PREVIEW

BY MARK WORGAN

An original cover illustration for the Asterix album Asterix in Britain has sold for almost €1.5 million (£1.3 million; $1.7 million) at auction in Belgium, setting a world record for the work of artist Albert Uderzo.

The artwork, which had been estimated at between €150,000 and €200,000, was sold by BD Enchères in Liège as part of the auction house's 81st sale of original comic art.

The final price was about eight times the initial estimate.

The 34cm by 47cm painted cover features Asterix, his friend Obelix and Teefax fleeing with a barrel while being pursued by rugby players.

Its vivid red, yellow, blue and green colours are characteristic of the classic Asterix albums.

The artwork also bears a handwritten dedication from Uderzo and writer René Goscinny to publisher Georges Dargaud.

"To Georges Dargaud, who is our friend before being our publisher. His authors, who are first and foremost his friends," the inscription reads.
Uderzo and Goscinny created Asterix and Obelix in 1959. The series has since sold nearly 400 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 110 languages.

Original painted covers from the series' early years are particularly scarce, with only a few dozen known to have been produced. Many are held in family, institutional and established private collections.

The sale surpasses the previous auction record for an original work by Uderzo. His artwork for Le Tour de Gaule d'Astérix sold for about $1.6m in Paris in 2017.

The identity of the buyer, who acquired the Asterix in Britain cover, has not been disclosed.