With an oeuvre covering 50 years and 24 stories, it's hard to decide which Tintin album is most wanted by collectors. Some hold controversial content, others are signed by comic artist Hergé or represent a certain milestone in Tintin history. Either way, certain albums are worth quite some money at auction. The tale behind five of Tintin’s most wanted!
In collaboration with Rick Lok - Comics Expert
The Crab with the Golden Claws (original title: Le crabe aux pinces d’or, 1941)
For many, Tintin is inseparable from Captain Haddock (think Tintin, think “Ten thousand thundering typhoons!”) but it is not until the 9th album Tintin actually meets him on board of the “Karaboudjan”. This is what makes The Crab with the Golden Claws so special. The album was released in 1941 when Belgium was occupied by Nazi Germany, so Hergé was restricted to writing a story with a neutral theme. He saved his political thoughts for “The Land of Black Gold”, which he initially started to write when war broke out, but did not release as an album until 1950. Le crabe au pinces d’or was the last album published in black and white (B&W). In 1944 it was redrawn and published with 62 coloured pages, making it the most sought after album of the 1st coloured editions. Tintin albums published during WW2, both B&W and coloured, reach up to € 8.000 at Catawiki's auctions.
Tintin and The Crab with the Golden Claws (original title: Le crabe aux pinces d’or, 1941)
Tintin in Tibet (original title: Tintin au Tibet, 1960)
Many consider this story to be one of Hergé’s best, and the story behind it is quite interesting as well. Towards the end of the 1950s Hergé had a mental breakdown when breaking up with his wife to be with another woman. He went to see a psychiatrist about his troubling nightmares filled with endless white visions and was advised to stop working. Instead, Hergé tried to fight the demons in his mind while writing the story of Tintin in Tibet. It is no coincidence Tintin experiences distress and loneliness in Tibet, exorcising many ghosts before finding a new equilibrium… At the 1960 press release, a numbered pre-run (Tirage de tête) of 100 copies was signed by Hergé. It sold at Catawiki in 2015 for € 13,000.
Tintin in Tibet (original title: Tintin au Tibet, 1960)
Tintin in the Congo (original title: Tintin au Congo, 1931)
This is probably the most controversial Tintin album. It has been criticised in the US, Great Britain, Sweden and Belgium for its presumed racist content; the Congolese are thought to be portrayed as infantile and primitive. It has been altered a few times – to present the Congolese with smaller lips and less abundant curly hair – and is now often sold in stores with a warning attached. Tintin’s participation in the slaughtering of African animals doesn’t quite fit the current Western mindset anymore either. Today Tintin in the Congo is probably more famous for its controversial content than its entertaining story and has become a highly sought after item among collectors. In 2016 a prototype of this album – presumed one of only seven
– with blank balloons and lacking a title on the cover brought € 39,000 at a Catawiki's auction.
Tintin in the Congo (original title: Tintin au Congo, 1931)
Explorers on the Moon (original title: On a marché sur la lune, 1954)
Sometimes it is not necessarily the story itself or the story behind an album that makes it valuable on online auctions. Autographs always do well, especially when related to the story, like with a certain French copy of Explorers on the Moon signed by Hergé, Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and more. For this story, published 15 years before the first manned moon landing, Hergé extensively investigated the possibility of human space travel. With quotes like “First moonwalker after Tintin” (Buzz Aldrin) and “Longest walk on the moon after Tintin” (Edgar Mitchell) it is no surprise the album fetched $132,400 at auction
Explorers on the Moon (original title: On a marché sur la lune, 1954)
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (original title: Tintin au pays des Soviets, 1930)
This is the story that started the Tintin mania. Pre-publishing began in the weekly magazine Le Petit Vingtième in 1929 and instantly became a huge success. Nowadays the 1930 album has an iconic status. In total 10,000 copies have been printed (10 print runs of 1,000), but not many albums survived. The first 500 copies are numbered. A numbered copy of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets that was signed by Hergé and his wife as “Tintin and Milou” (Snowy) has been sold at Catawiki for € 30,000.
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (original title: Tintin au pays des Soviets, 1930)
If you are going through your comic book collection and find a well preserved first edition, you might want to consider putting it up for auction because it could be worth a great deal of money! Register here if you want to sell Tintin albums. Whether they're first edition or not, Tintin will probably always be popular. Take a look at our auctions to complete your own Tintin collection!