The latest Asterix album, set for release in October, features France’s favourite comic figure coming to the help of an enclave in the Iberian Peninsula, or modern day Portugal, besieged by the imperial Romans
YESSS i have been waiting for any news on the new Asterix comic! Also yeah they havent been in portugal yet. Its interesting how they are traveling all the time now and no outside force tries to conquer them from the inside again.
I just hope it wont be as dull as the last few. Maybe its me and i have just changed but the recent once dont feel like real Adventures anymore 🤷♂️
I just hope it wont be as dull as the last few.
I’m sure they’re trying their best, but to me it tends to highlight/underscore what a great writer Goscinny was. Very light-hearted and amusing on the surface, but with careful plotting and good source research to deeply satisfy the reader. I think it’s not talked about enough.
I’d say there’s also a certain trap lurking for the new writers, in that if 1) they try to spread their wings too much, then the comic will no longer seem authentic, but 2) if they try to follow the ‘rules’ too much, then it will be seen as a weak, imitative album. They have to somehow hit whatever rich, middle ground they can.
IMO it’s easier for the artist, in that they can keep practicing until they get as close as possible to Uderzo’s style, and their job is basically done. For the right professional I think that’s very possible, as we’ve seen.
OTOH, I feel like certain other series like Largo Winch, Thorgal, Les Schtroumpfs (specifically the one by “Tebo”) and the tribute albums to Lucky Luke (but not the main line) managed to be excellent under new teams. But it’s not easy, I guess.
The first comic of the new writes, Asterix and the Pics (dk the english titel) captured the essence of asterix best imo.
It really feels like one of the old adventures.
The most faar removed from the modern once was the daughter of verzingetorix. I didnt even read it fully. I couldnt. It lost me half way completely
I feel about the same (btw, en anglais, cela s’écrit “Picts”), and yeah, the Chieftan’s daughter seemed to me like too much of a re-tread of the young guy from the ‘Norseman’ adventure, but much less colorful. That’s part of why I didn’t enjoy the nutrition expert from the last one, White Iris, because he seemed too derivative of the Soothsayer, the Roman agent, the guy who promoted jealousy, the capitalist guy, and so forth. Also, at least for the États-Unis market, nutrition gimmickry was a much hotter topic around the 70’s-90’s, I’d say.
That said, occasionally there are small brilliant moments, like this one from Asterix and the Griffin: https://lemm.ee/post/3310802
The white iris and chieftans daughter felt so much like a person jab at teenagers and vegetarians/vegans by the writers ngl. Like making fun of online trends. While yes Asterix has used some “current time topics” it was never the main point of the story!
I fully agree with your point. White Iris is the same plot as fish guy roman agent. But it was better.
The same nutritional topic they also had in the asterix in china movie/book. And it was so out of character. “Oh i want to live more healthy so i dont drink magic potion anymore because i can do it on my own”. Asterix would NEVER do that. He sometimes is the first to go “hey we got the magic potion. That will help us!”
Axterix and the griffin, defenetly was okay and alike to okay adventures of old.
What i kinda would love to see is an adventure where, the allies are needed to be gathered and the village needs them to help them defeat a big threat that could actually be a absolute defeat if the romans do it. A high staked adventure!
Good points.
“Oh i want to live more healthy so i dont drink magic potion anymore because i can do it on my own”. Asterix would NEVER do that. He sometimes is the first to go “hey we got the magic potion. That will help us!”
I think that could have made sense if the potion was corrosive to the imbiber, like drugs or alcohol, but then of course that thread would have wound through the whole series from book one, and would have made it far more gloomy. Could be a really interesting alternate-universe album or mini-series, tho.
I hope we get to see Pepe and his father again :3
