It was announced last week that a British actor, Thomas Sangster, had won the role to play Tintin on the big screen adaptation of Hergés adventures of TinTin and interest in Tintin memorabilia has never been higher, with a Paris auction house recently selling an original artwork from the popular comic book for the record price of €764,200 ( over £500,000 ).

Described as a museum piece, the painting by Tintin's Belgian creator Hergé, whose real name was Georges Remi, was part of one-off sale of 650 comic originals which raised a total of $5.4 million on the day.

Hergé died in 1983 and the 1932 oil painting by the author and artist was the art for Tintin in America, the third adventure in the long-running series. It features the boy reporter wearing a Stetson and a red bandana, with his faithful dog Snowy at his feet and tomahawk wielding indians behind.

Georges Rémi, under the nom de plume Hergé, established the clean, expressive style known as ligne claire (clear line) in the late 1940s. However, the record setting painting reflects the looser, rougher style of his earlier work.

Tintin remains the most popular comic book personality in French culture and the news that director Steven Spielberg is casting actors for a three-part Tintin film series beginning in 2009, is sure to increase the popularity of Tintin memoribilia worldwide.

So, get up to the attic and find that old trunk with all your Tintin comic books and annuals, there's never been a better time to list them on ebay ........