Paris-France — It was last January 14th and It was a record for a comic book work of art. The French auction house of Artcurial sold the original drawing by Hergé for the cover of the original album of The Lotus Blue, published in 1936, as the fifth volume in his world renowned The Adventure of Tintin series. The bidding battle was played out over three telephones until auctioneer Arnaud Oliveux brought the hammer down at a record 3,175,400 euros or US$ 3,842 234, a record for a work by Hergé and a record for a drawing for a comic book.

The drawing, a project by Hergé, whose real name was Georges Remi, was the 18th of 100 lots in the auction entitled The Universe of the Creator of Tintin. The atmosphere was palpably tense not only in the room but on the telephone and over the internet as the auction rolled on. The drawing for the Lotus Blue is a unique work of art and at the time the publisher had to refuse it as the cover of the album published in 1936 as it was too expensive to print.

The work evokes the adventures of the young reporter Tintin who is depicted in a Chinese ginger jar accompanied by his ever faithful Snowy, Milou in the original French edition, and a bright red dragon who appears to be terrifying him. The work was acquired by a private collector.
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