Asterix

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Asterix (originally Ast�rix) is the fictional hero of a series of comic books created by [[Ren� Goscinny]] and Albert Uderzo in France. The books have been translated into many languages (including Latin and ancient Greek) and are available in most countries. It's probably the most popular French comic in the world.

Asterix lives around 50 BC in a fictional village in northwest Gaul (Armorica), the only part of that country not yet conquered by Julius Caesar. The inhabitants of the village gain superhuman strength from drinking a magic potion prepared by the druid Getafix (originally Panoramix - names of all characters except "Asterix" and "Obelix" vary from one translation to another). Many books in the Asterix series have as their main plot the attempt by the Roman army of occupation to prevent the druid from making the potion, or the attempt to get some of it for their own use. Such attempts are inevitably foiled by Asterix and his friend Obelix.

The humour encountered in the Asterix comics often centres on anachronistic caricatures and tongue-in-cheek stereotypes of contemporary European nations and French regions. In Asterix and the Goths, for instance, the Goths are represented as militaristic and regimented, reminiscent of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Germans. The helmets worn by these Goths even resemble the German pickelhaube helmets worn up to World War I and one of their leaders bears an uncanny resemblance to Otto von Bismarck. The British are shown as polite, drinking warm beer or hot water (before the first tea has been brought to England by Asterix) and boiling all their food. Spain is the cheap country down south where people from the North vacation (and demand to eat the same food as they are used to at home). Some caricatures of the traits of certain French regions are also used (the people from Normandy cannot give a straight answer; the people from Marseille play boules and exaggerate matters...). Some of the side characters are caricatures of existing French people of the same era, particularly from television and the spectacles; in Obelix and Co., the young Roman bureaucrat is a caricature of young Jacques Chirac.

In spite of this stereotyping and the streaks of French chauvinism, it has been very well received by cultures around the world.

The stories also feature allusions to major artistic works (such as Pieter Bruegel's Peasant Wedding and Victor Hugo's story of the battle of Waterloo from Les Ch�timents in Asterix in Belgium), historical personalities (Napoleon, Louis XIV of France), famous places (Le Moulin Rouge).... [1]

However, in many other respects the series reflects life in the 1st century BC as accurately as can be expected from the medium. For example, the multistoried apartments in Rome- the insulae- has Obelix remarking that one man's roof is another man's floor and consequently "These Romans are crazy"- his favourite line.The text makes relatively regular use of original Latin proverbs, and allusions to Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico, a book about the conquest of Gaul, later used as an introductory text to Latin. Some jokes are made about Caesar's use of the third person to write about himself.

A key feature of the text of the Asterix books are the constant puns used as names of characters; The names of the two protagonists come from the French names for the asterisk and the obelisk. English language examples include the chief (Vitalstatistix), the druid (Getafix), the woeful bard of the village (Cacofonix), the fishmonger (Unhygienix), an old man (Geriatrix) with a young wife. Incidental characters often feature names like "Hiphiphurrax" and "Mykingdomforanos". This punning tradition occurs in other languages; for example, in the French original, the chief is called "Abraracourcix", derived from the phrase "a bras raccourcis" meaning 'with arms raised and ready, ready to punch'. The Egyptian in Ast�rix L�gionnaire is named "Courdet�nis" in French, "Ptenisnet" in English.

Contents

Asterix Albums

Goscinny and Uderzo

  • 1961 - Asterix the Gaul (Ast�rix le Gaulois)
  • 1962 - Asterix and the golden sickle (La serpe d'or)
  • 1963 - Asterix and the Goths (Ast�rix et les Goths)
  • 1964 - Asterix the gladiator (Ast�rix gladiateur)
  • 1965 - Asterix and the banquet (Le tour de Gaule d'Ast�rix)
  • 1965 - Asterix and Cleopatra (Ast�rix et Cl�op�tre)
  • 1966 - Asterix and the Big Fight (Le combat des chefs)
  • 1966 - Asterix in Britain (Ast�rix chez les Bretons)
  • 1967 - Asterix and the Normans (Ast�rix et les Normands)
  • 1967 - Asterix the legionary (Ast�rix l�gionnaire)
  • 1968 - Asterix and the chieftain's shield (Le bouclier Arverne)
  • 1968 - Asterix at the olympic games (Ast�rix aux jeux olympiques)
  • 1969 - Asterix and the cauldron (Ast�rix et le chaudron)
  • 1969 - Asterix in Spain (Ast�rix en Hispanie)
  • 1970 - Asterix and the Roman agent (La zizanie)
  • 1970 - Asterix in Switzerland (Ast�rix chez les Helv�tes)
  • 1971 - The mansions of the gods (Le domaine des Dieux)
  • 1972 - Asterix and the laurel wreath (Les lauriers de C�sar)
  • 1972 - Asterix and the soothsayer (Le devin)
  • 1973 - Asterix in Corsica (Ast�rix en Corse)
  • 1974 - Asterix and Caesar's gift (Le cadeau de C�sar)
  • 1975 - Asterix and the great crossing (La grande travers�e)
  • 1976 - Obelix and Co. (Ob�lix et compagnie)
  • 1979 - Asterix in Belgium (Ast�rix chez les Belges)

Uderzo

  • 1980 - Asterix and the great divide (Le grand foss�)
  • 1981 - Asterix and the black gold (L'Odyss�e d'Ast�rix)
  • 1983 - Asterix and son (Le fils d'Ast�rix)
  • 1987 - Asterix and the magic carpet
  • 1991 - Asterix and the secret weapon (La rose et le glaive)
  • 1996 - Asterix and Obelix all at sea (La gal�re d'Ob�lix)
  • 2001 - Asterix and the actress (Ast�rix et Latraviata)

External links

[[fr:Ast�rix]]


References

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