In Asterix and Cleopatra this is often used for large buildings, but also for shade. Whilst the colours tend to be solid blocks, they do merge to give a sense of solidity and depth. The style of Asterix is sometimes called the Comic-dynamic. Although this is not a unified artistic school certain traits predominate such as the ligne Claire style of Tintin and Alix. The first thing you notice is that the drawing is exquisite. Cleopatra accepts and the adventure begins.

Caesar challenges her to build a new palace in three months. She says they are still able to build great masterpieces (like the pyramids). Queen Cleopatra and Julius Caesar are having a lover’s squabble about the Egyptians. This article was planned before the sad news, but is dedicated to Alberto Uderzo as an homage.Īsterix and Cleopatra, the sixth book in series, was written in 1965. My first introduction to the ancient world was (probably) through Asterix and my first introduction to Asterix was a VHS of Asterix and Cleopatra. These books will remain his artistic legacy. He published 34 books in the main series (23 with Goscinny). After that Uderzo took over writing until retirement in 2009. Uderzo and Goscinny worked on it until Goscinny’s death in 1977. In 1958 they founded Pilot. The first Asterix story appeared here in 1959. Goscinny and Uderzo met in the fifties when the worked for various comics ( Bandes-Desinees) including Tintin. Too young to fight, he experienced the privations, shame and compromises of occupation. Uderzo was a Frenchman of Italian extraction, he experienced racism as a child, partly because of anti-fascist sentiment before the war. Many family members were murdered during the war.

Goscinny was Jewish and his parents’ families came from Eastern Europe.

The books were first published in the economically expansive post war period when France was recovering from the war and finding its place in an increasing American world, from which it was both isolated linguistically but culturally (and racially) intertwined.īoth authors of Asterix felt like outsiders. Across its 34+ books, the series explores ideas of national identity in complex ways: playing with stereotypes and rewriting history. The Asterix series combines the high artistry and cultural ubiquity of Disney on the one hand and the urbane humour of the Simpsons on the other. Alberto Uderzo, the comic book artist who created the Asterix comic books, along with René Goscinny, passed away in his sleep in March 2020.Īlthough Asterix is popular across the world, in the UK and America we miss some sense of its massive impact in France.

Asterix and cleopatra animation style