28 replies to this topic

[Gingerly Grumkin]

Gotta love Asterix! From the Jokes about Rome and Gaul to jokes about grammer and word play(which is so awsome since its written in so many languages)
Do you guys have any Asterix related stories? I have a few (or otherwise i wouldn't have done this thread)
I got my black Cat the day before halloween, so i named him Getafix.
One of my brother's roomates writes songs, he is ok with a guitar, but such a bad singer, so i nicknamed him Cacophonix.
And my parent's friends (who they met randomly) wrote a few Asterix (The American version, which kinda sucks i like the Brit one more) so thats pretty cool.
Also what's your fav Asterix comic? I would say mine is Asterix and Cleopatra, or The Chieftain's Shield
p.s. i saw a few Forumers with Asterix as their Avatar... awsome

[Happy Ent]

I think I like <i>Laurel Wreath</i> best (Les Lauriers de César). The story is good, but mostly I think Uderzo’s drawings are at their peak in the early 70s. It’s just jawdropping, and the atmosphere, with the muted colour schemes…

[Nukelavee]

So long since I've read them, but, man, I loved me some Asterix.

And Dogmatic.

Best story?

Hmmm - Me, aged 13, on an exchange program to Quebec.  French - minimal.  "Twin" host student?  A shit.  His family was amazing tho, great great people.

And one book, the novelization of ET, which I read once a day, every day, until... Mr Athot brought out his Asterix collection.  In French, of course.  Never did get much better speaking teh language, but, by gum, for a few years, I could read French.  If it had Gauls.

Favourite bit?  Obelix, in Britan, and his look when he sees the boar medallions with mint jelly.  His plaintive "LOOK!  Look what they've done to the poor things!".

[felice]

Ndrew of Typhgarian, on 05 March 2012 - 12:48 PM, said:

And my parent's friends (who they met randomly) wrote a few Asterix (The American version, which kinda sucks i like the Brit one more) so thats pretty cool.

There are different US and British versions? How different are they?

It's been a while, but I think my favourites were the Soothsayer and Cleopatra.

[Gingerly Grumkin]

felice, on 05 March 2012 - 02:47 PM, said:

There are different US and British versions? How different are they?

Yea the Brits and Americans are different authors/translators.
I can't remember any names specifically,(I think Vitalstatistix is not his name in the American version, and i cant remember his name) but some are different

[Iskaral Pust]

I had the entire series as a kid (or at least the entire series to that point).  I really enjoyed the humor.  Unfortunately there was a notable decline in quality after Goscinny's death. Uderzo is a great illustrator but his stories and humor were not at the same level.

The illustrations in the first few, particularly the Gaul and the Golden Sickle were very basic but they quickly improved.

I plan to buy the series for my son when he's a little older (and Tintin too), but I will have to make sure to get the British version even if it will be much more expensive.  I can't trust Americans to translate the humor.

[Roose Bolton's Pet Leech]

A couple of months ago I attended an Asterix-themed party, complete with Asterix-in-Switzerland fondue set ("the stick, the stick"!).

Favourites would be Asterix in Britain, and Asterix and the Black Gold (the oil slick is priceless).

[Dr. Tachyon]

I grew up with Asterix but haven't held any of them in my hands for a long time. Lost interest when Goscinny died. The stuff Uderzo did on his own just wasn't real Asterix to me. Might be interesting to revisit it.

I think the early ones have a lot of allusions to French politics and public life that are lost on non-French readers (which includes me). I wonder about the quality of the translations, too.

Edited by Someone, 06 March 2012 - 04:49 AM.

[The hairy bear]

I agree that the stories went downhill after Goscinny's death. The series became entertainment for kids.

Among my favourites there's Obelix & Co.

Edited by The hairy bear, 06 March 2012 - 04:52 PM.

[Lummel]

Anthea Bell translated the UK versions, she's won a bunch of prizes for her translating work - though not sadly for Asterix.  I read an article once, that I can't find, how she took with trembling hands a draft translation to Goscinny & Uderzo and how their eyes lit up seeing that she had used the expression "old fruit" (old fashioned English mode of address).

[Happy Ent]

Yes, I think Uderzo maintained a tolerable level of scripting for a few years, but the last few albums are just plain annoying.

Good thing he stopped after 31 albums. Much like they never made a Highlander sequel.

[Maltaran]

It's been a long time since I read any Asterix, but my brother and I had pretty much all of them.

[kuroishi]

Favorites... Astérix en Corse (in Corsica), Astérix en Hispanie (in Spain), Astérix légionnaire (the legionary)...
I agree that the first few ones after Goscinny's death weren't that bad, but the last few ones were mind-blowingly awful. Yet, I have very high hopes about the next one, since the guy he's picked up to write the scenario (Jean-Yves Ferri) is actually very good. His Retour à la Terre (with Manu Larcenet) and De Gaulle à la plage are both very clever and funny, in a non-obnoxious way.
And Uderzo won't be coming back to draw either, I really didn't think he had it in him to actually recognize that he had to step back, and to make sensible decisions about Asterix' future.

[Happy Ent]

Kuro, I didn’t know that. Who’s drawing? It’s a tall order, akin to taking over Franquin’s creations.

[kuroishi]

Frédéric Mébarki. Don't know much about him, except that he was Uderzo's assistant on his last albums... I'm not sure if it's good news...

[Happy Ent]

I can’t find a sample of his work. Apparently he inked some of Uderzo’s stuff. Can he draw?

I remain cautiously optimistic.

(Sigh. I just looked at some of the albums from the early 70s. Perfection.)

[Melpomene]

Asterix <3 happy memories.

Loved reading them (the originals, and hard to pick a favourite) as a kid. Just loved to cuddle on the couch with a chocolate icescreamcicle and just read for as long as I could.


Remember watching the cartoons and the liveaction movie also.


All in french too (Yay for being bilingual)


Still have the books   beside my Adventures of Tintin and Lucky Luke collection.






FYI, Idéfix Rules.

[Maltaran]

Melpomene, on 06 March 2012 - 02:45 PM, said:

FYI, Idéfix Rules.

Translating his name is one of the high points of the English translation - Dogmatix means the same thing, and includes the word dog within it.

[Revan Baratheon]

Huh i thought they stopped making new Asterixes a while back.There are new ones being made currently???

Anyway my favourite is: Asterix in Corsica

My favourite tintin is: Tintin in America

[htlocalization]

Games of Thrones & Asterix, I had to add my 2 cents !


Asterix translations are a model for the localization industry. I read all the original French version when I was a kid and a few of them in other languages later on to enjoy the subtleties of the translations.. Even just recently when the family moved to Madrid the first comic I bought for my kids was Astérix en Hispania. Had to be :-)

Hervé www.htlocalization.com