When Rene Goscinny died in 1977, the French newspaper Le Monde carried an obituary on the front page.
He was to comic books what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, what Balzac is to the French novel—in a word, what Obelix is to Asterix, it said.
Goscinny had been working with long-time collaborator Albert Uderzo on Asterix in Belgium (1979). The most recent was the French live-action film Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2023). * In many ways, Asterix was meant to be a star. Because he was sick.., “A publisher could fire an artist simply.
Open the album and one can tell exactly at what point he passed. The skies are dark in every panel after. Amid it all, Goscinny and other comic artists became increasingly frustrated by the power the publishers at World Press held over them. This is part of what has kept people in the love with the stories. By the time of Asterix at the Olympic Games, the comics were selling in the millions per album. Over the next few years, attracted by the success of Asterix, many artists did flock to Pilote. Though the adventures of Asterix remained its biggest draw, the magazine provided a platform for artists such as Jean (Mœbius) Giraud, Enki Bilal, Jean-Claude Mézières, Marcel Gotlib and Annie Goetzinger. Morris even moved Lucky Luke to Pilote. By the mid-1960s, the little Gaul had acquired a worldwide following. Goscinny had become an elder statesman of the European comics world. Any album written by him was a guarantee of wit and quality. Movies based on Asterix are still being made. Look closely and the little Gaul has a shape that is not dissimilar.
He could have someone else draw the artist’s series without paying him royalties,” he said in interviews. In that short life, he created characters and told stories that give pleasure to millions around the world. The word comes from the Ancient Greek “asteriskos”, for “little star”.
