Astérix & The Multi National Corporation

Bonjour,

Here is an article wot I recently wrote about the goings on in the world of Astérix The Gaul.

Astérix and the Multi-National Publishing Company.

By Sandy Nelson

While 2009 sees literary heavy weights celebrate their anniversaries- Burns, Darwin, Douglas Adams (Hitch-hikers Guide To the Galaxy is 30 years old) - a little Gaulish village celebrates an anniversary of its own.

Armorica, the fictional setting of the Astérix series of comic books by writer Rene Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo, has been holding out against the Romans for 50 years this year.

Since Astérix The Gaul was first published in 1959 our indominatable little villager and his invincible friend Obelix have kicked, punched and plotted their way through 33 books and numerous films defending their village from invasion and exploitation by Caesars huge Roman Empire in the spirit of liberté, egalité & fraternité

So, is there any hypocrisy in that Uderzo, 81, sole writer and illustrator of the series since his partners death in 1977, last month sold controlling interest of Les Editions Albert Rene, the family publishing firm ( including the right to produce new Astérix adventures after his death) to Hachette Livre, Frances largest publishing company? Yes, according to Uderzo’s daughter Sylvie Uderzo.

“Astérix is my paper brother” She told Le Monde on January 15^th, “It is as if the gates of the Gaulish village had been thrown open to the Roman Empire. I am entering resistance against perhaps the worst enemies of Astérix, the men of finance and industry.” She added “[The deal] denies the values with which my father brought me up: independence, brotherhood, friendship and resistance.”

While they may be some sour grapes involved here, (Uderzo Jr. was fired from her position as managing director by Uderzo Snr. two tears ago,) she’s does have an exceptionally valid point.

In the book The Mansions of The Gods, for instance, Astérix and his cohorts formulate and carry out plans to prevent Roman property developers from tearing down the bountiful forest to build overpriced luxury flats using the kind of direct action that would make any Terminal 5 protester blush. In Astérix The Gladiator our hero goes positively mental when the Romans kidnap the village bard Cacophonix to be used to entertain the elite in Rome. The strength of Astérix’s loyalty to his friend pushes him to do things he has never done before, like a pre-Christian Jack Bauer. And Obelix and Co is a blatant attack on consumerism with Astérix hurt and angry when his best friend is cursed by greed. That doesn’t sound like the kind of character who would appreciate being sold off, franchised and potentially remodelled and overly merchandised.

The Astérix books began being printed in English in 1970. I have been reading them since 1975 when I learned to read. No matter how old you are you can open one up and find great pleasures. For the child there is the colour and action of the punch-ups and feasts. For the teenager there is clever wordplay, exotic locations and rich history to inspire your “doing Europe” dreams. For the adult there is the satire and social commentary. And all the way through there is a very obvious and very French sense of justice, resistance, and social responsibility. Some talk of the series being an allegory for French resistance against the Nazi’s during the Second World War. Others have theorised about its statements on the dangers of American economic imperialism, even up to the most recent book, 2005’s Astérix & the Falling Sky. Would the new authors, under the thumb of a multi-national, be allowed the freedom to make such overtly political statements in their stories?

Rene Uderzo said that he had placed Astérix in safe hands so that he could concentrate on writing and illustrating new adventures. His daughter, who still owns 40% of the company, however, claims her father has been influenced by “a handful of shadowy advisers.”

Last weekend he hit back saying , "To be accused by my own daughter, is already quite undignified," continuing, "The accusation made against me is not only inspired by the appetite for power, it also aims to insult Astérix readers by confusing my abilities as an author with that of a publishing house shareholder.”

I can’t help thinking of Astérix & the Roman Agent or Astérix & the Soothsayer where the villagers are manipulated by gossip and superstition into almost destroying themselves from within. Ironic? Appropriate?

So where does this leave us? The fans. The people who have read and re-read the books, who have bought the games and visited the theme park. They ones who will buy the 50^th anniversary book when it is published in October. Should we worry? It was difficult enough to accept the post Goscinny books in the first place. As Peter Kessler, the author of The Complete Guide to Astérix, told The Guardian: “The problem is that Uderzo never really understood what had been created in Astérix. He hasn’t been able to cope with the endless reinvention that a series needs to remain great. And so he has fallen back on repetition and silliness.” Ouch!

In Uderzo’s defence though, he was the artist not the writer. But what an artist! How can we, the loyal fans, trust that these new artists will be able to keep the flare and subtleties of his iconic drawings? Are we now looking forward to substandard, standardised lowest common denominator stories drawn by numbers? Or will it be like Russell T Davies’s Doctor Who, all fanboys at the helm resorting former glories? Anne Goscinny, daughter of Albert, is not worried.

“Astérix is a very strong character.” She said “Astérix will guide those who take him in hand and not the other way around. I am very confident and I do not worry at all that he will be watered down.”

Let us hope so. And let us hope too that the Uderzo’s work it out in the spirit of the classic stories. As Astérix himself says to Getafix the Druid in The Mansions of the Gods as their village is becoming gentrified though outside influence, “Look how our village has changed, Getafix, the wonderful spirit of co-operation we used to have has disappeared...but I have a plan.”