One fine morning in 1951, Albert Uderzo, who is working for World Press / International Press, is told that someone new, called ‘Gossini’ is coming to join them. When Albert hears this name, his Italian roots get all excited. But he learns that “No, his name is spelled G.o.s.c.i.n.n.y. He’s French and he’s moving here from the United States. ”
The two hit it off immediately, and are to work on numerous joint projects. The partnership results in many heroes, including Oompah-Pah, whom many see as a precursor to Asterix.
In the years following the end of World War II (1939–45; war in which Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, and their allied forces defeated Germany, Italy, and Japan), the French people wanted to recover from their country's occupation by the German Nazi forces and rebuild their national identity. In 1949, a law was passed in France to govern the types of characters acceptable in children's literature. It banned characters like Batman and Tarzan, who represented physical strength and perfection and were a reminder of the kinds of images used by the Nazis in their wartime propaganda.
The law also tried to shield French children from American culture, which was seen by many in France as a threat to their traditional way of life. So, as Russell Davies explains in The Times Literary Supplement, when René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo began working on Astérix together in the late 1950s they were under pressure to create something that was both recognizably French and contained no physically attractive characters. Astérix, Obelix, and their many strange-looking friends who inhabit the dozens of books that make up the long-running and best-selling series were the result.
Since the first Asterix plate appeared in the first issue of the weekly Pilote magazine on 29th October 1959, the Adventures of Asterix the Gaul have come a long way: 37 albums, 7 albums from the films, special issue publications, a Grand Collection highly prized by collectors… Translated into almost 110 languages and dialects, this epic is to be read and reread without reserve!
Gauls, Romans, Goths, Egyptians… and let’s not forget the Pirates! Discover the secrets of all the Asterix characters, from the most famous to the most mysterious (does the name Alcoholix mean anything to you?
Welcome to the Virtual Village
"The year is 50 B.C. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well not entirely! One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium..."
Although he does not have the impressive muscle-bound physique of the heroes Albert Uderzo drew at first, Asterix is the only anti-hero to boast such a collection of success stories and heroic feats.
Throughout his adventures, where his legendary wile and the precious magic potion concocted by the druid Getafix allow him to escape from the direst situations, often covered with glory, Asterix has made off with Caesar's laurel crown, won a gold metal at the Olympic Games ( without the benefit of the magic potion, if you please!) and completed with honors the 12 tasks as decreed by Caesar one day when he was foolish enough to risk a bet with our incorrigible Gauls.
Thanks to our hero, the Britons discovered tea and the Belgians were inspired to make French fries! As for the Asterix comic book series, it has been the sensation of the publishing world for 60 years while the character Asterix has become a mythical figure, a symbol throughout the world for all who resist the influence of Empires trying to impose their will and law on others. René Goscinny explained that his hero's name, with its initial «A», was a clear advantage with regard to alphabetic classification in any future comic book encyclopaedia, but did he ever imagine that his tiny Gaul would also change comic book history?
And what more can be said about the success of Asterix in the film industry? Despite all his success, Asterix has remained down to earth and all he needs to keep him (and his readers) happy is the chance to ridicule the Romans and savor a delicious banquet with his friends.
Determined to make Asterix an anti-hero flying in the face of the established order of the world of comic books, René Goscinny certainly did not want to give his main character a sidekick who would play the classic role of stooge. But Albert Uderzo, somewhat frustrated at not having made Asterix a beefy Gaul like he dreamed, could not resist placing at his side a big strong warrior, more akin to the impressive muscle-bound characters he already excelled at drawing
Although he had only a minor role in the first adventure, Obelix quickly became an essential character that his authors developed as they went along. He is actually the readers ’favorite hero: all opinion polls place Obelix at the top of the list of favorite village characters. One survey among young adolescent girls even made Obelix out to be the “sexiest” character amongst the Gauls!
In the adventures penned by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, we find him by turns easily offended (who’s fat?), Sensitive (we have seen him cry at a romantic happy ending), and definitely a glutton. An overgrown child who grew up too quickly and who is not yet aware of his own strength (in his defense, it must be said that not everyone falls in a cauldron of magic potion when he’s a little boy!), Obelix is an inexhaustible source of gags.
An eternal klutz, he is irresistible, whether he is fighting, falling in love (which happens often!), Finally catching on to something long after the others, or when he overdoes it on the alcoholic drinks (“Zigackly!”)… As far as he is concerned, it is always playtime (well, at least once snack time is finished!), and nothing really matters, because it’s all the others who are crazy. Does the magic potion bless people with the innocence of childhood? It’s not certain that the Romans see things this way.
The collection of the albums of Asterix the Gaul
Home>The Collection>The collection of the albums of Asterix the Gaul
1
1961
2
1962
3
1963
4
1964
5
1965
6
1965
7
1966
8
1966
9
1967
10
1967
11
1968
Asterix and the Chieftain’s Shield
12
1968
13
1969
14
1969
15
1970
16
1970
17
1971
18
1972
19
1972
20
1973
21
1974
22
1975
Asterix and the Great Crossing
23
1976
24
1979
25
1980
26
1981
27
1983
28
1987
29
1991
30
1996
31
2001
32
2003
33
2005
34
2009
35
2013
36
2015
Asterix and the Missing scroll
37
2017
38
2019
Asterix and the chieftain’s daugther
This is very interesting! We all love Asterix and all of us were reading it, and watching movies about him. Thank you for sharing all those facts about Asterix. In my opinion, Asterix is much better thank cartoons that children are watching nowadays, and much better than comics that children are reading now. Childrne cna learn many interesting facts from Asterix.