Cassius Ceramix, an odious "Gallo-Roman" chief, who can be placated by two sestertii and the incarnation of all sycophants when faced with an invader ("Rome, sweet Rome!"), is a cocktail of foolishness, ambition and cowardice whom Asterix's authors have made the butt of all jokes.But he's certainly a sight to behold, such was the talent of Albert Uderzo in sketching this hideous, stupid and nasty character: with his sporadic, scruffy body hair, enormous limbs and chin, and his hilarious moronic expression, this mountain of muscles ranks highly among the most expressive creations by the Asterix cartoonist! Never slow to demonstrate his ardent "Romanness" ("Aqueducts are more Roman!", he declares) with his togas and "Ave"s, the very hypocritical Ceramix dreams of becoming the sole chief of Gaul. Abetted by the Romans Felonious Caucus and Nebulus Nimbus, he declares a "big fight" to seize control of the "Crazy Gauls' village" whilst they are perilously deprived of the magic potion. More in the EncyclObelix Vote for your favourite character! |
Monday 28 April 2008
The EncyclObelix: Cassius Ceramix
Friday 25 April 2008
Red Beard is over the moon with joy: here is a party in which his pirate crew is invited as a guest, not as a special present to be offered to Asterix and Obelix! Indeed, Albert Uderzo turns 81 today and the whole Asterix Village is gathering to wish him a happy birthday!
Friday 25 April 2008
The Asterix Translation Exchange
With Asterix, every day is another book fest! Now translated into 104 different languages and dialects, the most famous of all Gauls sees new publications added every day to his collection from all four corners of the Known World. It's high time therefore for an update on the latest releases…    Our German cousins' printing presses have been particularly busy where, in addition to the release of a number of spin-off publications from the Asterix at the Olympic Games film, successive albums from The Asterix Grand Collection have been put on sale in local shops. In the last few months, no fewer than four new titles have appeared: Asterix and the Banquet, Asterix and Cleopatra, Asterix and Son and Asterix and the Magic Carpet. Our Goth friends have even given a remarkable welcome to Oumpah-Pah the Redskin, Goscinny and Uderzo's first creation, with the recent publication of the complete series in a superb single volume.  
In the absence of The Grand Collection, English-speaking readers can now enjoy new high-quality omnibus editions. Omnibus, you say? The cousin of Manlius Claphamomnibus from Asterix and the Secret Weapon? No! An omnibus is actually an album containing no fewer than three complete adventures. Two volumes are already available, the first of which contains the first three Asterix albums, whilst the second one features the last three.Finally, in Brazil, the tribute album to Albert Uderzo, Asterix and Friends, has just been translated, whilst Turkish readers have finally been able to discover the Asterix and the Class Act album. Let it not be said that Asterix doesn't travel the world over! |
Wednesday 23 April 2008
There isn't much evidence of games being played in the Asterix albums. Whilst some of the Roman legionaries play cards, following the example of the wily clientele in the Drinklikafix tavern in Asterix and the Banquet, and whilst Asterix and Getafix can been seen playing dice in Asterix and Cleopatra, our heroes' favourite pastime undoubtedly consists of thwarting dear old Julius Caesar's plans… On this basis, each Asterix adventure becomes a game for our indomitable Gauls!    The most recent releases are a Connect4™ game worthy of Queen Cleopatra's finest architectural projects, and a highly charged Twister™ game that pits the Tadsilwenyans against the Nagmas. In the former you get to use pieces illustrated with the main characters from the Asterix and Cleopatra album on a board which depicts the Queen's royal galley. The second game puts your flexibility and suppleness to the test: in the company of characters from Asterix and the Falling Sky, you have to put your hands and feet on the mat in the correct positions as determined by the spinner. The aim of the game is to stay upright for as long as possible!
And now, the postman Postaldistrix has another new game for us! This time, it's roulette and the star characters are from Asterix and the Soothsayer - one can only imagine they hope to correctly predict the winning numbers! And a bit of gossip for you: Editions Atlas has already shown us some mouth-watering work in progress on some new forthcoming board game classics! But mum's the word: it will remain a well-kept secret so as not to spoil the surprise. In the meantime, you can discover the entire Asterix board games collection in a set of pages put together by Tapidesourix, which we will update as new games are released. Enjoy!From the Studio 56 archive, take a look at this amazing image of our heroes engrossed in a game of Twister! 
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Monday 21 April 2008
Brutus, the archetypal unworthy son, regularly provokes the anger of his adopted father Julius Caesar. In the album Asterix the Gladiator, the Emperor's judgement is final: "That Brutus… I can see I'm going to have trouble with him!". Relations between the two men, traditionally strained in the Asterix albums, are stretched to the limits of defiance and exasperation in the Asterix at the Olympic Games film, when it would seem that Caesar's thoughts, after witnessing the ongoing spectacle of blunders and skulduggery committed by his son, could be summarized most concisely when he bellows resoundingly "Stop fooling around, Brutus!".But quite to the contrary, Brutus persists. Driven by his enormous pride and commensurate thirst for power, he commits himself no less to taking part in the Chariot race at the Olympic Games! And his chariot has to be the most majestic of all: attached to four white stallions, it is decorated with a golden eagle, the symbol of the Roman Empire. 
You can now decorate your room with this magnificent chariot, thanks to the Asterix Quiz! Five copies from the superb collection of figurines of Brutus' chariot will be offered to the five lucky people who answer the five questions in our April quiz. Good luck to one and all! |
Friday 4 April 2008
- "Biffing" power 80, what about you?- Don't show off…with Artifis I am unbeatable in cunning and deceit, and with Boneywasawarriorwayayix I can beat anyone at being touchy! Such are the surprising playground conversations that René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo could scarcely have imagined… And the reason for these impassioned tirades is a new card game: Asterix Top Trumps! The aim is simple, and is like a battle exercise acted out in indomitable Gaulish style: on each card is an Asterix character, rated according to six categories from our heroes' universe: "Biffing" power, cunning, deceit, hyper-sensitiveness, appetite and strength of character. It gives everyone a chance, from Obelix to Tortuous Convolvulus and from Panacea to Timandahaf. To begin with, each player has the same number of cards, which they keep face down. One of them chooses a category, and each player then gives the corresponding rating for their character. The player with the best rating wins all the cards and leads the next hand. The winner is crowned when they have collected all the cards!  In all, there are 30 characters from the most famous Asterix adventures: the heroes (Asterix and Obelix, Panacea, Bravura and Impedimenta, etc.), along with the villains (Tortuous Convolvulus, Codfix, Prolix, Artifis, etc.) and certain "guest stars" (Anticlimax, Pepe, etc.).
And if you want to show off in the playground, Top Trumps has a bonus for you: a special issue card featuring Cleopatra, the Queen of queens! Her strength of character is guaranteed, as Julius Caesar tells us: "She's a nice girl, only her nose is so easily put out of joint… pretty nose too!" |