Tintin comic strip fetches a record £1.1m at Paris auction

The collection had belonged to Jean-Arnold Schoofs, one of the world's leading strip cartoon collectors

A Tintin comic strip by Belgian cartoonist Herge has fetched a record 1.6m euros (£1.1m) at auction in Paris.

The double-page strip from Tintin, King Ottokar's Sceptre was published in Le Petit Vingtieme in 1939.

The dramatic clear-line drawing contains an impression of Tintin and his dog Snowy aboard a crashing plane.

The artwork, which sold at auction house Sotheby's, had a guide price of up to 800,000 euros (£575,000), but sold for almost double the estimate.

It was sold following a bidding war between four potential buyers, the auction house said.

'Admirable catalogue'

The auction saw 65 original items by some of the biggest names in European and American cartoons go under the hammer.

The collection had belonged to Jean-Arnold Schoofs, one of the world's leading strip cartoon collectors.

Following the sale, Mr Schoofs said he was "very happy with the results, which were worthy of an admirable catalogue and did justice to all the authors - not only the most famous in the field, but also several somewhat forgotten by history".

"I am particularly happy with the results obtained by some pages by Herge and Graton that are very rarely seen in the market," he added.

A total of 2.7m euros (£1.9m) was raised, with five lots breaking world records.