A 75-year-old Tintin book has landed its publisher Egmont in hot water in the UK and US amid claims of racism.

Tintin in the Congo, originally published in French in 1931, only become available in English translation in 2005.

After recent complaints from a racism watchdog in the UK, some booksellers considered removing the book from their shelves, while others (including all Borders stores in the UK and US) moved it from the children's section into adult graphic novel areas.

Egmont has defended the publication, saying in a statement: 'Egmont Publishing recognises that some readers may be offended by the content. This is why we are taking the unusual step of placing a warning on the special collector's edition which publishes in hardback in September.'

Egmont also says that it 'believes in making important works of art available to the public.' Publishing director David Riley explains: 'We believe that making this title available to English readers is important to complete the Tintin collection, which, when viewed as a whole, stands as one of the 20th century's great achievements in comic art.'

After the controversy surfaced last week, sales for Tintin in the Congo skyrocketed, with some estimates suggesting an increase of 4000% in UK sales.

This article from Thorpe Bowker's Weekly Book Newsletter and Media Extra is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2007, Thorpe-Bowker