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In a move to update the books, which have been
entertaining readers since 1959 and spawned multiple movie
spinoffs, the action in the new edition revolves around a
character called Adrenaline, the teenage daughter of famous
Gaulish king Vercingetorix.
With her long red braided hard, black trousers, gold headphones
and grumpy teenage disposition, Adrenaline will keep Asterix and
his oversized sidekick Obelix chasing after her to ensure her
safety as she explores adolescent rebellion.
The last three editions of Asterix have been written by
Jean-Yves Ferri and drawn by Didier Conrad, sticking closely to
the original format.
"We didn't want to develop a character who would be based on her
seductive side as we usually do with female characters in
Asterix. Most of the time they are young attractive women who
seduce Obelix and their role stops there," Conrad said.
In the latest edition, Asterix and Obelix must protect
Adrenaline, who is being hunted down by the Romans, while also
being confronted by the intergenerational gap between them and
the young chieftain's daughter.
"In terms of the vocabulary it was quite amusing because I had
to create a sort of teenage language for the time. We don't have
a lot of documentation about that. So the idea was to use
certain expressions like teenagers do," said Ferri, the
scriptwriter.
Asterix's 38th adventure, printed in 5 million copies, will be
released on Thursday.
The Asterix books have become a mainstay in the publishing
industry, with more than 370 million copies sold worldwide.
As well as being translated into more than 100 languages, the
books have inspired a dozen movies and cartoon series, making it
a global phenomenon.
(Reporting by Noemie Olive and Martin Esposito)
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