h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Adventures of Asterix and Obelix - A2750230
Author: Otto "the Badger" Fisch (Scout) (14 shirt) (contributions needed for a collaborative Futurama edited entry update at A1928054) - U182089


Just an idea at the moment - all contributions very welcome!

Hopefully I'll be able to get back to you once I've got back to my copy of the Complete Guide. In the meantime...

Asterix started out in serialised form in the periodical Pilote. Goscinny and Uderzo had been looking for something quintessentially French that could be made to appeal to a wide age range, and had settled on the folk tale of Reynard the Fox. However, it turned out that a Reynard comic had already been done -- so, back to square one, Goscinny and Uderzo began looking through the major periods of French history. One of them -- I think it was Goscinny, but I can't remember clearly -- thought of the way in which the image of Vercingetorix laying down his arms at Caesar's feet is taught in French schools, and had the idea of subverting it by having Vercingetorix drop his arms _on_ Caesar's feet (which happens at the beginning of Asterix the Gaul).

We really must have something on Parc Asterix -- www.parcasterix.com/

There have been various tie-in computer and video games -- http://atari.com/asterix/ (I have Asterix and Obelix for the original GameBoy; it's okay qua platformer, although it gains nothing from the licence.)

http://www.asterix.tm.fr/

http://lcg-www.uia.ac.be/~erikt/asterix/welcome.shtml

http://www.asterixcentral.com/

www.asterix-obelix.nl

http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/asterix.htm

Back later...

Count me in...

I just need to check one or two [or even more] things first...



loup

OK, I'm a CWW virgin so how do thing work around here?

Unfortunately, my collection remains at my parent's house so I have no direct reference material. However, I'm more than willing to review give my opinion and help with structure etc.

My main concern about the proposed contents are that facts would become out of date (unless, I suppose it is phrased like between the years of...).

l8r

It's ok... Just post what you remember and one of us can try to find more details if necessairy... I'm myself refreshing my memory by browsing some French and Belgian sites... A good thing I did though as I was going to post about the magazine "Pilote" thinking of another one...

When the time comes to update some of the infos after the entry has been edited, it's no big deal... That can be done through another process...

I'm working tonight so I won't be able to post much, but I've got two little things that could be useful to start with... In my next posting...

loup

Here we go: two "in house" sources of info to start with...

A565616 Portrayal of the British in Asterix Books [an Edited one ]

and A23329 Asterix [this one is not edited... and the author has done an "Elvis" (left the building) but, if some infos from his entry are used, perhaps we could still credit him?!...]

Talk soon...

loup

As well as the major characters there are a number of minor re-ocurring characters that need a mention, such as the pirates that always end up wrecked.

Structure-wise I am quite pleased with the set-up I have for other entries on a series of books I'm trying to do at the moment (on Pratchett - A2372447 and A2448560) - feel free to plagiarise/plunder if you like.

That was ...

I've finished working nights until Tuesday, so [hopefully] I will be able to post some of the results from my "memory refreshing through browsing French and Belgian sites" activities pretty soon now...

Back soon[ish]...

loup

Here we go... Some stuff which _might_ be useful for the Entry.

More coming soon[ish]...

----------------------------------------------

René Goscinny [14 August 1926 - 5 November 1977]

French born René Goscinny went to the USA, when he was 19, with the hope to meet Walt Disney. He never met the father of Mickey Mouse but, instead, became friend with Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis and Will Eldero [the "gang" who will eventually be behind the magazine "Mad"]...

In the early 1950s, he travelled a lot for the studio he worked for and met Albert Uderzo in Paris...

In 1956, Goscinny and Uderzo, wanting to promote the job of comic books artists and make it more respectable/respected, wrote the controversial "Charte des Dessinateurs" ["Comic Books Artists' Charter"?!] which landed them in the comic books publishers' bad books... But, they eventually got the golden opportunity to start their own publishing company (Edifrance) and on the 29th of October 1959 the weekly magazine "Pilote" was born...

Goscinny is also known for many other projects and has written many scenarios for comic books characters... Lucky Luke and Iznogood being among them.

--------------------------------------------------


Miscellaneous/trivia:

In 1965, The first French satellite was named Asterix...

Asterix and Obelix's adventures can also be found in Esperanto and Latin...


-------------------------------------------------------


[I didn't really want to mention that Goscinni had spent most of his childhood in Argentina as I didn't think that was _that_ important for the Entry...]

Excellent stuff. I'll try to add some more in the next few days.

Here is another bit regarding Goscinni...:

In 1974, with Uderzo and Georges Dargaud [Dargaud is the publisher for the Asterix Books] he started the "Studios Idefix", giving us the "Douze travaux d'Astérix" ["Twelve tasks of Asterix"?!] in 1976.
And, with the same studios starting to work on "The Ballad of the Daltons" [Lucky Luke] before he left this world, Goscinni had eventually managed to achieve his first dream [animation] after all...


----------------------------------------

I don't know how to put that bit but Goscinni also worked in the movies business as a scenarist/writer...




loup

Doh!!!...

>Dargaud is the publisher for the Asterix Books< is supposed to read >Dargaud was the publisher for the Asterix Books<

Just noticed my mistake while reading something on Uderzo... It seems that, after the death of Goscinni, Uderzo started his own publishing company.. Hopefully that bit will become clearer once I have posted something about him...



loup

Les Editions Albert-Rene, I think (using both names even after the death of the owner of one of them).

Idefix is Dogmatix's French name -- from 'idée fixe' (I hope I've got that right), because the little dog who appeared outside a butcher's shop in Banquet, and followed Obelix unnoticed for the rest of the story, was so popular with readers that he was brought back as a fully-fledged character in following books, becoming a 'fixed idea'. The Studios Idefix logo is a parody of the MGM one, with Dogmatix instead of the lion, and the motto 'Art for Art's Sake' being replaced by 'These Romans are crazy'. (I can't remember the Latin; in a week or two I'll be able to check the Complete Guide.)

Goscinny and Uderzo hated Dargaud, although I can't remember the reason why.

If you're going to have a reference to Iznogoud (script by Goscinny, images by Jean Tabaray), how about one for Oompah Pah? There's a reference to Iznogoud in Magic Carpet, and Oompah Pah appears in one image in the book of Twelve Tasks.

RE: Oompah Pah... Yep...

--------------------------

In 1981, Goscinny was caricaturized by Uderzo in his second solo story "L'Odyssée d'Astérix" and became a character named Saül Péhyé...

---------------------------



loup

Some infos on Uderzo [and probably more on Goscinni] coming soon..

Obviously feel free to use/incorporate/assimilate/etc the infos as you see fit...

One thing I was wondering though... Wouldn't it be a good idea to make it a two-part [or more] entry...?! You know, with one part about Goscinni/Uderzo, [their bios,their influence on the French speaking comic books' world etc...] and an overview of the Asterix phenomenom [There are so many incredible facts about it that it seems a "sacrilege" to have to ignore some because of space restriction]... and the other parts, err like you said really...

It's the 45th birthday of the two Gauls this year... What a great way to celebrate it by contributing to this entry methinks...

Hmmm... Back to work...

loup

Stop the press!!!!!



Just found out that there are some pirate Asterix books in existence... "Asterix in Victoria" and "Asterix and the Nuclear Power Station" being two of them and being the most known and talked about it seems...

Watch this space...

---------------------------

Lost in Translation:

Bacteria's name in French was/is Ielosubmarine, pronounced Yellowsubmarine... Yep, like the song...

------------------------------



loup

After forgetting about this for ages, I've finally got around to putting together a summary of useful information from the Complete Guide. Trouble is, I've included so much I'm worried that it might fall foul of the copyright section of the House Rules if I post it here (although I've credited the sources of all direct quotations). Should I risk it, and let more knowledgeable people than I yikes it if appropriate, or should I take requests to e-mail it to interested parties rather than post it here for all the world to see?

Hmmmm... Tricky one indeed... To be on the safe side it might be better to email the info to Otto... Then he will be able to pick and choose what he wants to use and put it in his own words...

The info are probably public knowledge anyway but still, better safe than sorry...

I took an extended break from this thread... I thought I might give Otto a chance to recover from reading my postings... Well, that's my excuse anyway...

I've got side-tracked as well in the process... But, it was a very fruitful side-track and that got me a nice shiny badge from <./>ThePost</.>...

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I'm still around...

Talk [very] soon...

loup

If Otto's e-mail address is on his P.S. I've overlooked it. Most of the info is in the public domain, but you know how careful the BBC has to be... It would be best if we all had easy access to the information so that we could all discuss what ought to go in, but it would be awkward if it suddenly vanished.

I don't think this has to be massively detailed re background etc. I think it'll be enough if we can find some interesting facts that most people won't know about the authors/means of production, and then stick to the books themselves for the rest of the entry. I've only got intermittent access to the interweb for the next ten days or so, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to this after then.

Otto