Adieu Alberto Uderzo, co-creator of Asterix the Gaul

Amongst the furore and chaos of this surreal period in our history, a true legend passed away discretely this week, in Paris. Albert Uderzo, co-creator of Asterix and Obelix, the Gauls, was ninety-two. The son of Italian immigrants he was actually christened Alberto, due to his father’s inability to curtail his linguistic inclinations when speaking to the person recording his son’s name. He wanted to say Albert, but in his mind’s Italian ear, Albert was Alberto. Four decades later, in 1961, a legend was born. ‘Asterix the Gaul’, being the title of the first book published. Uderzo was the illustrator, René Goscinny, his creative partner, the “screenwriter” as it were.  Despite them being mere comic books, they have the feel of a film, without the sound or moving images, of course. Their aim was simple; it was to portray a quintessentially French story in an original way. By setting it amongst their ancestors, the Gauls, ‘les Gaullois’, with their -IX names – Asterix, Obelix, Getafix etc. - they knew no-one would miss the reference, the Roman invasion of Gaul being one of the first lessons French school children learnt in history class.  France itself, having been occupied by the Germans only twenty years previously - during the 2^nd world war - would have seen the allegory. That may or may not have been deliberate. The story of Roman colonization - which had a major significance in the development of modern France - was, of course, a very serious subject and had generally been treated that way. Their simple masterstroke of genius was to tell it with fun, humour and joy. 

    I discovered Asterix on my ninth birthday, in 1982. A friend of my Mum’s gave me a copy of Asterix and the Big Fight, the seventh to be written in the series. I was smitten. Through the years, I gradually acquired all twenty-five. There are some serious gems; Asterix and Cleopatra, Asterix in Britain, Asterix and the Normans. Impossible to pick a favourite; it’s like being asked to name your favourite Beatles song or Hitchcock film. I believe that thirty-eight have been published in total but for me it stops at twenty-five with Asterix and the Great Divide. Written by Uderzo, following the tragic death of Goscinny at only fifty-one, he was initially hesitant about continuing, as one would expect. The great divide story was actually inspired by the Berlin Wall and transported to a village in Gaul - divided by a ditch - with a Romeo and Juliet-esque sub-plot. This is serious stuff; it’s not the Beano that I grew up reading. Nothing against the Beano, of course. It is hard to over-estimate the global influence of these extraordinary creations. Translated into more than a hundred languages, numerous films spin-offs, a theme park and so on, the original books remain the most magical for me. The combination of humour, humanity and hyperbole with the seamlessness of Goscinny’s plots and Uderzo’s astonishing and iconic drawings, is spellbinding. They’re both goofy and sophisticated. Derivative, yet original. They parody national stereotypes and capture the essence of human nature in all its absurdity with a contemporary feel, despite the story taking place in the distant past. A little like Blackadder did. Goscinny and Uderzo, like Lennon and McCartney or De Niro and Scorsese, were born to work together; thank goodness the universe in its mysterious way, made it happen. The stories are educational too, covering everything from the Cleopatra and the Pyramids to the Romans conquering Britain, to the discovery of North America.  They make learning history fun. They should be part of the school syllabus but that would be far too radical for the visionless dullards who decide these things.

    I had probably read all of the first twenty-five by about the age of sixteen and didn’t think much about Asterix for a while. A few years later in my early twenties I went to live in Paris and the room I rented with a French family had clearly remained untouched since their grown-up son, Gerald – who remains my friend to this day – had left many years before. Entering my new surroundings, my first vision was an ashtray next to the bed. This was unusual I thought. How did they know I smoked? In fact, it wasn’t for me, it was for my landlord, Serge, whose non-stop smoking required an ashtray to be on hand at all times. Then I noticed the bookshelves. Low and behold, in front of me was Gerald’s collection of Asterix books, in the original French, of course, so I re-acquainted myself with these things of wonder, this time in their French native tongue - the very language I was studying and the reason I was there in the first place. Sometimes you just feel that luck is on your side. He also had the Tintin books which I’d never read, probably the ‘Bande Dessinée’ as all Francophones (Tintin is Belgian) call it, that comes closest to Asterix in terms of fame. I liked them too, I still do, but Asterix remains my favourite. Reading them, you get the sense of fun that René and Albert experienced creating them. Like all works of genius the seeming effortlessness in fact masks two master craftsman who spent decades honing their skills. And when they came together, magic was created. Merci Chers Messieurs Goscinny et Uderzo.