PARIS.- On 27th April,
Artcurial’s Comic Strip department will present at auction a selection of 180 original works from the greatest authors of the ninth art. This auction comprises several strips and illustrations from contemporary comic strip authors such as Enki Bilal, Moebius and Pratt, as well as autographed works from major classic illustrators such as Hergé, René Goscinny and André Franquin.
Enki Bilal’s universe
Modern comic strip author-illustrator Enki Bilal will be distinguished during this auction. Among the ten lots offered are two strips from La Femme Piège, the second volume of his landmark Nikopol trilogy relating the adventures of Jill Bioskop, a bluehaired independent journalist and her relationship with Nikopol. The first strip, n°44, explores Jill Bioskop’s dangerous dependence to pills which temporarily leave her amnesiac in the hope of forgetting her demons, a situation which also prevents her from telling her story. On the second plate n°50, Enki Bilal depicts a disturbing scene where the reader discovers Nikopol, Horus and John gathered around the seemingly lifeless body of the blue-haired heroin who is carried away, freed from her torment. Their estimate: €70,000 - 90,000 each.
The third key lot by Enki Bilal is an acrylic, gouache and pastel on cardboard portrait of Vera Nikolaevna Tretiakova, designed for the cover of the new edition of the album Fin de siècles- Partie de chasse, to be published by Casterman in 2019 (estimate: €60,000 - 80,000).
Among other modern illustrators, a Moebius strip from the album L’Homme est-il bon? published in 1977. This illustration is a true ode to nature within this story verging on a fantastical tale populated with divinities (estimate: €35,000 - 55,000).
Other remarkable work, an original cover from Italian illustrator Hugo Pratt, from Una Ballata del Mare Salato, where the famous adventurer Corto Maltese made his debut (estimate: €50,000 - 70,000).
An autographed sketch by Hergé
Classic comic enthusiasts will rejoice when an autographed Hergé sketch from strip 56 of the 1958 album Coke en stoke will be presented at auction. The famous Belgian author discusses scandalous modern slavery practices, turning this tragic news into the electrifying and captivating fiction in which the legendary Tintin and Captain Haddock find themselves immersed (estimate: €100,000 - 130,000).
A dozen of Tintin illustrations will complement this set. Among them, several albums such as Les Aventures de Tintin reporter du Petit «Vingtième» au pays des Soviets, published in 1930, estimate €20,000 - 25,000. Also, a rare «universal» album of Tintin au Congo, published in 1948, estimate €25,000 - 30,000.
An exceptional Lucky Luke drawing by Maurice de Bévère, aka Morris, for the movie poster of Les Dalton en cavale released in 1983 will also undoubtedly attract a great deal of attention. Estimate: €12,000 - 17,000.
The auction will also pay tribute to André Franquin with plate n°500 representing Gaston Lagaffe in full swing (even if asleep!), pre-published in the Journal Spirou in 1968 (estimate: €60,000 - 70,000), as well as a beautiful ink strip from the album Spirou et les hommes bulles, published in 1964 (estimate: €40,000 - 50,000).
A collection of 27 original Martine drawings
In closing, a set of 27 original illustrations of the adventures of Martine will be presented for the first time at auction. In the drawings, the young heroine shares her adventures at the seaside, on the farm or on a mountain side... An extraordinary editorial phenomenon, the 60 Martine albums (published between 1954 and 2010) sold more than 100 million copies throughout the world, over 35 million translated. Indeed, Martine is also Tiny, Anita, Maja, Zana, Debbie, Aysegul or even Marika. These works, entrusted by the family of the illustrator, Marcel Marlier each carry an estimate of between €4,000 and 7,000.
