Paris
The release of the 29th album about the adventures of “Asterix” is planned for October 21st, said the screenwriter Jean-Yves Ferri to the French press, who has become one of the “parents” of the character alongside designer Didier Conrad.
“This is a travel album because the last adventure took place in the village. Asterix and ‘Obelix’ will go to an unknown destination. This country does not actually exist as such at the moment,” Ferri told the French weekly Journal du Dimanche.
“Each album is a small step towards having a little fun. And Obelix continues its slow psychological development.” When asked if he can still fall back on the stereotypes of the country he was visiting when he was doing this comic series, Ferri admitted that today is more difficult.
“In the 1960s Albert Uderzo and René Goscinny could laugh at foreigners, make cartoons of English and Greek people. The atmosphere was healthy. Today we practically need a dictionary to know what we can play about.”
“Playing with clichés is part of the Asterix codes, but I don’t mind straying a little. I’m lucky that my particular mood doesn’t lead me to very frontal cartoons. Teenagers, for example,” said Ferri. who has been responsible for the adventure script since 2013.
The character’s previous album was the best-selling book of 2019 in France. The heroes, created 61 years ago by the late René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, have been switching between an adventure in the village and a journey since 2013.
“It is tempting to talk about the new coronavirus that is affecting the whole world, but I discarded this idea. The pandemic is a sad topic full of fear. It is better to laugh at something else and wish us each other when the album was released they already flipped this side, “said Ferri.
“Despite everything, they may find a hint of a potion that looks like a vaccine or a couple of winking eyes.”
AFP