A picture by the Belgian cartoonist Herge (1907–1983) has set a new record for the most expensive work of comic book art, selling for €3.2 million ($3.8 million) on January 14 at an auction at Artcurial in Paris.
The 1936 gouache painting was originally intended as the cover image for The Blue Lotus, the fifth volume about boy reporter Tintin, recounting his travels in China during the Japanese invasion of 1931—an usual setting for the time.
The artwork was ultimately too costly for publisher Casterman to reproduce with the four-color printing technique.
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