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Albert Uderzo has died

theguardian.com

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Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#71

Post by coldtea »

jordigh wrote: post #64
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.

Not everyone loved it. Astérix and the Goths was an early and very unfavourable depiction of the Germans as militaristic and ruthless, written with WW2 still fresh in mind. The Germans did not like this early strip. Goscinny and Uderzo seemed to regret this early portrayal, as Goths in latter Astérix strips were depicted more sympathetically. My point here is that "political correctness" has a point. Of course most E…

>Astérix and the Goths was an early and very unfavourable depiction of the Germans as militaristic and ruthless

As opposed to the real life French experience of them?

>My point here is that "political correctness" has a point.

That we should ignore historical experience and portray peoples and cultures as totally the same and interchangeable except in purely decorative areas (e.g. cuisine, music)?

Because a Germany that shed cruel blood and huge toll all over Europe was for 5+ years the direct experience of Europeans that wrote those comics, and for many decades still a trauma...

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#72

Post by fruffy »

Erwin wrote: post #53
DanielleMolloy wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 he…

There are still subcultures around, too. At least on reddit there is /r/LTB_iel which is a spoof of /r/me_irl: https://old.reddit.com/r/LTB_iel/top/

There are a lot of jokes in those that went over my head as a kid.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#73

Post by cardinalfang »

jansan wrote: post #59

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).

His English name was Ptenisnet.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#74

Post by Yuioup »

shaneos wrote: post #11

I read all of them over and over again as a child, then one more full reading in my 20s. They were even better as an adult. One of the oddities is that the names in English are actually much funnier than the original French names, e.g. Unhygienix the fishmonger, Getafix the druid, Fullyautomatix who makes the weapons. These two authors brought so many hours, days and years of joy. A life well lived

The translators, Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge, did a fantastic job with the translation.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#75

Post by julienfr112 »

My favorite character is Caius Detritus, you know the guy that bring discord in seconds wherever he goes in "La Zizanie". That's my favorite because when I was young, I naively though it was not possible. And one day, I cross pass with a one in a million A..H... that was exactly like that. Remembering Asterix and exposing him as Caius Detritus incarnation, I stopped his misdeeds (until he moved to another room ....). Great moment, and bedtime story for my daughter after reading La Zizanie to her.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#76

Post by 205guy »

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)

Gaston is one of my favorites, laugh-out-loud funny as a kid and adult. Such great set-ups, visual gags, and word-play. For adventure, sci-fi, and incredible art, Yoko Tsuno was another great one that has stood the test of time. Oddly, I don't like Tintin as an adult, it's too whiz-bang and bumbling.

After growing up on European comics, the ones in the US were bland, just plain crude (Garfield), or overtly political (Bloom County, Doonesbury). The only one that had the equivalent depth and humor, while being uniquely American, was Calvin and Hobbes.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#77

Post by pimeys »

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.

Having all Don Rosa comic books still in my shelf. Two of them with his autograph. Naturally all in Finnish, him and Barks being almost like national heroes in there.

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#78

Post by iliasku »

205guy wrote: post #42
lb1lf wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

-If you haven't reread them as an adult, do yourself a favour and get started. I, too, loved them as a kid - but have found that Asterix resonates on many levels. It is definitely a comic for grown-ups too, gently mocking the grown-up world in oh so many ways. I'll pour myself a generous helping of calvados and reread a few of the albums tonight. RIP, Albert.

It didn't just gently mock the grown-up world, some of the characters were straight-up caricatures of political figures and other famous people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asterix_characters#Car...

"Alain Prost — Appears as Coronavirus, the Roman champion chariot driver in Asterix and the Chariot Race." say what now?

Re: Albert Uderzo has died

#80

Post by jacquesm »

jordigh wrote: post #67
jacquesm wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My personal favorite is Idefix, the dog who is so imprinted on Obelix he has to follow him.

The English translation of "Dogmatix" is the most perfect translation ever. It kept the original meaning and even introduced a new pun.

Hah, cool, I didn't know the English equivalent, thank you.
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