By Toutatis, have some people lost their heads? Has the sky fallen for good? In the name of Doubleclix, I'm beginning to wonder. What am I talking about? Why, the worldwide release of the 33rd Asterix album! And do you know what? It's like a replay of the battle of Hernanix! Victor Hugo's famous play provoked a dispute based on intolerance and accusation between Classicists and Romantics. Now the question is, will Albert Uderzo's sensational new album launch that same debate? In fact, my dear Watson, the answer is both yes and no! But, before answering, those of us in Asterix's virtual village wish to shed new light on the debate.


First of all, I advise its detractors to read it. No, not just to flick through it, but to actually read it. Because, by doing this, the reader will realize that our author has thoroughly enjoyed himself as he had fun reviving his taste for the task. Of course, as with any new album, readers may be surprised upon their first read by some of the new characters, and this time even more so, as extra-terrestrials visit the village we know so well. But soon they delight in Albert Uderzo's virtuoso drawings and gradually come to understand all the clues given in this adventure. Bit by bit they decrypt the access codes to this work which, by its very modernity, changes (not for too long though) a few old habits.

So what did the author want to tell us? A story about visitors from another planet come to fight our favourite heroes? Not at all! No, Albert Uderzo has simply added the symbols of an imperialism (which he enjoys mocking just as he and René always enjoyed lampooning the characters that surround us) to the incredible portrait gallery which previous albums have already given us, while still confessing to an admiration for Disney's creative talents (Tadsilweny is an anagram of Walt Disney)!

The superheroes caricatured as Schwarzy are one of the album's pleasures. Along with them, the Nagmas also try to get their hands on the famous magic potion that's envied the world over. What exactly is the point here? It's two-fold: the first is that in the competition between comics, manga and Franco-Belgian comic books, Albert has taken sides: neither the first nor the second, no matter what their respective talents, can get the better of the Franco-Belgian comic book. Put simply, in terms of humour, they will not get their hands on that cherished possession of the Gaulish village, i.e. the magic formula! And, secondly, when we finally close the album, Asterix's sardonic smile is meant to reassure us: no, the Gaulish spirit isn't dead, let the invaders come, our village Gauls will always manage to send them away empty-handed! No kidding!





Although the reader always has the last word, and the freedom to enjoy or not enjoy any given album, they must be able to read it before making up their own mind. Yet, let us give you the exclusive, inside story of the Belgian launch which generated all the polemic. Spies in the pay of… but it's up to you, after all, to make your up own mind. Careful now, we're getting into "Asterix and the Roman Agent" territory.

To launch our "Asterix's Mirror World" exhibition in Brussels, we made deals with numerous media outlets (French and Flemish TV, radio, newspapers and magazines). Furious, some of their competitors decided to wage a destabilisation operation worthy of Convolvulus, no less! They dug up a polemicist to comment on -no, scratch comment - assassinate the new Asterix album on a Belgian news broadcast at 7pm on 13 October, the day before the release! If that's not the kind of stunt Convolvulus would pull, my name isn't Doubleclix! Because, to paraphrase the great French playwright Molière, sling enough mud and some of it's bound to stick! It's just a shame that our (French-speaking) Belgian friends' celebration was disrupted by those machinations which are, I can now reassure you, sure to fail.

Readers have already shown what they think by buying the new album: 1.2 million French copies have been sold in just six days! Shops in Spain, Germany, and Great Britain have seen more than 40% of stocks sell like hotcakes. This album has broken all records!

Initial indicators of album sales are incredible! They've been flying off the shelves in what look to be record numbers. Even the most cautious French and Belgian sales managers seemed to be spouting numbers as if the sky had fallen! They can't believe their weary eyes: more than 400,000 copies had left the shops by 5pm on Friday, the very first day!
Figures for the weekend look to be even more mindboggling: French and Belgian retailers have already sold in excess of 800,000 copies.

If this continues, publishing records will have been broken once again with hundreds of thousands of readers delighted to finally have their hands on Albert Uderzo's latest opus.

As I've already told you, this album is a complete departure from all those before it: a sure sign of the avant-garde character of this 78-year-old author! Commentators will gradually discover that this album is original on many different levels. For the first time, our friends across the pond are denounced. The imperial forces are no longer just those of Jules, but also those of Hubs (an anagram), leader of the super clones! Time will tell whether or not the caricature of Schwarzy will help him in the coming presidential race...
What's more, given current developments in the comic-book market, our author has opted to mix genres: like the Asterix album, today's Franco-Belgian comics are coming head to head with mangas, just as traditional comic books, which fed the imagination of Asterix's authors in their youth, presented strong competition for authors of the emerging European comic universe. Albert Uderzo has incorporated all of this to give us a sensational story from his own private universe, full of fantasy and imagination, in which our heroes pursue the derisive world-view that we love so much!
Initial feedback from readers around the globe shows that they are on the same wavelength as they rave over the great Albert's drawings.
Their emails even indicate that they prefer this album to the two that came before it, Asterix and the Actress and Asterix and Obelix All At Sea!

What an adventure! Seriously, what an adventure, dear Asterix readers! For the past year, we've strived to prepare a truly great celebration for you: an international launch in Brussels, an exhaustive exhibition in the same city until 15 January 2006 and a well-kept secret about an album that will knock your socks off. We have fulfilled our mission! "I'm on cloud nine", Albert Uderzo confided to us on the evening of the 14th. As for us, we're completely done in, but, frankly, delighted, by Toutatis! In fact, it's not quite over, you know, we've got another appointment Friday, 21 September in Frankfurt, Germany…

Another crazy day, no doubt! Internet users the world over will be able to put their questions to Albert Uderzo live over the web. The meeting is to take place on Friday, 21 October at 11.30am. A selection of our European translators will be present to receive and translate questions put to Albert Uderzo in the following languages: Spanish (Castillan), English, German, Greek, Portuguese, Dutch, Finnish and French. You can already submit your questions at fifa.obelix.fr.
The first questions will be selected to open the international conference. It's never been done before: a European chat room where eight Asterix translators will converse with you and the author of Asterix, using the latest media technology. One of the major events of the Frankfurt International Book Fair, the world's major publishing forum!
Obelix ought to drop by since it's a perfect occasion for him to treat himself to some of their famous sausages!

Back from a few days rest in …Brittany, I'm not making this up, Albert Uderzo is preparing to brave the last few days before the worldwide release of his 33rd album. His diary may still be filled with meetings with the press, but he's already focused on midnight October 13… The moment that he's been waiting for (just as much as his readers), when he'll finally be free to share his secret and, more importantly, know what you all think of his latest opus! A bit later I'll give you a few clues. Honestly, the author is impatiently waiting for your verdict. "Why?" you ask?
What's happened to make a successful author, hugely successful even, get stage fright at the age of 78, after a career spanning 60 years? Thirty-two of his albums are practically in the top 500 worldwide bestsellers already! We think we might know the reason as the launch of the new album is bound to set a benchmark for Gaul, insomuch as even the Roman Gods (including the God of weather) have put in their two cents. Future strategists will one day say, "I was there, little one, I was part of that campaign!"


This year, in fact, something special has happened, something so obvious that we all suspected it was coming, although few readers may have realised it: following in the footsteps of his heroes, Albert Uderzo has finally become a star of international renown. It is almost as if he first had to spend 77 years as an artist whose career was eclipsed by the incredible success of his work. The circle is finally complete: Asterix's surviving author, having ensured the existence of new albums single-handedly for 27 years (ever since his friend René left to join the angels), was welcomed as never before in Brussels (see missive 44) in September by journalists from the four corners of the globe.
Which is all rather lucky, dear readers, since:
- a splendid exhibition, the first major exhibition ever dedicated to our heroes (The Mirror World of Asterix), has opened in Brussels and will last for four months…
- the new album is top-notch.

The 33^rd tome is, by Doubleclix, the nec plus ultra: a real treat! The story will blow the socks off of traditionalists, delight fans from 8 to 88 years old (the expiry date being infinity, which is just an eight, lying on its side, after all) and bring readers throughout the known world together. It's clear that it's also going to provoke a debate on the genre, but I won't say another word about that.
And above and beyond the story, colourful caricatures in this new album will amuse the youngest readers and whet our appetites like the best moments in the past. For the first time as well, this album is peppered with codes which, once deciphered, will amuse older readers. You'll be treated to a host of astounding new characters who have never been in any of the previous albums. Let us know what you think as soon as possible.
Honestly, it's one heck of an album, by Toutatis!

For our French-speaking readers, we have another piece of good news: the October 11 release of a special issue of Le Figaro dedicated to "Asterix, the indomitable". An elegant, carefully prepared layout offers a previously unpublished look at the world of our Gauls. An accurate, amusing political analysis of the albums gives some surprising insights.

Military strategy is also dissected and scrutinised so as to let the Romans one day, perhaps, win a battle for once… Our heroes act almost as tourist guides as they have us visit, in an offbeat manner, lands situated far from the village that we know so well. Many other surprises, magnificently laid out and illustrated by dozens of drawings, some of which come from previous albums but most of which are from other sources, notably the Pilote magazine in which Asterix first appeared. A must, my friend.

So where will the Asterix albums be before zero hour? I asked the question on your behalf. The distributors' answer is like something out of another comic strip, something along the lines of Krostons, if you know what I mean. Apparently, anonymous cartons marked with the codes 712 or 656 will be awaiting the delivery hour in sealed warehouses around the continent. Just a few days ago, the first trucks began to load, unload and stockpile them. Such is the cost of your reading pleasure.


Shop openings will be planned for 12.01 a.m. on October 14 in many places. We recommend you consult our publishing partnerships' websites for any last-minute information. Our site will display the opening times of which we have been informed by 12.01 a.m. on October 13.
Already we can confirm that the celebration will be in full swing at Tour and Taxis, the site of the Asterix exhibition in Brussels, which will be open exceptionally for visits between midnight and 2 a.m. on the morning of the 14th, in the company of Merlin the collector. To celebrate the arrival of the new album, the shop will open its doors for the occasion!