and "Cubitus" by Dupa (Luc Dupanloup) (about a mischievous and gluttonous dog and his owner). The lack of such strips in "Tintin Reporter" may have been a factor in its short life since its strips tended to be more informative (about historical people and events) rather than adventurous or funny.
Shivam302001:
which included a story about how Herge reunited with his friend Chang Chong Chen in a comic strip format
"Tintin Reporter" issue 5 (published 8 January 1989) includes a strip by writer Thierry Smolderen and artist Marc Lumer about their relationship. It starts in the 1930s. While walking through Brussels, Chang advises Herge on Chinese drawing techniques, in particular how to draw the trees in the countryside when Tinin witnesses the destruction of the railway track. Quick & Flupke pass by, mocking the Chinaman as they do (no political correctness here).
Herge later tells Chang that a Belgian General and friend of the Japanese Ambassador has complained about the attacks on the Japanese in "The Blue Lotus" and how they will have to tone it down in the interest of Belgian-Japanese relations. Chang disagrees, stating that if Herge wants to maintain the realism in his story then he must show the sufferings that the Japanese have inflicted on the Chinese people. Herge agrees - and it is hinted that the stiff General Tintin impersonates may have been based on the plaintiff.
Herge wants to include Chang's name as co-author but the Chinaman insists that he does not. Chang is about to return to China and fears that he may be killed for being part of an anti-Japanese piece of propaganda. Later Chang is shown leaving Brussels on the train. A young boy passenger who is reading "The Blue Lotus" in the "Petit vingtieme" imagines that Chang is a spy. (Such intrigue surrounding the publication of "Blue Lotus" has also been the subject of a
more recent comic published in 2013.)
The strip then leaps to 1975. In Shangai, Chang, now an old sculptor, is visited by a man called Wei whose brother lives in Belgium and who has met Herge. Wei tells Chang that Herge will soon be writing to him. In 1980, the two friends are reunited at Brussels Airport, surrounded by fans and reporters.
The strip includes an extract of an emotional letter written by Herge to Chang in 1975.
"Tintin Reporter" only lasted about seven months. After cancellation it was replaced with "Hello Bede" which put the emphasis back on to comic strips rather than text articles and included many classics from the original "Tintin magazine" such as "Cubitus", "Thorgal" and "Ric Hochet" and many more strips in similar veins. It lasted a little longer till 1993.
