After a couple of commercial disputes with regard to the dubious freshness of fish and gristly wild boar meat came to a peak in a legal duel, a small group of British followers has succeeded in bringing our favourite heroes back to the misty plateaus of Albion.
Following a long arduous research expedition (pubs, superstores, theatres, shopping malls, etc.) in Londinium, we can first of all report that ale is not served nearly as warm as it was reputed to be in the last century. Another sign of the cultural progress resulting from the frequent visits of those Gauls who are so avidly crossing the Channel by "Yourôstar". The press hailed the return of Asterix (see the cover of The Times Literary Supplement as "The Indomitable Asterix, the towering literary achievement of one small Gaul !" I see some sceptical faces among the tribunes, but I swear I am not exaggerating! The famous paper wrote, "So you thought Balzac was the Colossus of Gallic culture? Pah! That title truly belongs to a hairy little hero from 50BC."
Indeed, the return proved to be triumphant with exceptional sales for the Asterix and the Class Act album, the English version of our Rentrée gauloise, championed by Orion, the new British tribal allies of our favourite indomitable village! The slogan of the year is going to be "Welcome back Asterix". In fact the entire collection, which has been unavailable for almost four years, will be republished in their original series order with the colours re-originated, and new covers in all (good) English book shops starting next April. By Jove! Umm, no, and not Damn, either! By Toutatis, my dear!

For the third year in a row, the "BD en Bulles" association is calmly and efficiently (!) preparing the European Comic Book Fair in Nimes. Faxes are beginning to pile up on desks. "Ah, thanks guys! My 50 euro bill for the pizzas was under that pile of faxes," says Jean-Mi, the firebrand. Thierry, the gourmet manager, is sweating - he just hauled three wild boars from the bookstore to the city hall where the next press conference will be held (12-14 March 2004). "And they aren't even roasted!" he groans. Sylvie, the group's good fairy, reassures him, "Hey, the journalists would have found them ridiculous roasted!", as she simultaneously answers her daughter's math quiz questions on the telephone, ten minutes before the conference begins!
And so it goes: the three of them, amidst squabbles and emotional outbursts, manage to pull off an entirely unique event in the comic strip world. Out of devotion to comic books and their readers (an unusual quality) and authors (kindness and respect due to the creative powers), they are developing a project that is widely supported by the city's officials. For all of these reasons, Albert Uderzo and his team are lending a much-needed hand and are championing this fair for the third year in a row.

The City of Nîmes Albert Uderzo Prizes, established in 2002, reward the efforts of authors in three categories: a Grand Prize to honour a career, the golden wild boar, already awarded to Gotlib (2002) and Roba (2003). The 2004 winner will be announced on 14 March 2004. This year, a silver wild boar will be presented to the best comic album published in 2003. Guarnido (2002) and Gibrat (2003) are the previous winners of this silver trophy. Last of all, a bronze wild boar will go to the new talent of the year.



The 2004 jury is preparing its records at this very moment. Together with Albert Uderzo, cartoonist by profession, Sylvie Uderzo, director of Editions Albert René, Christian Clavier, emperor and Gaul by turns, Jean Todt, imperturbable Ferrarist and eternal conqueror of disorganized cohorts, Laurent Gerra, the funniest indomitable native of Lutèce, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the only material witness, with evidence, of the lunatic village as seen from above, Stéphane Meca, who adopts the Asterix style when facing the bull in the arena, François Julien, a talented journalist working with VSD magazine, and of course, last but not least, our three heroes from "BD en Bulles". "Wow! The Jet Set at Nîmes 2004! I'm bringing my camera along!"