Asterix
Asterix (originally Astérix) is the fictional hero of a series of comic books created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in France.
The books have been translated into many languages (including Latin and ancient Greek) and are available in most countries. It's probably the most popular French comic in the world.
Setting and characters
The stories also feature allusions to major artistic works (such as Pieter Bruegel's Peasant Wedding and Victor Hugo's story of the battle of Waterloo from Les Châtiments in Asterix in Belgium), historical personalities (Napoleon, Louis XIV of France), famous places (Le Moulin Rouge).... [1] (http://www.mage.fst.uha.fr/asterix/allusion/allusion.html)
 However, in many other respects the series reflects life in the 1st century BC as accurately as can be expected from the medium. For example, the multistoried apartments in Rome - the insulae - has Obelix remarking that one man's roof is another man's floor and consequently "These Romans are crazy" - his favourite line.
The text makes relatively regular use of original Latin proverbs, and allusions to Julius Caesar's De Bello Gallico, a book about the conquest of Gaul, later used as an introductory text to Latin. Some jokes are made about Caesar's use of the third person to write about himself.
Asterix is very
"punny"
A key feature of the text of the Asterix books are the constant puns used as names of characters; The names of the two protagonists come from the French names for the asterisk and the obelisk.
English language examples include the chief (Vitalstatistix), the druid (Getafix), the woeful bard of the village (Cacofonix), the fishmonger (Unhygienix), an old man (Geriatrix) with a young wife. Incidental characters often feature names like "Hiphiphurrax" and "Mykingdomforanos".
This punning tradition occurs in other languages; for example, in the French original, the chief is called "Abraracourcix", derived from the phrase "à bras raccourcis" meaning 'with arms raised and ready, ready to punch'. The Egyptian in Astérix Légionnaire is named "Courdeténis" in French, "Ptenisnet" in English.
As a kind of visual pun, minor characters often resemble famous people or fictional characters. Notable examples include Britain's most famous bards, in Asterix in Britain, who are four in number and look like the Beatles; and a pair of Belgian warriors in Asterix in Belgium who resemble Thomson and Thompson of the Belgian Tintin comic book.
More recently, this has occasionally extended to major characters: in Asterix and the Black Gold, a Roman spy is Sean Connery as James Bond, and in Asterix and Obelix All at Sea, the leader of the escaped slaves is Kirk Douglas as
Spartacus.
List of volumes
Goscinny and Uderzo
1961 - Asterix the Gaul (Astérix le Gaulois)
1962 - Asterix and the Golden Sickle (La serpe d'or)
1963 - Asterix and the Goths (Astérix et les Goths)
1964 - Asterix the Gladiator (Astérix gladiateur)
1965 - Asterix and the Banquet (Le tour de Gaule d'Astérix)
1965 - Asterix and Cleopatra (Astérix et Cléopâtre)
1966 - Asterix and the Big Fight (Le combat des chefs)
1966 - Asterix in Britain (Astérix chez les Bretons)
1967 - Asterix and the Normans (Astérix et les Normands)
1967 - Asterix the Legionary (Astérix légionnaire)
1968 - Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield (Le bouclier Arverne)
1968 - Asterix at the Olympic Games (Astérix aux jeux olympiques)
1969 - Asterix and the Cauldron (Astérix et le chaudron)
1969 - Asterix in Spain (Astérix en Hispanie)
1970 - Asterix and the Roman Agent (La zizanie)
1970 - Asterix in Switzerland (Astérix chez les Helvêtes)
1971 - The Mansions of the Gods (Le domaine des Dieux)
1972 - Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (Les lauriers de César)
1972 - Asterix and the Soothsayer (Le devin)
1973 - Asterix in Corsica (Astérix en Corse)
1974 - Asterix and Caesar's Gift (Le cadeau de César)
1975 - Asterix and the Great Crossing (La grande traversée)
1976 - Obelix and Co. (Obélix et compagnie)
1979 - Asterix in Belgium (Astérix chez les Belges)
Uderzo
1980 - Asterix and the Great Divide (Le grand fossé)
1981 - Asterix and the Black Gold (L'Odyssée d'Astérix)
1983 - Asterix and Son (Le fils d'Astérix)
1987 - Asterix and the Magic Carpet (Astérix chez Rahazade)
1991 - Asterix and the Secret Weapon (La rose et le glaive)
1996 - Asterix and Obelix All at Sea (La galère d'Obélix)
2001 - Asterix and the Actress (Astérix et Latraviata)
2004 - Asterix and the Class Act (Astérix et la rentrée
gauloise)
Asterix Films
Many of Asterix's adventures have also been made into films:
1967 - Asterix the Gaul (Astérix le Gaulois) (animation)
1968 - Asterix and Cleopatra (Astérix et Cléopâtre) (animation)
1976 - The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (Les douze travaux d'Astérix) (animation)
1985 - Asterix Versus Caesar (Astérix et la surprise de César) (animation)
1986 - Asterix in Britain (Astérix chez les Bretons) (animation)
1989 - Asterix and the Big Fight (Astérix et le coup du menhir) (animation)
1994 - Asterix Conquers America (Asterix in Amerika) (animation; filmed in
Germany for a change)
1999 - Asterix and Obelix Take On Caesar (Astérix et Obélix contre César) (live
action film)
2002 - Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (Astérix & Obélix: Mission
Cléopâtre)
(live action film)
2006 - Asterix and the Vikings (Astérix et les Vikings) (?)
Asterix Video Games
Asterix (Master System,Playstation, SNES)
Asterix and the Great Rescue (Sega Genesis, Megadrive,Master System, Game Gear)
Asterix and Obelix Take on Ceasar (Playstation and PC)
Asterix Mega Madnes (Play Station),PC
Asterix and Obelix (SNES, Game Boy , Game Boy Colur )
Asterix: Search For Dogmatix (Game Boy Color)
Asterix and Obelix: Bash Them All (Game Boy Advance)
Asterix the Gallic War (PC )
Asterix and Obelix XXL(Game Boy Advance, Play Station 2 and GameCube)
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