Comic Book Review – Asterix and the Picts
Recommended for all ages
This is a big moment for the Asterix series. For the first time ever, Albert Uderzo has handed
over the reins to a new creative team, author Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrator
Didier Conrad. This is both a very exciting and a very nerve-wracking
development for several reasons. The first is the obvious worry of whether or
not this new creative team can match the giddy heights that Uderzo and Rene
Goscinny reached with the very best Asterix
stories. Secondly, you’re unlikely to find a fan that doesn’t believe the books
have gone a little downhill in recent times, so the chance to have some new
direction is much the same as Disney acquiring the rights to Star Wars. It’s unfair to level too much
criticism at Uderzo, who took over the writing side of the stories upon the
death of Goscinny, because this wasn’t his role in the earliest and best years.
Personally, I think he’s done a brilliant job keeping it going, with the
exception of his last full Asterix publication,
Asterix and the Falling Sky, which I
have to say was one of the biggest disappointments and blights on a series that
I love since the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
That’s a bit of a lengthy introduction to a general review,
so it’s probably time for me to endeth the history lesson and get on with the
main show. So, does this show the Asterix
series back on track? In a word, yes, Definitely. It’s fun, full of adventure, and
the new team have recreated that classic Asterix-humour
perfectly, from the word play in the character’s names, to banter between them
all. It’s also due, of course, to the translator (shouldn’t forget this with a
foreign language to English book!) Anthea Bell, who has translated every Asterix book from the very beginning. This includes the names in particular, and there’s a wonderful running
joke of ‘Mac’s’ throughout this story that continues her fine tradition.
In the story, a frozen Pict (MacAroon) washes up on the
shores of the Gaulish village. Asterix and Obelix vow to return him to his
village in Caledonia, and find out who was responsible for pushing him into the
water in the first place. When they get there, they have to help stop the
perpetrator from proclaiming himself King of the Picts, and find where his
fiancé has been imprisoned. It feels just like a classic Asterix adventure, in the vein of Asterix in Britain (for obvious reasons), and it’s leaps and bounds
ahead of Falling Sky (though that’s
not hard).
Didier Conrad has recreated Uderzo’s drawing style
faultlessly – there’s no way at all you could tell it wasn’t done by the
original illustrator if you weren’t told beforehand. It’s a key factor to
retaining the feel of the original books, and it further cements the fact that
the series is in safe hands.
I’m eagerly awaiting the next instalment, and with a younger
team (and fantastic translator!) overseeing the series’ future I hope we’ll see
further books much more regularly. If you’re a big Asterix fan, this will restore your faith in the adventures of
Gaul’s greatest heroes.
8/10
