Wednesday, November 22, 2006

the delightful world of asterix and obelix

last couple of weeks, i have been spending every spare moment reading the delightful adventures of asterix and obelix. they have always been a delight to read and since the first comic book that papa bought us when i was around eight, till this day, they have never ceased to amaze me with their illustrations and story.

they are comics which i might have read some 20-30 times and yet when i read them the 21st or 31st time, i still find something in the drawings or in the dialogues which i find new and which brings a fresh peal of laughter. and it's hard to believe that these comics are as old as 1961 when rene goscinny, the writer, and albert uderzo, the illustrator, brought out the first french version of 'asterix the gaul'. since then 33 asterix books have been published. and all of them have been translated in over 100 languages! the best part though is that even in other languages, the translators have done full justice to the humour of these books. i mean, how else could you find a druid character who is named 'vitalstatistix' in the english translation and 'vaidyanatix' in the hindi version. and consider some of these names:
o) justforkicks - a gaulish teenager who thrives on speeding chariots, pop and rap music played on the lyre
o) dubius status - a roman centurion
o) noxius vapus - a roman envoy of julius ceasar, and so on...

the drawing style is superlative, and the text is full of satire and humour with allusions to social and political issues. also, goscinny and uderzo must have done some pretty good homework on their history. coz most of the historical incidents during julius ceasar's times appear as background of the stories. like the civil war between ceasar and scipio, and the betrayal of pompey, and the affair between ceasar and cleopatra.

all in all, these are books that are worth a treasure. i am thinking of buying all of the 33 in publication. although at the cost they sell (approx rs. 350/-), it literally will be a treasure.

for more details check out http://www.asterix-obelix.nl/