Albert Uderzo has died • Hacker News Board

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#51

Post by conradfr » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:01 PM UTC

srean wrote: post #13

tombert wrote: post #8

The Asterix comics really never caught on in the US, so I sadly have not read any of them, but multiple people that I respect have told me that I really need to check them out. To someone who is almost completely unfamiliar with the material, what would be a good place to start?

I have read the English(British) translations and the American as well. In terms of the humour and slick wordplay they seemed quite different if not poles apart. Those American editions did nothing for me, some of them almost felt like an act of sacrilege. I guess its a cultural thing -- to give a trivial example, the name Readymix just isn't as funny as Getafix. Apparently the notion of getting a fix was something t…

Asterix comics (the best ones, with Goscinny) are parodies about the French society in the 60s and 70s and France's stereotypical view of its European neighbors, so it's not hard to think that a lot of it is lost in translation.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#52

Post by mikepurvis » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:02 PM UTC

conradfr wrote: post #49

phtrivier wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ever read Oumpah-Pah (the probably slighly incorrect and insensitive native american character) from their beginning ? https://www.bedetheque.com/BD-Oumpah-Pah-Tome-1-Oumpah-Pah-l...

I mean Asterix is also slightly incorrect and insensitive about a lot of European people ... and we love it.

There are a few bits of Asterix that are pretty problematic, too, for example the depiction of the African pirate. YMMV, but for me it's a small enough piece that it's worthwhile just talking it over with my kids (vs something like Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran The Zoo", which probably belongs in the dustbin of history, along with Song of the South and everything else that really isn't worth it at this point).

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-ra...

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#53

Post by Erwin » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:03 PM UTC

DanielleMolloy wrote: post #34

irrational wrote: post #26

I've always thought that the equivalent of Albert Uderzo in the USA was Carl Barks. I'm not sure why, but the adventures Uncle Scrooge got up to remind me of the adventures Asterix got up to.

Duck comics are quite popular in Europe too and Carl Barks is honored, but I’d say he is not comparable to Uderzo / Goscinny. You could claim that Don Rosa is comparable though (looking at historical / cultural references, dedication to detail and effort that went into each panel). Can’t recommend „The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck“ enough.

Europe produced huge amounts of Disney universe comics, which apparently there was not enough market for in USA. This happened in 12+ countries but oddly not UK.

There are 500+ (!) books in the series that have been coming out since 1950s, in A5 pocket format and with 250 comic pages. Most have been written in Italy the translated.

They are so European that I cannot even find an English wikipedia page for them but here's something in Danish: https://comicwiki.dk/wiki/Jumbobog

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#54

Post by conradfr » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:08 PM UTC

basementcat wrote: post #20

From the 12 Tasks of Asterix: The Place That Sends You Mad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtEkUmYecnk

A brilliant parody of the French administration.

"Le laissez-passer A-38" is still a pop culture reference.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#55

Post by conradfr » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:15 PM UTC

mikepurvis wrote: post #52

conradfr wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean Asterix is also slightly incorrect and insensitive about a lot of European people ... and we love it.

There are a few bits of Asterix that are pretty problematic, too, for example the depiction of the African pirate. YMMV, but for me it's a small enough piece that it's worthwhile just talking it over with my kids (vs something like Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran The Zoo", which probably belongs in the dustbin of history, along with Song of the South and everything else that really isn't worth it at this point). https://www.ny…

Wow, I've been reading Asterix since I'm 6 and never thought it was a gorilla, that's seem really stupid to me, or at least a very us-centric view, no offense.

I can see Tintin in the Congo being worth discussing, I mean it's from the 30s, but even as the child I knew to take some distance from it even without adult supervision.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#56

Post by JD557 » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:17 PM UTC

bryanrasmussen wrote: post #22

rs23296008n1 wrote: post #18

The complete set of Asterix is on archive.org https://archive.org/details/Asterixcompleteset/mode/2up

that right there is worth another year's donation, although I have to say how is it even possible - surely these aren't out of copyright?

I'm not sure if this is the case here, but IIRC, the internet archive is considered a library, which grants them some special rights regarding copyright.

I believe that's the reason that allows them to host arcade ROMs as well.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#57

Post by francoisLabonte » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:20 PM UTC

mikepurvis wrote: post #52

conradfr wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean Asterix is also slightly incorrect and insensitive about a lot of European people ... and we love it.

There are a few bits of Asterix that are pretty problematic, too, for example the depiction of the African pirate. YMMV, but for me it's a small enough piece that it's worthwhile just talking it over with my kids (vs something like Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran The Zoo", which probably belongs in the dustbin of history, along with Song of the South and everything else that really isn't worth it at this point). https://www.ny…

The pirates are a spoof of another french Belgian comic named Redbeard (Barbe Rouge) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redbeard_(comics) The wikipedia page even has the Asterix parodies next to the actual ones.

Not that it excuses anything.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#58

Post by champagneben » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:24 PM UTC

faho wrote: post #48

MrGilbert wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Music Inspired by the Life and Times of Scrooge" is an album by Tuomas Holopainen, which I really enjoyed listening to. And yes, it's related to the comic series. Don Rosa provided the cover artwork for the album.

Tuomas Holopainen the Nightwish person?

The same one!

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#59

Post by jansan » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:30 PM UTC

So what is the name of Courdeténis in your language? He is the Egyptian guy who speaks in hieroglyphs and thinks he's participating in a package tour while being enrolled in the Roman legion. He was one of the greatest characters ever. When asked for his name, his speech bubble only contained a hieroglyph of a tennis court, hence the name "Courdétenis" (tennis court).

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#60

Post by jacquesm » Tue, Mar 24, 2020, 9:48 PM UTC

bvandewalle wrote: post #19

I spent hours of my childhood reading Asterix, Tintin and Gaston [0]. Each had an amazing slightly different universe. Now living in the US it always amazes me how different the Comics culture over here is. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaston_(comics)

With Gaston one of the neat bits was that every signature at the bottom of a panel was a gag in its own right. No two were alike.