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 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

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.