From an Unknown Village to Readers All Over the World

Asterix is a series of French comic books that werewere live action. There have been various games
written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albertbased on the characters made as well, these range
Uderzo, first published in French magazine Pilote on 29from video games, game books and board games.
October 1959. But from 1977 Albert Uderzo took overThere is also a theme park that centres around the
as the writer of the comic after the death ofAsterix theme and it is called Parc Asterix, this has 12
co-creator Goscinny.miles which is based upon the series of the comic and
The plot of the comic is centred around the exploits ofis especially known for its large variety of roller
an unnamed village on the coastal region of Armonica,coasters. The rides have incorporated themes from
a province of Gaul as they resist Roman occupation.historic cultures such as the Roman s and Ancient
They do so by using a magic potion that is brewed byGreeks. When Euro Disney was announced there
their druid the potion gives the user superhumanwere initial fears that there would be a loss of
strength this is brewed by a Druid named Getafix.business due to the rumoured popularity of the Disney.
The main character of the comic is Asterix who withBut those fears were dispelled as they were both
his friend Obelix have various adventures. Asterix is ahave actually increased the popularity which is a effect
clever little character who the village trusts to handleseen in other places such as Florida, for example in
most of their important affairs. Obelix is a large and isOrlando Disney has a main presence there as well
slow witted character, who he fell into the Druid'swhich has seen numerous other theme parks such as
cauldron of the potion when he was a baby, which isuniversal studios have benefited. When Parc Asterix
the reason for his fat appearance but he gainfirst opened it was not heard of by most people that
permanent super human strength.didn't come from France but today most visitors come
This series is one of the most popular Franco-Belgianfrom all over the world. Its location is the top of Paris
comics in the world. It is mainly popular in Europe butso you could find some villas in France that are of the
still has a small following in America and Japan and therelaxed nature. There are roughly 1.6 million visitors per
series have been translated into over 100 languages.year
There are over 300 million copies of the 34 AsterixAsterix has been around for over 50 years and it
books have been sold over the world, which makesdoesn't look like it's going to disappear any time soon
the creators France's best selling authors abroad. Withthey are making two more films and the comic is still
this success it has helped spawn numerous otherongoing, it is no wonder that the French are so proud
forms of publication and media. There have been 11of their little hero.
films made with 8 of them being animated while three