Asterix and the Golden Jubilee

French iconic comic series Asterix has turned 50. Kunal Majumder tracks the journey.

Some call it France’s most lucrative literary export. Fifty years on, Asterix is not only the most recognisable French comic character; Asterix books have sold 325 million copies in over 100 languages. When René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo created The Adventures of Asterix for comic magazine Pilote in 1959, their objective was simple. “What we wanted with Pilote was to create our own, home-grown comic strip heroes, because at the time youth magazines were full of comic strips from America,” Uderzo recalled at a recent press conference in Paris.

Goscinny set the adventures in 85 BC, in a Gaulish village that was resisting Julius Caesar’s Roman occupation. The eponymous hero of these adventures is the diminutive but fearless Gaul, Asterix, who is ever eager to rescue other Gauls in distress – as long as several Romans are knocked out in the process.

The smartest member of the village, he is chosen for many dangerous missions to far-off places like America, Egypt and even India. Yes, Asterix travels to India in the 28th  book, Asterix and the Magic Carpet. His mission might well be one that needs just such a hero today: bring rain to a parched land and rescue the daughter of Rajah Wotzit, Princess Orinjade, who is to be executed as a sacrifice to appease the gods. As in all his previous adventures, he uses his legendary wit and the strength given to him by his magic potion (druid Getafix obligingly makes a batch each time) to rescue the princess and, yes, bring rain as well.

His constant companion is his best friend Obelix—simple, loyal and the possessor of superhuman strength (because he fell into a cauldron of magic potion as a baby)—and Dogmatix the pooch. “I love the character of Obelix. He is stupid, yet so soft at heart. Goscinny and Uderzo created each and every character in the series with great detail,” says Keshav, cartoonist with The Hindu.

Apart from the strong characterisation, the humour in Asterix comics comes from sharp puns and clever wit, including the striking names of people such as the fishmonger’s wife (Bacteria), the tone-deaf bard (Cacofonix) and the oldest Gaul (Geriatrix). “I love the satire and the tongue-in-cheek humour in Asterix. Often, it reflected contemporary politics,” says pop star Palaash Sen. Although the fear of losing the jokes and the spirit in translation delayed the release of the initial books in other languages, the credit for translating the series into English goes to Anthea Bell and her co-translator, Derek Hockridge. Bell has been critically acclaimed for keeping the original French spirit intact. EP Unny, cartoonist with The Indian Express, feels the genius of Goscinny and Uderzo, along with Bell and her innovative puns, ensured the humour became much more universal. “The narrative format is so captivating and engaging that even through it is translated into English, the humour comes out clearly,” he says.

The golden jubilee of Asterix is a huge occasion in France. “Asterix is a bit like the Eiffel Tower,” says publisher Arnaud Noury. Concerts, exhibitions, artwork and a festival will take place in Paris. Elite fighter pilots from the French air force will perform an aerobatic display. The 34th book, Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday: The Gold Book was launched on October 22 to mark the occasion. The book, a 56-page collection of brand new short stories recounting Asterix and Obelix’s birthday celebrations, has an initial print run of three million.

For Uderzo, who first only illustrated the books but has carried on the work of creating the adventures after Goscinny’s death in 1977, the journey of Asterix—both as a book and character—in the last fifty years has been nothing less than a dream. Now 82, he wants his publisher to continue the series even after his death. In a radio interview in France, he said: “In those days, being a comic strip writer wasn't considered a proper job at all and it was very badly paid. But we didn't mind because we did it for the laughs.” Well, by allowing the creation of new work, even by minds other than his own, he’s ensuring that the world continues to laugh along with Asterix.