Asterix

Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. After Goscinny's death in 1977, Uderzo also took over the job of writing the series. The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959. As of 2009, 34 comic books in the series have been released. This October, the series will complete its 51 years.


The series follows the exploits of a village of ancient Gauls as they resist Roman occupation. They do so by means of a magic potion, which gives the recipient superhuman strength. The protagonist, the titular character, Asterix, along with his friend Obelix have various adventures. In many cases, the stories have them travel to various countries around the world, though other books are set in and around their village.

The Asterix series is one of the most popular Franco-Belgian comics in the world, with the series being translated into over 100 languages.

The success of the series has led to the adaptation of several books into 11 films; eight animated, and three with live actors. There have also been a number of games based on the characters, and a theme park near Paris, Parc Astérix, is themed around the series. To date, 325 million copies of 34 Asterix books have been sold worldwide. Astérix was originally serialised in the magazine Pilote, in the very first issue published on 29 October 1959. In 1961 the first book was put together entitled Asterix the Gaul. From then on, books were released generally on a yearly basis.

Asterix, the hero of these adventures is a shrewd, cunning little warrior; all perilous missions are immediately entrusted to him. He gets his superhuman strength from the magic potion brewed by the druid Getafix...

Obelix, Asterix's inseparable friend is a delivery-man by trade; addicted to wild boar. Obelix is always ready to drop everything and go off on a new adventure with Asterix - so long as there's wild boar to eat, and plenty of fighting.