Asterix

Asterix (French: Astérix or Astérix le Gaulois [asteʁiks lə ɡolwa], "Asterix the Gaul"; also known as Asterix and Obelix in some adaptations or The Adventures of Asterix) is a French comic album series about a Gaulish village which, thanks to a magic potion that enhances strength, resists the forces of Julius Caesar's Roman Republic Army in the time after the Gallic Wars. Many adventures take the titular hero Asterix and his friend Obelix to Rome and beyond. The series first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comic magazine Pilote on 29 October 1959. It was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo until Goscinny's death in 1977. Uderzo then took over the writing until 2009, when he sold the rights to publishing company Hachette; he died in 2020. In 2013, a new team consisting of Jean-Yves Ferri (script) and Didier Conrad (artwork) took over. As of 2025, 41 volumes have been released; the most recent was penned by new writer Fabcaro and released on 23 October 2025. By that point, the volumes in total had sold 393 million copies, making them the best-selling European comic book series, the fourth best-selling comic book series in the world and the second one after One Piece in terms of collected volumes-format comics.