Some 101 French and Belgian comics, including a rare 1939 India ink and crayon drawing of the adventures of iconic boy hero Tintin, go to auction Sunday in Brussels.
In addition to works by Tintin creator Herge, there will be others from Franquin, Uderzo, Schuiten and Gotlib, worth an estimated 1.5 million euros ($1.9 million), auction house Millon said.
The centrepiece is the 1939 India ink and crayon sketch by Herge for the cover of the Belgian weekly “Le Petit Vingtième,” estimated at 350,000-400,000 euros.
Franquin is expected to be the other star of the sale, with a 1968 plate from “Gaston Lagaffe” estimated at 90,000-100,000 euros, and another from “Modeste et Pompon” published in Tintin magazine in 1958.
In May, a 1937 two-page spread by Herge depicting Tintin on various adventures with his dog Snowy sold in Paris for 2.65 million euros ($3.58 million), a record for cartoon art in a market where prices have risen tenfold in recent years.