Tintin comic fetches record price

A rare 1932 cover illustration of "Tintin in America" by Herge, the artist who dreamed up the boy reporter, on Saturday fetched a record 1.3 million euros ($1.6 million) at an auction in Paris.

"The work has been sold at 1,338,509.20 euros, costs included, by a person who wishes to remain anonymous," a spokesman for the auctioneers, Artcurial, told AFP.

Belgian comic book artist Herge painted the Indian ink and gouache colour cover for the first edition of the book, which first appeared in 1934.

One of only five such works of cover art remaining by Herge, it shows the young adventurer dressed as a cowboy sitting on a rock, his dog Snowy at his side, as three Indians, two wielding axes, creep up behind him.

The sale Saturday was part of a larger sale of Tintin-related memorabilia.