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An omnibus edition of Asterix titles, including ASTERIX IN SPAIN, ASTERIX IN BRITAIN, ASTERIX AND CLEOPATRA, ASTERIX AND THE SOOTHSAYER, THE TWELVE TASKS OF ASTERIX and OBELIX AND CO. Illustrated in full colour.

300 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1994

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134 people want to read

About the author

René Goscinny

2,027 books1,230 followers
René Goscinny (1926 - 1977) was a French author, editor and humorist, who is best known for the comic book Asterix , which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris (considered the series' golden age).

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5 stars
217 (56%)
4 stars
118 (30%)
3 stars
38 (9%)
2 stars
8 (2%)
1 star
3 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Ike Sharpless.
172 reviews87 followers
August 18, 2011
If I had to pick between Asterix and Tintin, I'd go with Asterix for sure. Yes, it's sillier and more childish, but they withstand read after read without getting stale. The delicious wordplay helps, too.
Profile Image for ARLOCENA.
4 reviews
November 10, 2019
I think this is a very good book. It is a very light read and childish but also very funny. It is many little adventures of two great friends, Asterix and Obelix. They live in a small town near Rome but they are the only town that has not been conquered by Rome in the area. It is because the Druid has found a way to make a super strength potion and they can fight off whoever they want. This book is fully action packed and super funny. It is also a very old book that was originally written in France. Overall 9/10 I have already read it multiple times.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jackie.
Author 1 book9 followers
September 15, 2011
All the books in this series have been a joy to read. I became a cartoonist because of these books.
Profile Image for Andrew.
747 reviews15 followers
August 25, 2016
When I was a kid the most popular books for my friends and I in the school library were the Asterix graphic novels (he says using today's parlance). I'm not exactly sure why they were so well read, though I think it may have been because of the caricatures of the characters and the funny names (Vitalstatistix, Unhygenix, Dogmatix etc). Perhaps there was also the interest in seeing the two unlikely lead characters, the short smart Asterix and the big trustworthy Obelix always get the better of their adversaries, either out fighting and/or out thinking their adversaries and always ending their adventures with a feast of wild boar.

Now that I am a lot older I am able to detect another level of humour and insight in these comic book novels. There is a wonderfully anarchic disrespect for history, and some lovely playful digs at the classics. There are also some sly and astute satirical digs made at contemporary society, culture, politics. For example the parody of Jacques Chirac and economic theory in 'Obelix and Co' is far smarter than might be expected in a comic.

It's at this point I need to refer to the work of the English translators, Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. As I have almost zero French I have no ability to detect the changes (for better or worse) from the original text by Rene Goscinny. Be that as it may, Bell and Hockridge have done what every great translator must do; make a foreign language book accessible and enjoyable for its reader. If the two English translators have polished or embellished the original French, well that's no great drama for me.

As for this compilation of Asterix comics, there are a few classics. Aside from the aforementioned 'Obelix and Co', 'Asterix in Britain' and 'Asterix and Cleopatra' are two of the best strips in the series. 'The Twelve Tasks of Asterix' is, unfortunately, a rather average novelisation of the film, and lacks the charm and visual immediacy of the traditional comics. 'Asterix in Spain' is not bad, whilst 'Asterix and the Soothsayer' is a little run of the mill.

In summary, for either the welded on Asterix fan or for the first time reader this compendium book does the job more than adequately in bringing the work of Goscinny and Uderzo to the reader's pleasurable attention. Like all good children's literature the stories work on two levels, and finally the enclosed stories are smarter than one might expect.
Profile Image for Louisa.
41 reviews
December 18, 2010
Only sparkling characthers can make excellent jokes. Brilliant and rafinate.
Profile Image for Ruby.
42 reviews
December 30, 2010
Gosh ,those were the books that formed part of my childhood ,it was soo much fun reading those Bande dessinee....And the druid panoramix with its magic portion ....lol too good
Profile Image for Lelyana's Reviews.
3,387 reviews399 followers
November 30, 2017
Kalo Asterix bacanya entah beberapa kali. Samoe bukunya lecek dan akhirnya di bundel supaya gak ilang2an. Komik terkeren sepanjang masa setelah Tintin.
Profile Image for Anugrah Nagaich.
27 reviews7 followers
June 29, 2012
Books which made my summer vacations when I was a kid. Totally surreal, yet a fun to read as a kid, this series is exclusively for the kids.
Profile Image for Izzie Flynn.
Author 1 book49 followers
September 2, 2016
I am a huge Asterix and Obelix fan. Anything with them involved and i am game. Love them and the cartoons!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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