Tag Archives: Asterix and Obelix

Asterix and Obelix to make their Playmobil debut when play-sets launch in 2022

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The iconic comic book and movie character Asterix is getting a Playmobil makeover via a new partnership between the toymaker and the Asterix brand owner, Les Editions Albert Rene.

Under the partnership, a series of play-sets will be developed, marking the first time that Asterix and his sidekick Obelix have been given the Playmobil treatment.

The play-sets are scheduled to land sometime in 2022.

Playmobil issued a statement this morning that read: “Editions Albert Rene and Playmobil are pleased to announce the creation of a new universe around the famous comic book characters Asterix and Obelix, for the first time in Playmobil figurines.”

The message signed off that fans will require ‘a little more patience’ before the plans are unveiled in full, but that the collection promises to be a ‘magical’ one.

Asterix is a French comic book series about Ghaulish warriors and their adventures in fighting the Roman Republic during the era of Julius Caesar during the Gallic wars. The series first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comic magazine Pilote in 1959 and has subsequently become a world-revered brand and the focus of a slate of live action films.

This is the latest in a series of teases from Playmobil this month who recently unveiled a collaborative project with the classic TV series The A Team.

Since the launch and subsequent success of its Back to the Future play-sets, and the nostalgia driven success of its Scooby Doo collection, Playmobil has sought to tap further in the classic IP space, eyeing a large market in the kidult fan sector.

The Adventures of Asterix boasts a loyal cross-generational following around the globe.

Asterix moves home as Little, Brown Book Group’s Sphere takes over all publishing from Hachette Children’s Group

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The popular comic book series, Asterix, is moving to a new home with the Little, Brown Book Group’s imprint, Sphere following a deal that will see the team take over the publishing of all Asterix titles from Hachette Children’s Group from this July.

The deal will include all 38 albums and 12 omnibus editions of the Asterix comics. Sphere will also publish the newest book in the series, Asterix and the Griffin, in both hardback and ebook form on October 21st 2021. The move to Sphere, says the group, is in recognition of the brand’s ‘broad and loyal family readership, including Asterix’s dedicated adult fanbase.’

Since the first Asterix album was published in 1961, the comic series has been translated into more than 100 languages and dialects, and sold more than 385 million copies worldwide. The series is focused on the adventures of the Gaulish warrior Asterix and his friend Obelix, a duo that have spawned animated cartoons, 15 feature films and its own theme park, Parc Asterix.

The last album, Asterix  and the Chieftain’s Daughter, sold more than five million copies worldwide. Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad took over the Asterix series in 2013. The series’ original  illustrator Albert Uderzo had been overseeing the series until his death in March 2020,  and the books’ original author, René Goscinny, died in 1977. 

The latest story will see Asterix and Obelix set out on their 39th adventure, and travel to a new destination in search of a strange and terrifying creature both idolised and feared by ancient peoples, the griffin. 

Jean-Yves Ferri said: “For me, it all started with a sculpture of the Tarasque, a terrifying creature from Celtic legends … Did our ancestors really believe that these peculiar monsters actually existed? It’s worth mentioning that in Roman times there weren’t many explorers so the terra was mostly incognita.

“Even so, extraordinary animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses had already been exhibited in Rome. Having seen them, why would Romans have any reason to doubt the existence of equally improbable creatures? And hadn’t some of them (medusas, centaurs, gorgons …) been described very seriously before their time by the ancient Greeks? 

“Now it was time look at this bestiary and choose the animal that would be at the centre of the intrigue. Half-eagle, half-lion, with horse’s ears and appropriately enigmatic – I opted for a Griffin. The Romans were bound to go for it. But what about the Gauls? How would Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix, along with the Druid Getafix, get drawn into the epic, perilous quest to find this fantastical animal?” 

Asterix is also due to star in a 3D Netflix animated series, directed by Alain Chabat, the writer and director of 2002’s Mission Cléopâtre – the most successful of Asterix’s numerous appearances on screen and the third highest-grossing feature film in  French history.

The series will be adapted from one of the classic volumes, Asterix and the Big Fight, where the Romans, after being constantly embarrassed by Asterix and his village cohorts, organize a brawl between rival Gaulish chiefs. The series will debut in  2023, and will be screened around the world.