 The year is 1966 AD. The Roman invasion is nothing more than a distant memory from the times of our "Gaulish ancestors". The "pop years" are upon us and all of Gaul appears transfixed by songs from the first modern musical celebrities. However, two authors are still holding out with stories of indomitable Gauls: René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo are in place, on the top floor of Printemps, in Paris, ready for a marathon book-signing session to mark the release of the seventh Asterix album, Asterix and the Big Fight. The staging is set and the scene easy to imagine: all of Printemps is occupied by legions of Asterix fans. Really, you say? Well, actually no, as Albert Uderzo recalls with humour, in his book Uderzo se raconte: "It was a great disappointment because not a single reader came to have their book signed. The wait was incredibly long, and we began to wonder why. We suddenly heard a commotion and a crowd moving about on the floor below, when an employee appeared and grinned as he told us that Sheila was downstairs, signing her latest LP. She had apparently just arrived from a tour in Brussels and had told everyone that she was taking the latest Asterix album back in her luggage! We would have been very happy that day to sign it for her if she had only known that we were right upstairs on the floor above!"  No man is a prophet in his country, concludes Albert Uderzo, recalling that the creative tandem of the most famous Gaul has long been wrongly considered to be Belgian! Times change, but the effects of the Asterix magic potion are still overwhelming: the book-signing session on Tuesday, 18 March 2008, at the Paris Book Fair took place amongst the glare of flashbulbs from Asterix fans' cameras. Sitting at a little table on the edge of the Asterix stand, under a big screen showing an Asterix animated feature in 3D, Albert Uderzo met with 100 of his fans who had pre-registered for the session. In the alleyways of the fair, a new game was starting: "I'm 22, what are you?", "66" and so on. A certain Numbersix might even have become a permanent resident of the Asterix village… Throughout the fair, hundreds of readers swarmed happily around the Asterix stand, much to Albert Uderzo's great pleasure. This year, three titles in particular had won people's hearts: the book of the film Asterix at the Olympic Games, the comic strip album Asterix at the Olympic Games and How Obelix fell into the magic potion when he was a little boy, which all had their place at this stand that took us back to childhood and the village of our long-time heroes. And that is the greatest success of René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo: allowing us to continue living out our childhood dreams! |
Friday 28 March 2008
Albert Uderzo’s autograph sessions
Friday 21 March 2008
Asterix and pieces of silver and gold
 Normally in Asterix albums, it's the Romans who are left to pick up the pieces after receiving a volley of blows powered by the magic potion… But when sestertii and other coins of the realm are concerned, it's Curius Odus who gets his hands on tax receipts to mount his orgies in Asterix in Switzerland, or a certain Surplus Dairiprodus who organizes a lucrative traffic in golden sickles to fool the enemy.Our indomitable Gauls on the other hand are more likely to start fish fights with "fresh Lutetian catches" or to send a little menhir as a token of friendship. Furthermore, where sestertii arrive in the Village, peaceful local harmony is shattered, and the experiment is quickly abandoned, as can be seen in famous documents on daily life in Gaulish times, such as Asterix and the Cauldron or Obelix and Co. But nothing could be further from the truth this time, since these coins are reserved for collectors, minted by the Monnaie de Paris. There's no way you can use them to buy your wild boar breakfast! But in any collection worthy of its name, these coins illustrated with Asterix designs are bound to make an impact - be quick, it's a limited series!   Here's the list:
Discover all the Asterix coins on Asterix.com |
Thursday 20 March 2008
Games and contests - Video games
This time, the Queen of queens Cleopatra has taken the time to change into her royal regalia: after all, it isn't every day that you can pull the arrogant mocking figure of Julius Caesar down a peg or two - one of the queen's own subjects, Youssef Sharaf, is among the winners of our February Asterix quiz. As far as Cleopatra's concerned, it's yet more proof that the Egyptian people have a grain of genius!Four other indomitables have also won a copy of the album of the film Asterix at the Olympic Games: Willy Nootens, Catherine Vial, Philippe Jossaud and Nathalie Leroux Vella. Julius Caesar, the good sport that he is, has had to bow down to the superiority of the Egyptian people… However, it has been rumoured that entire Roman legions specially trained with "wiimotes" will be taking part in our March Asterix quiz, which offers you the chance to win Asterix at the Olympic Games video games for the Nintendo Wii. Cleopatra's official interior decorator is already trembling in fear for the Queen of queens' invaluable collection of vases! |
Tuesday 18 March 2008
Asterix and the Black Gold in Hebrew
Edition - The Translation Exchange
 Guest of honour this year at the Paris Book Fair, Israel has celebrated our little Gaul for one year now. The 2007 release of Asterix and the Magic Carpet in Hebrew (in France by Editions Albert René in conjunction with the publication of Asterix and the Magic Carpet in Arabic, and in Israel by the Modan publishing house) was all the talk of last year's Paris book fair.So it gives us great pleasure today to announce the release in Israel of a new publication in Hebrew, Asterix and the Black Gold. This work is rich in meaning and significance, as our heroes Asterix and Obelix travel through the land of Palestine, discovering on their way the little village of Bethlehem and silencing the wails of the spy Dubbelosix in front of the Wailing Wall… To prepare for this album, Albert Uderzo went on a field trip so as to be able to faithfully recreate the local flora and thus respect the surroundings - "something you cannot make up". "The scenery has to appear authentic, it lends more credibility to the story and that in turn adds depth to the characters. And what's extraordinary is that the scenery can change totally over a distance as small as 40 miles" he revealed in an interview given to Tribune Juive magazine.  Fascinated by the "incredible scenery" before his eyes, Albert Uderzo took a great many photos which he used when drawing. Similarly, the splendid view we see of Jerusalem 2000 years ago was inspired by his discovery of a model of the old city in the time of King Solomon's reign.Albert Uderzo also visited Massada, "where a group of Jews committed mass suicide to avoid being taken prisoner by the Romans, led by General Flavius Silva, leaving just one behind… to bear witness". Whilst the struggle of the Jewish people against the Roman occupier is one of the key themes of the album, this historic episode which took place 20 years following Asterix's trip is not mentioned, in order to preserve a certain coherence in the dates. Impressed by the surroundings, the author nevertheless depicted part of the large rocky outcrop of Massada on the album cover. 
More than anything, the Asterix and the Black Gold album is a tribute to Uderzo's departed friend René Goscinny, to whom the character Saül Ben Ephishul bears a striking resemblance. An anecdote of Albert Uderzo's from his book Albert Uderzo se raconte, gives us some insight into the emotional power behind this tribute: "Not very long before René left us, my wife and I spent several days in René and Gilbert Goscinny's apartment in Cannes. And one morning I astonished René, telling him about how I had dreamt that I was hovering and flying over Jerusalem, bathed in golden sunlight under a brilliant blue sky, even though I had yet to visit this city. When I later visited for real, it was as if I recognised everything."Today things have come full circle, as 30 years on Asterix and the Black Gold will see its Hebrew title amended to "Jerusalem of Gold". |
Thursday 13 March 2008
The EncyclObelix : we've found Dogmatix!
Encyclopedia - The official asterix.com website
Some of you can't half be dogmatic! Since we suggested you play at being picture detectives, hunting for the miniscule Dogmatixes scattered throughout Le Livre d'Astérix le Gaulois, some of you insist you've found Dogmatixes everywhere! That's right, you've all been captivated by this game, and our letterbox has been overflowing with your finds!
As soon as Missive 76 was dispatched, the first answers came flooding back. Hats off to Simon, an Asterix fan from Quebec - with 69 correct answers sent to us in two batches, he's the Grand Champion! This brave reader put his all into the fight, as evidenced by the progressive accumulation of typing mistakes and other errors in the names of characters... Keep it up, Simon!
It would seem, if the times when he sent his emails was anything to go by, that Simon treated the event both as a sprint and a marathon. Here's to an indomitable Gaul for whom hunting Dogmatix should become an Olympic sport!
Next, in the top V of our Gaulish Hall of Fame come Virginie (65 Dogmatixes), Romain (65), Renaud (64) and Joseph (64). Thanks go to everyone for their contributions which have enabled us to update the page listing all Dogmatix's appearances. Please note that answers are only visible to those who wish, in order not to spoil the fun for everyone who has yet to play the game. They can then become Dogmatix hunting "addicts", just like Marc (14 Dogmatixes) who ended up writing to tell us that this game was "too enthralling"!
But listen here Marc, it's not over yet! In fact we're still waiting to hear where Dogmatix is hidden on the double page II-III. It has to be said though that it's very, very difficult to locate him… so we are calling one last time for your Gaulish flair for the hunt. Good luck to one and all!
Wednesday 12 March 2008
Asterix Quiz competition : videogames to be won !
Games and contests - Video games
For a few months now, the Asterix.com quiz, themed around the release of the Asterix at the Olympic Games film, has enjoyed considerable success. The prizes on offer to the very best Asterix experts - including video games and books of the film - have attracted a large number of participants, much to our delight. But our druids and judges who oversee the strict rules of these quizzes have been aware of some confirmed doping cases, ungainly behaviour from indomitable Asterix fans! Some of them, surely due to an uncontrollable desire to click the mouse, have gone as far as to register dozens of entries in their name in just a few minutes!
It's high time for a reminder: using magic potion to try to improve your chances in the Asterix Quiz is forbidden. These "mouse pirates" can start saying their prayers, as their untimely hijack attempts are doomed to forever end in shipwrecks, by Toutatis! For all the rest of you, our Asterix Quiz is a new chance for you to win the Asterix at the Olympic Games video game, this time for the Nintendo Wii. Up to a million Romans waiting to be confronted in scuffles, a harsh test for even the pros of the "Wiimote"!