I shan't wait any longer to tell you the news… We, here, at Editions Albert René wanted to mark the 80th birthday of the old master himself, Albert Uderzo, with an extra-special present…60 plates in a single album - a fitting tribute to his wonderful career and iconic hero! But, shhhh, I can't tell you any more since I've managed to get my hands on Sylvie Uderzo's editorial (see below for the lowdown!) as well as the Editor's foreword to this magical new album - in which some of Albert's finest peers doth their cap in his honour! The only bad news is that we'll have to wait until 25 April to open this "birthday present"!
That date just so happens to be three days after the first round of voting in the elections to decide upon the new "chief" of modern-day Gaul, but we, here, at Editions Albert René, along with our friends from the Hachette tribe, will not let this overshadow things…. In any case, "Gaul" and Europe can always use a good laugh… The album will be published first in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, and Portugal, then in Finland, Norway, Poland and finally in Germany and Austria. And let's not forget Spain, which will actually get a sneak preview of the album on 19 April at the Ficomic Fair in Barcelona. More about that in our next Missive.

When we first thought about creating a tribute album for my father's 80th birthday, nothing, it seemed to me, could be taken for granted. Faced with the vast body of work that he and René Goscinny had created together, we simply had to produce something unique, that would both please and surprise him, along with our readers of course. How then could we surprise these two legends (as they will doubtless be known in the future) whilst also coming up with an adventure that would interest the millions of their readers throughout the world? How could we entertain everyone, not least the special man himself, Albert Uderzo?

Working with the team at Editions Albert René, it wasn't long before we found the answer: what could possibly be better than secretly bringing artists together to help blow out the 80 candles? And the response was more than enthusiastic: an explosion of Asterix illustrations, the likes of which you have never seen.
It sufficed to let their talent shine, to see their feelings towards the man and his work translated by their dialogues and brushstrokes. So we let their personal histories come together and mingle, just for this one album, with this incredible universe that René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, those two extraterrestrials of the cartoon world, first created in 1959.
And, given that this year marks the 30th anniversary of René's passing away, it is a book dedicated to his memory as well...

We do hope that you will thoroughly enjoy all the plates that we brought together in this birthday album, an album which we believe to be the perfect tribute to the career of Albert Uderzo, the son of two Italian immigrants... Many thanks to all the artists, and long live comic strips!

Thirty-four authors, from different cultures and backgrounds, were all keen to take up the chance to pay homage to someone they consider, among a handful of others, to be a master of his time. In short, the book is a real treat for any Asterix fan! While the authors felt privileged to be asked to contribute material, this album, which brings together different versions of Asterix, is firm evidence for our readers of the unique role the legendary series is destined to hold in the future pantheon of comic strips worldwide. Whichever plates you prefer will depend on your tastes, of course. They do however all draw heavily on the source code of the comic strip, which one day in August 1959 inspired two second-generation immigrants, Albert and René, relaxing on a balcony in the suburbs of "Lutetia", to create the most successful comic strip of the 20th century in something less than one hour!
This album is bound to enjoy a certain amount of success among Asterix fans as well as other readers of all ages. It just goes to show you that, more than any other Art, the cartoon brings together the eternal dreamers that we should always aspire to be.
The success of this book will also put extra weight behind Asterix in his new role, from Autumn 2007, as an official ambassador for a very important cause - the protection of children. Most of the profits from this project will go towards helping the charity Défenseur des Enfants to raise awareness among French secondary school children about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It shall therefore not be only a tribute, in honour of a man who in any case normally shuns the spotlight, but also a building block in global efforts to protect children.
Finally, I attach an exclusive (and pitiful) document, not to everyone's taste …
Asterix and Friends
Whether you read it, it depends
On going shopping on the 25th April
When the shops are bound to be filled!
Ernest McClix (infamous 21st century poet)

If you live in France, you have until 15 April to enter the competition to attend Albert's birthday. An unforgettable day is in store, so to find out more, click here!

At the book fair in Lutetia (Paris for you extraterrestrials), we were lucky enough to witness the gentle flutter of butterfly wings which, if the theory is to be believed, will one day, somewhere, have a positive consequence. Dorith meet Jamal, and Jamal meet Dorith!
Of course, they are not butterflies, but our Israeli and Syrian translators for the Asterix and the Magic Carpet album; they had been invited to talk about their work, the linguistic difficulties they faced, and the pleasure they found in translating Asterix in between some Proust, in one case, or some Maupassant, for the other… The central message of their appearance was to conclude the universal nature of the values found in René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo's Asterix books. Like the majority of their compatriot translators, researchers and intellectuals, they fail to understand why their region continues to suffer from the devastating fallout of hatred and violence.
The audience listened with interest, and especially appreciated hearing about those joyful moments when the translators found a way to adapt one of Albert Uderzo's many wordplays in this Oriental album written in 1987.
They spoke about peace, tolerance and secularism for a meeting that was truly inspiring.
Of course, it was also an opportunity to mark the publication in France, as well as in Israel and Middle East, of the respective albums in Hebrew and Modern Standard Arabic. Asterix, a messenger of peace? Well, if we can help in this respect, we shall certainly be glad to do so!