Two original Tintin comic strips were expected to break records yesterday when they went under the hammer in Paris.
The first from Explorers on the Moon, widely regarded as one of the two best Tintin adventures, was expected to fetch up to US$1 million. The page, entitled “We walk on the moon,” has the boy reporter, his dog, Snowy, and blundering sidekick Captain Haddock making their first moon walk from their red-and-white rocket.
With the 1954 book viewed as one of the artist Herge’s masterpieces, the Paris auction house Artcurial values it at at least 900,000 euros (US$952,970).
Photo: Reuters
The late Belgian artist already holds the world record for the sale of a comic strip.
A double-page ink drawing that served as the inside cover for all the Tintin adventures published between 1937 and 1958 sold for US$3.7 million to an American fan two years ago.
Yesterday’s sales are expected to break records for single strips.
Rival auction house Christie’s is putting drawings from another rare Herge strip up for sale later in the day in Paris. It said the page from the unfinished story Tintin and the Thermozero — estimated at 250,000 euros — was the first ever to come to market. Why the artist never finished the tale of espionage and a terrifying secret weapon set against the backdrop of the Cold War is one of the great mysteries for “Tintin-ologists.”
Herge wrestled with it for years, “starting it at the end of the 1950s,” said Christie’s, but never got further than eight pages.
Artcurial’s comics expert Eric Leroy described Explorers on the Moon as “a key moment in the history of comic book art.”
“It has become mythic for many lovers and collectors of comic strips... It is one of the most important from Herge’s post-war period,” he said.
The story completes the lunar adventure started in Destination Moon (1953) and features several hilarious episodes, including Haddock getting drunk and floating off into space to briefly become a satellite of the asteroid Adonis.
The Moon drawings are being sold alongside 20 ink sketches Herge created for a series of New Year’s greeting cards known as his “snow cards.”
The cards were expected to sell for between 60,000 and 120,000 euros each, Artcurial estimated.
Prices for cartoon art have multiplied 10-fold in the past decade, according to gallery owner Daniel Maghen, who also works with comic art.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
RSS