Tintin appears in 1929. Until the demise of the Vingtième Siècle in 1940 during the German occupation, the Petit Vingtième supports the continuous development of the art of Hergé, who devotes to this job all his energy and skill.
The image becomes simple and highly readable, with a black line of regular thickness which will receive post war the color as a cloisonné and is now named Hergé's ligne claire. The first story that will not need to be reworked is L'Oreille Cassée, in 1937-1938.
Le Vingtième Siècle was a monarchist newspaper and the barely concealed analysis of the political events around the adventures of Tintin was much appropriate to them. In 1938-1939, le Sceptre d'Ottokar is a direct reaction to the Anschluss. The threat of dictatorship against the king of Syldavia is an incentive for the Belgians to love and protect their king.
On December 14 in duplex in Brussels and Paris, Millon sells the original art 22 x 25 cm in black ink and some blue pencil for a cover of Le Petit Vingtième, published on July 20, 1939, lot 30 estimated € 350K, illustrated in the article shared by Le Soir. Like many other drawings by Hergé, it was dedicated much later when the artist presented it to a friend.
This large drawing is important for two reasons. It is a fine example of the clear line of Hergé, perfectly mastered just before the Second World War. It shows a highly emotional scene of Le Sceptre d'Ottokar when Milou (Snowy the dog) saves the monarchy by bringing back to the king the stolen scepter.