What a nice read about one of the best known European comics of all time! Asterix is famous in France, which immediately makes it one of the greatest, just like TinTin. However... there is a Belgian comic, that is well known in Holland, Sweden and several other countries as well. It's called 'Suske en Wiske' or Bob & Bobette in French. Made by the Antwerpian artist Willy Vandersteen in the 1940's and still going strong to this day, made by his successors. There is a podcastseries (in Dutch), in which I interview artist, fans and connoisseurs about the comics and the enormous amount of merchandise and spin-offs that have been made throughout the years: deperfectepodcast.nl of http://bit.ly/DPPonline for more information.
Another reason for the success of Asterix, in the UK at least, is the impeccable translation work of Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. Though visual humour is indeed a foundation of the series, the deft wordplay (and lettering) really brings it alive. Bell and Hockridge feel like co-authors of Asterix to me. More on them here https://auntymuriel.com/2012/12/23/asterix-in-translation-the-genius-of-anthea-bell-and-derek-hockridge/amp/
What a nice read about one of the best known European comics of all time! Asterix is famous in France, which immediately makes it one of the greatest, just like TinTin. However... there is a Belgian comic, that is well known in Holland, Sweden and several other countries as well. It's called 'Suske en Wiske' or Bob & Bobette in French. Made by the Antwerpian artist Willy Vandersteen in the 1940's and still going strong to this day, made by his successors. There is a podcastseries (in Dutch), in which I interview artist, fans and connoisseurs about the comics and the enormous amount of merchandise and spin-offs that have been made throughout the years: deperfectepodcast.nl of http://bit.ly/DPPonline for more information.
Another reason for the success of Asterix, in the UK at least, is the impeccable translation work of Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. Though visual humour is indeed a foundation of the series, the deft wordplay (and lettering) really brings it alive. Bell and Hockridge feel like co-authors of Asterix to me. More on them here https://auntymuriel.com/2012/12/23/asterix-in-translation-the-genius-of-anthea-bell-and-derek-hockridge/amp/