10-29-2009, 09:58 AM
Today, Asterix celebrates his fiftieth birthday. If you can read Dutch, here is a brief interview on the subject. I was in Isfahan when I spoke to the journalist - a very strange experience, to be on the square of that city, discussing the incorrect armor of Asterix' adversaries.
And rest assured, I told the journalist that Asterix is NOT about ancient history, but should be read as comment on contemporary events. The example I mention is the story of the Iron Shield ("No one knows where Alesia is!"), a comment upon the French' denial that they had been defeated in WW2; it is no coincidence that the scene is in Vichy. I also remark that no one asks about the correctness of, for example, the comics of Bob and Bobette.