Asterix the Gaul

[Patrick Thistle]

As the Tintin thread veered into a comparison to Asterix, how about an Asterix thread? Obviously everyone will have their favourite books. If I could only pick 5, they'd be:

Asterix and the Roman Agent
Asterix and the Big Fight
Asterix the Legionary
Asterix and Cleopatra
Asterix and the Goths

Obelix & Co. would probably be 6th.

After Asterix and Obelix, my favourite characters were Dogmatix and then maybe Getafix. Caesar was always quite a funny character. And I liked the hapless pirates.

The only film I've seen is Twelve Tasks. I never felt like watching any of the others. I sometimes feel like I work in The Place That Sends You Mad.

[Eggchaser]

I love Asterix. I used to have an audiobook version of Asterix the Gladiator narrated by the late, great, Willie Rushton, which was fantastic.

Being pseudy middle class types, we would buy the French originals on family holidays to the south of France.

I'm watching The Mansions of The Gods at the moment. If nothing else, it has got the enormous dust ball of fighting Gauls bang on.

[Nefertiti2]

Asterix and the Britains.

[San Bernardhinault]

My two favourites - but it may be that they were the ones I read at the right age to start getting all the puns:

Asterix at the Olympics
Asterix in Switzerland

I always preferred Asterix to Tintin. Of course, I read them both in translation not the original, and as a result Asterix was absolutely jam packed full of jokes. Tintin wasn't funny, so I didn't really understand the point of it. As a kid, my understanding was that cartoons are meant to be funny. It didn't dawn on me that it could just be drama, like reading Biggles with pictures.

[Levin]

Are there any books that are critically regarded as being better than others? I've just looked at the list and I'v eonly read a handful

the Gaul
and the Goths
and Cleopatra
in Britain
in Spain

I've probably read more but they've not stuck. Cleopatra is probably my favourite from those.

[Patrick Thistle]

I think there is a general consensus that the ones written by Goscinny were better than the more recent ones. The artwork improves considerably over time.

The most recent ones (Asterix and the Actress; Asterix and the Secret Weapon; Asterix and the Picts have been pretty bad imo)

[Sits]

I always preferred Asterix to Tintin. Of course, I read them both in translation not the original, and as a result Asterix was absolutely jam packed full of jokes. Tintin wasn't funny, so I didn't really understand the point of it. As a kid, my understanding was that cartoons are meant to be funny.

This, totally.

[ad hoc]

I think Cleopatra is my favourite. Mostly because of the repeated translation of hieroglyphics jokes

[Levin]

I've just discovered (the CL final is engrossing) that I had these two sites bookmarked.

A page about various translations.

This absolutely amazing collection of annotations both general and by the book including things like notes on translations, references and latin translations.

[Patrick Thistle]

Ooh, top stuff, Levin.