Green smoke, violet boars, Roman legionaries dressed in tunics ranging from pink to orange as colourless as they were improbable… such were the colours of Asterix the Gaul at its first appearance in 1959 in the French weekly publication Pilote. When they were reproduced in album format, these rich colour combinations made the first adventure of Asterix the Gaul look more like a primitive psychedelic version of Alice in Wonderland! Even worse, it sometimes seemed as if a mischievous child had used it as a colouring book - to the point where the inimitable strokes of Albert Uderzo were lost amongst poorly chosen tints… This hotchpotch of preposterous colours was entirely due to the technical and financial constraints of the time, as well as the merciless deadlines to which René Goscinny et Albert Uderzo were forced to work.
Of course, if the discovery of the universe created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo would live long in memory, it was mostly thanks to the fantastic combination of the talents of storywriter René and illustrator Albert who, after Oumpah-Pah, Jehan Pistolet and others, managed to form an alchemy of genial humour to add to the hilarious magic potion. However, with the passing years, as the touches of genius began to take advantage of improved techniques the first Asterix albums could be considered as aesthetic curiosities among a collection that has since become a classic in the pantheon of comic strips, and would be looked down upon in the eyes of their talented authors.
Above all, the youngest readers, feeling no nostalgia for these phantasmagorical colours, struggled to recognize their favourite heroes in the familiar guises they so enjoyed in their later adventures. Ultimately, the very heritage of these indomitable Gauls was under threat: to save them from alarming wear and tear (the price of success as they were reprinted time and again), the films for printing would have to be digitized.
Albert Uderzo, who had long since dreamed of seeing these adventures reborn in a publication more in keeping with the aesthetic quality standards he had established with his friend René Goscinny, took the decision to offer Asterix lovers a Grand Collection of entirely restored adventures featuring Gaul's most famous son.
Of course, if the discovery of the universe created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo would live long in memory, it was mostly thanks to the fantastic combination of the talents of storywriter René and illustrator Albert who, after Oumpah-Pah, Jehan Pistolet and others, managed to form an alchemy of genial humour to add to the hilarious magic potion. However, with the passing years, as the touches of genius began to take advantage of improved techniques the first Asterix albums could be considered as aesthetic curiosities among a collection that has since become a classic in the pantheon of comic strips, and would be looked down upon in the eyes of their talented authors.
Above all, the youngest readers, feeling no nostalgia for these phantasmagorical colours, struggled to recognize their favourite heroes in the familiar guises they so enjoyed in their later adventures. Ultimately, the very heritage of these indomitable Gauls was under threat: to save them from alarming wear and tear (the price of success as they were reprinted time and again), the films for printing would have to be digitized.
