Thursday 26 October 2017

Asterix and the Normans by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - volume 9

Asterix and the Normans was the ninth adventure in the original run but is another that had its first English translation relatively late, being the twentieth of the original twenty-four stories to appear in this language. It's easy to see why (although the current editions restore the original French order). For much of this story's humour and background rests upon knowing something that may be common classroom knowledge in France, but which is less well-known here. Indeed that's probably why the translators didn't go down the obvious route, as the later film did, and change the title to Asterix and the Vikings.

Thursday 19 October 2017

Asterix in Britain by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - volume 8

And so we come to Asterix and Obelix's visit to Britain. The British have many, many, many (x infinity) clichés and stereotypes of the French so it's always interesting to see how they view us. Thus we get a straightforward tale of Asterix and Obelix crossing the channel to help the former's first cousin once removed, Anticlimax, and his village which is holding out against the Roman occupation. All they have to do is get a barrel of magic potion to the village but the Romans are onto them...

Thursday 12 October 2017

Asterix and the Big Fight by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - volume 7

There's a pattern emerging of the Asterix series alternating between volumes set in Gaul and those set in other countries. And the Gaul based adventures are starting to say a few things about occupation. This comes to the fore in the seventh volume, Asterix and the Big Fight, which parodies various aspects of colonialism.

Thursday 5 October 2017

Asterix and Cleopatra by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo - volume 6

It's not hard to spot the influence for this album, with the original serialisation having come in the same year as the film Cleopatra, with the title character even drawn to resemble Elizabeth Taylor. This album used to have a non-traditional cover that resembled a movie poster, calling it "The Greatest Story Ever Drawn" and even listing what had gone into it in terms of writing & drawing materials and beer. However, the modern editions have dropped this in favour of the overall standardisation of the series and perhaps also because the passage of time has diminished the parody. Still it's a sign of the series riding the cultural zeitgeist of the day and presenting its own take on the relationship between the Queen of Egypt (who has a very pretty nose) and the Roman Dictator.