Hot Take: Give Me “Asterix By…”

I know the families behind Asterix are relatively protective of it. They want the series to continue, but only in ways that look like Uderzo’s familiar style. The new series of albums has been hit or miss, by general opinion, and the “spin-off” book based on Idefix’s cartoon series, “Idéfix et les Irréductibles”, maintains much the same look and feel as the main title.

But Les Editions Albert Rene has also published a few books celebrating the history of Asterix (or Albert Uderzo) by inviting a collection of artists to come in and have their say with the character with either a pin-up or a short story. I’ve reviewed those books here:

• “Generations Asterix”
• “Asterix and His Friends”
• Uderzo Croque Par Ses Amis (“Uderzo Drawn By His Friends”)

(Side note: I never reviewed that last book? Shame on me.)

I think it’s time to go a step further. Let’s have a select few one-shot Asterix specials by guest creators or creative teams. They can be silly or parody (*) or they can stick to the formula. Whatever the creators want to do. Let them do it in their own style, too. They don’t have to give it The Full Uderzo.

It’s not without precedent. Valerian has had one-off books by such talent as Wilfrid Lupano/Mathieu Lauffray and Manu Larcenet. Lucky Luke has two memorable books by Mathieu Bonhomme, but also one shots from (most recently) Blutch, Mawil, and more. Spirou is a bit on the other extreme, with every new Spirou book looking wildly different from the last, but they still separate the “main” series from the others with art by the likes of Flix, Emile Bravo, or Dany.

Even The Smurfs recently had an album by Tebo. I don’t know if it’ll ever be translated into English, but I read a couple of chapters of it serialized in Spirou Journal, and it was great while being in a completely different style.

Asterix is a strong enough world that it can withstand the “assault” of a few clear-thinking European cartoonists. Just look through the pages of one of the tribute albums and imagine a complete 48-page album from one of them. The first such book doesn’t have to be a wild departure. It can be by an artist whose style can be a little closer to Uderzo’s, or just someone who has a really good story that stars Impedimenta or someone else. It’d be OK if Asterix or Obelix were in the background, even.

Or, if you wanted to stick closer to the originals, picture a story featuring one of the other villagers that tells the story of one of the first couple dozen albums from the point of view of a supporting character. Maybe it’s just a story that happens to crossover for one page of one of the original albums. Or, go all the way — think “Tag and Bink” for Asterix. Show the little things that some minor character did that impacted the main plot in surprising and funny ways.

Either way, I’d love to see a book in a different art style. I’d love to see Alessandro Barbucci do a whole book, or Nob, or Tebo, or Manu Larcenet. Juanjo Guarnido would be amazing. My unpopular opinion would be to have Asterix meet the Smurfs and have it drawn by Studio Peyo.

I realize these are all busy artists with books of their own who likely couldn’t take a year off to spend on Asterix, but since this whole article is hypothetical, I might as well dream big.

Or is it possible that I’m asking too much? Is Asterix such a cultural institution that nobody would dare attempt to create such a book, anyway? Is Asterix that sacred?

Or, on the other hand, would a publisher be interested in making a few bucks in the off-year between albums to make this an interesting project? As long as they don’t flood the market with such books, I don’t see it as something that would devalue or overexpose Asterix.

Who do you think would be perfect for an “Asterix By…” style of album?

Footnote

(*) Yes, I am aware of Lewis Trondheim’s “Par Toutatis,” in which his character, Lapinot, is transported into Asterix’s Universe to hilarious ends. I doubt we’ll ever see that one translated, but one of these days I want to sit down with a copy and Google Translate and go nuts. It is definitely not an official Albert Rene production, though. They put a sticker on the cover to make sure you knew that. They’re not dummies.