By Toutatis! A new one’s coming our way!!” That would be the most Gaulish reaction to the news that there’s a new Asterix book round the corner. Yes, this character and its series instantly sends fans back into a nostalgic overdrive. Ask folks around you, especially those who are in their mid thirties and above to name some of their favourite comics, and they’ll list Asterix, Tintin and Phantom as their top three!
Right from the late 1950s, Asterix has been entertaining readers with the series’ trademark wit, comedy and action. And, it’s a great feeling to see the same efforts to keep the series going in the second decade of the 2000s.
Asterix, along with Tintin and several other comics, are considered to be the pillars of the Franco-Belgian comics trend. These became quite popular post Second World War, and had a good readership worldwide in the years to come. The Asterix series brought with it a very interesting take on French and Roman history, with a lot of historic accuracy, but enough humour to make a spoof out of many events.
It was by reading Asterix in my school days that I was introduced to historical personalities like Julius Caesar, Brutus, Cleopatra and so on. From Asterix, I learnt how the gladiators fought at the Colosseum, albeit in a very funny way, especially with the oft repeated threat in the series, “I’ll throw you to the lions at the circus!” I guffawed when Asterix, in his brutish arrogance towards Caesar, greeted him with “Hi Julius, old boy!” And the charm that the comic series has had all throughout, especially with the play on names.
Each Gaul or Roman, or even the Brits, had names which spelt out what their personalities were. Fulliautomatix is the Gaulish village’s blacksmith, Unhygienix gets his name thanks to the smell of the oft stale fish he sells, Agent Dubbelosix (brilliantly caricatured keeping Sean Connery’s take on 007 in mind) the Roman-Gaul double agent spy, Geriatrix the really old man, Squareonthehypotenus is the Roman architect and of course the in-your-face funny Roman names such as Centurion Ignoramus, Nefarius Purpus, Magnumopus and so on.
René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo was the team which gave us these priceless characters and stories, with the former handling the writing and Uderzo the art. The initial 24 albums of Asterix (each book is called an album) from 1959 to around 1977 were the result of this teamwork, and are considered to be the definitive Asterix stories. After Goscinny passed away in 1977, Uderzo took up the writing work too. These albums were unfortunately not up to the standards set previously, but they were still loved by many avid readers and fans across the globe.
It was in one of these Uderzo-written albums, that Asterix and co travel to India (Asterix and the Magic Carpet, to be precise). Over the years, the stories became disappointing, and to me, 2005’s Asterix and the Falling Sky was the lowest point. Although, it had a successful commercial run, it did not make the fans fall in love with it. So, I believe a lot of rethinking was done, decisions were made, contracts were signed to finally pass on the writing and art to a fresh team.
Enter Didier Conrad and Jean-Yves Ferri, who have given the series a new outlook, but retained the overall vibe. This is where we, the fans and collectors, come into the picture. It is the nostalgia and love for Asterix and his world that makes us buy, read and collect all the new and old titles. We know deep down, it isn’t the same anymore.
The other day, I was chatting with my friend and fellow comics-fan, Jayadev Calamur, and we agreed on this point. He mentioned that he had mixed feelings over the newer titles, since he read Asterix and the Secret Weapon back in 1993. It goes to show how long the charm of the Asterix series has been on the wane.
The new team hasn’t propelled the content to absolute new heights, but there seems to be a bit of promise. Playing all the cards possible, the new book which releases this week titled Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter is being marketed as the first Asterix book to feature a female lead. I’m not really sure if this is 100 per cent accurate, considering there have been strong women in the past albums too, not to mention Vitalstatistix’s wife, Impedimenta. Sure, she has not been a titular character, but it only remains to be seen how they go about with this new character in the book.
As for us fans, we’ve already pre-ordered the Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter and are waiting for it to arrive at our doorsteps! Lest, as the Gauls would worry, “The sky might fall on our heads!”
(The writer is a comic creator, illustrator and animator)
