Asterix : Search and Destroy

Sadly I haven't ever read Le Petit Nicolas as I cannot read French, I really wish I did because there's a ton of bande dessinée that I am completely dying to read, things like Michel Vaillant. Not long ago I was staying in Paris at a little hotel smack in the middle of passage Jouffroy called Hotel Chopin and there is a great, atmospheric little shop right there, Le Petit Roi, with the most fantastic selection of bande dessinée.

I would recommend those three new releases from Ferri/Conrad.

I jumped off at around Asterix & Son, which was at the time and I was 11, Belgium is probably the last great one, but I've been a bit nerdy and have been picking up first issues of the later ones for completeness' sake, plus they're cheap, I got 5 first issue hardbacks of later titles for £4 each. I will read them sometime I guess.
good

Going back through them has been fun, I have a copy of Big Fight coming which I recall not liking very much at all as a 9 year old, I bet it's good, some of the others I wasn't so keen on have been really enjoyable when I revisited, Roman Agent, The Soothsayer.

Sadly I haven't ever read Le Petit Nicolas as I cannot read French, I really wish I did because there's a ton of bande dessinée that I am completely dying to read,

Le petit Nicolas is mostly not BD and four or five volumes were available in English when I was a kid (the '80s)

Had no idea Asterix had a new writer, will have to check those out since yall recommend them. Feel like there's still a lot of potential with those characters, but most of the Uderzo stories were awful

Phaidon Press in the UK have reissued translations of all the Nicolas books:

https://www.phaidon.com/nicholas/

There are also two recent French film adaptations(which I haven't seen), both available as Region 2 DVDs - Petit Nicolas and Nicolas on Holiday

i was raised on a strict diet of Asterix books, which isn't true as i was actually raised on a strict diet of food which is why i'm alive today - but nevertheless, Asterix taught me to read in English and French, and also draw to some extent as I was obsessed with the artwork.

I think I acquired the books through random means - some of them were French hardbacks that belonged at my grandparents' house, others I'd get out the library, and I think I devoured pretty much all that I could. I don't think I had much of a filter or background knowledge as to which were part of the original series and which were Uderzo-only, but I definitely remember the Switzerland one being amazing and I'm looking forward to re-reading it.

My mum got me Asterix and the Picts for Christmas the other year. To be honest, I didn't even finish it. The plot was a bit dull and it just didn't feel like it had the same Goscinny spark. The most ridiculous one is the Magic Carpet one. Appalling really and a total shark jump.

Obelix & Co is definitely one of the best I reckon.

XXP - Thanks for the link Ward, that looks ace!

There are also two recent French film adaptations(which I haven't seen), both available as Region 2 DVDs - Petit Nicolas and Nicolas on Holiday

I haven't seen these; are they adaptations of the original Goscinny/Sempé stories?

There's been a recent(ish) TV series as well which I've watched a couple of in French and German on Youtube. I believe the plots are mostly new stories written by Goscinny's daughter and done in an unnervingly luminous bulbous-headed CGI style. They seem a bit didactic and nowhere near as charming or hilarious as the original books but NB my German is bad and my French is worse so they may just be getting lost in translation.

I had a much-loved 80s paperback of a Nicolas book in English as a kid - "Nicholas and the Gang Again", I think? tadpole/camera/football team - and will def look for some of the Phaidon reprints. Looks like they're translated by Anthea Bell so I have high hopes.

Might have to get to That London for the Asterix/Goscinny exhibition too. Thanks, MaresNest!

The most ridiculous one is the Magic Carpet one.

nuh-uh, the most ridiculous one is The Falling Sky, I'm p. sure. don't read that one, anyone

although the fact that I read Magic Carpet aged 8 and Falling Sky aged 38 might not help

are they adaptations of the original Goscinny/Sempé stories?

I believe so, APS - here's the wiki link to the first movie (which was released in 2009, so not quite as 'recent' as I thought):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Nicholas

xp don't think i've read the falling sky. I seem to remember unicorns being in the Magic Carpet (!?)

Falling Sky has flying saucers and an alien with superpowers. It's pretty terrible and really didn't need to exist - in fact I feel bad even mentioning it, as it would be much better if we could all pretend it didn't. Not sure if it's better or worse that the innocuous title just made me think "ah, those Gauls, always worrying about the sky falling on their heads" rather than giving a clue to the true horrors within.

I don't remember much about the Magic Carpet tbh. I remember going to buy it with my birthday book token when it was new out and I do remember it being slightly disappointing even then but have blanked out any unicorns. It's probably the only Asterix book I got as a child which I've never felt the need to re-read, but I probably still have it somewhere, so if I feel brave I'll jog my memory...

Would be interested to know everybody's favourites.

No unicorns in Magic Carpet to my recollection - it's an Arabian Nights riff.

My fave as a kid was Legionary.

Peak period for me would be roughly 68-72, and especially

Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (my number one favourite)
Asterix and the Roman Agent
Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield
Asterix and the Cauldron
Asterix in Switzerland

The Nicolas stories had nice English paperbacks in the 80s; they've been reissued as fancy Phaidon hardcovers, which in the usual Phaidon style are pretty to look at but annoying to hold and read. Either way, they're great - quite low-key, and excellent translations as usual by Anthea Bell. They're closer in spirit to Emil & The Detectives than Asterix.

The Goscinny stories are incredibly consistent - almost every book was a favourite at one point or another in my childhood. and it's amazing how different the stories are, given that the main characters never change from book to book. Probably easier to list the ones I like less: Great Crossing, Asterix the Gaul, Belgium - but that's about it.

I suppose Chieftain's Shield is the exception to the rule about the characters never changing - it's a weirdly deep character dive into Vitalstatix - I always felt quite sad, finishing the book, when the character returns to usual self.

I saw the first Petit Nicolas movie when it came out and remember it as pretty close to the source material. Those books are great - just as chaotic as Asterix in their way. Stuff I remember includes the kids strategizing to attack older kids by kicking them in the shins and the one where the rich kid shows up on picture taking day dressed as an astronaut.

Laurel Wreath is a great one, it's interesting when the tone deviates slightly for a whole book and LW is almost a little salty by comparison. The in medias res style beginning, Vitalstatistix's rather aggressive hubris in the face of his Brother In Law's flexing and the weird mood that Asterix and Obelix are in on the first page, not to mention the drunken Zigackly! and Ferpectly!

Yeah, I noticed a little while ago that the Wiki entry for Laurel Wreath claims

This is by far the most adult-oriented of all the Asterix stories. It includes drunkenness, human slavery, debauchery, particularly graphic violence, androgyny, and instances of humour requiring (for Asterix) an unusually sophisticated knowledge of art and history to fully understand it. There is an implicit acknowledgement of this in that Dogmatix (a favourite with younger readers) makes only a token (2 panel) appearance, and the lettering in the original version of this album uses a style more cursive and difficult to read than usual, again discouraging younger readers (the updated version released in 2004 uses the same lettering style as all the other Asterix stories).

But I like it as much for all the family stuff, which again seems to cut a little deeper than in other Asterix albums - the conflict between the chief and his brother-in-law (the dinner party sequence at the beginning might just be Goscinny/Uderzo's finest moment), the alienated father and son reunited by Asterix and Obelix.

No food on earth tastes as delicious as the grilled boars in Asterix look.

*Scronch* *Scronch* *Scronch*

the conflict between the chief and his brother-in-law (the dinner party sequence at the beginning might just be Goscinny/Uderzo's finest moment)

ZIGACKLY!

thanks to this thread i've just laid down for the Asterix Omnibus that includes Laurel Wreath, Switzerland, Mansion of the Gods, plus I bought Chieftain's Shield separately. Can't wait to revisit these

That's a great run. I'll second Asterix the Legionary as a personal favorite

XP - Yeah that is a good selection, those are some of my very favourites.

Got a first edition hardback of Big Fight in the post from eBay today, was never sure about it though, I remember really not liking the transformation of Getafix, as a kid.

Was down in London for a few days, and managed to get to the Goscinny exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Camden - highly recommended to anyone with an interest in post-war European humour comics. The exhibition is smallish, but very nicely presented and contains a surprising number of original pages. I had never seen an actual page from an Asterix album before and here there are five, including the first page of Laurel Wreath; there are also pages from Iznogoud, Ompa-pa, a western strip by the legendary Jijé, and some really gorgeous Nicholas originals - I took a shaky snap of this one:

http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa362/Andrew_Littlefield/P1030584_zpsjlhbmbs4.jpg

I must get to see this soon!

So I was knocking around on eBay yesterday, I've been trying to complete a set of hardback first editions and I'm looking at ...The Gaul, so expensive for what isn't really a very good story, but I found out that there are officially sanctioned translations of a few of the stories into Scots slang, so I purchased 'Asterix The Gallus' and also TinTin's 'The Derk Isle' it's going to be pretty weird but interesting.

RIP Anthea Bell:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/18/anthea-bell-magnificent-translator-of-asterix-and-kafka-dies-aged-82

RIP. My school French teacher always said her translations were funnier than the originals.

Nooooooooooooooooooo

Didn't realise she'd translated Kafka! Definitely gonna pick that up. Some of the old translations are dire!

This new one that just came out looks gorgeous but the story is ever so slight, sadly.

I have recently watched the latest Asterix animation movie (the secret of the magic potion).
It's nicely done and manages to recreate the spirit/humour of the original books.

but the story is ever so slight, sadly.

Has there been one since, generously, 1981 of which you wouldn’t say this?

You're right, Black Gold was the last decent one until the 2013 comeback of sorts with The Picts.

The three since then, I found to be really enjoyable, but this new one is lagging far behind, which is a shame because the art is absolutely on point.

Translation/interpretation must be so difficult and that's when I realised how vital Bell & Hockridge were to the process.

RIP Albert Uderzo (to be fair, I didnt even realize he was still alive)

aw RIP

and I didn't post here to say RIP Anthea Bell, so that too

Oh no! But what an incredible legacy.

I read an Asterix book for the first time in years recently, Asterix and the Cauldron. It’s not one of the best - although the marketplace scene is a classic (the “BOOOOOOOAAAARSSSS” bit) (and the avant-garde theatre troupe) (and other bits, probably).

Uderzo’s drawings of Obelix are incredible throughout, though - it’s amazing how much facial expression he gets out of a character who doesn’t have a mouth 90% of the time.

Spotted on Facebook - Leicester Chronicle story about Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge from 1969:

https://scontent.fman2-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/s960x960/90594706_10157958261326832_1418784090512949248_o.jpg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=TgY0dQcrzsUAX8FX6GV&_nc_ht=scontent.fman2-2.fna&_nc_tp=7&oh=11304ae4d48786c64d549dc3fe0b7c9b&oe=5E9EFEFF

Wow. Love that <3

Mr Roy Oddling (what a name) is the Pete Best of the Asterix story here, I guess

"it’s amazing how much facial expression he gets out of a character who doesn’t have a mouth 90% of the time."

ahah. never thought of it that way !

New one arrived today, again, the art is great, very faithful. The storyline looks like it might be a retread of '& The Roman Agent', but with a new-age type infiltrating the village and putting ppl at loggerheads.

One thing though, it's very dense, high panel count on most of the pages, more text.

Have any of the new lots’ books been worth reading? Magic Carpet must’ve been the last semi-decent one from Uderzp.

I don't think these fake Asterixs are a patch on the fake Blake and Mortimers that Cinebooks put out.

The B&Ms have the benefit of never being that good in the first place

a little surprised how much i enjoyed it -- asterix wasn't especially high on my list as a kid, and the big fight seemed like a lesser episode even at the time* -- but the animated five-part 3D animated mini-series that just dropped on netflix,astérix et obélix : le combat des chefs, is terrific: the animation is excellent (actually genuinely lovely sometimes, colourwise and in the less er figurative stretches), the story is beefed up to include caesar as a character and related lore (including cleopatra scene & gag), the tweaks are all improvements (village more fully peopled, with figures familiar from later eps who aren't really in the book; better rounded women characters) and it's well written: the A/O relationship (heart-buddies who sometimes get tetchily fed up with each other) is especially nicely managed -- this element not really in this book but i guess ported in from later in the franchise at large? plus while they mostly keep to respective character names in voiceover (french) vs subs (english), viz idéfix vs dogmatic, they call getafix (always a bad name that riled me) panoramix in both. also in this version what befalls him doesnt feel quite so undignified…

*or perhaps just for smaller kids than me? the original is of course very slapstick in focus**
**in conclusion yes it's for kids but you will like it too

Oh thanks for the heads up. Big Fight was the first Asterix I ever read, part of a promotional giveaway of Asterix books from a petrol station chain in the 1970s! Agree that it's probably a 'younger' read than something like Asterix and the Roman Agent but I remember all the 'Gallic-Roman' stuff flying well over my head even so...

Thanks for that! Will definitely watch, I never really got on with Big Fight as a kid, I think I just didn't like seeing Getafix losing his marbles to such an extent.