"It's such a masterpiece this drawing could go in any collection in the world", said Eric Leroy, Artcurial's expert in comic strips.
A rare drawing of comic book hero Tintin by Belgian cartoonist Herge will be auctioned in Hong Kong today as experts say comic art is becoming as collectible as paintings.
The artwork is an illustration from the cartoonist's "The Blue Lotus" book, published in 1936, which sees Tintin and sidekick Snowy the dog on an adventure in Shanghai.
It is predicted to fetch up to HK $13 million (US$1.7 million).
Drawn in monochrome, it shows Tintin being pulled along a street in a rickshaw with a policeman looking on.
The drawing is the only original from the book to remain in private hands the rest are in museums according to leading French auction house Artcurial, which is holding the sale.
"'The Blue Lotus' is considered by specialists as the masterpiece album of Herge", said Eric Leroy, Artcurial's expert in comic strips.
"The design and drawing of Herge had become mature. It was also unusual to talk about China in the thirties in Europe."
Despite a downturn in the Chinese economy which some fear will dent the region's burgeoning art market, auction houses in Hong Kong say they are still optimistic that rare pieces will sell.
It is the first time that Artcurial has held an auction in the southern Chinese city, which has become an art hub for Asia.
It will hold two evenings of auctions Monday and Tuesday, featuring everything from paintings by Picasso and Renoir to bags by Hermes and a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Roadster.
Alongside the Herge drawing there will be contemporary European pieces from leading comic artists Enki Bilal, Moebius and Nicolas de Crecy.
"Modern comics are like a painting it's like modern art," says Leroy.
Leroy says institutions, comic collectors and modern art fans would be looking to snap up the Herge work.
"It's such a masterpiece this drawing could go in any collection in the world."