Asterix Omnibus

2020 collection of Asterix comics

Asterix Omnibus

Publication information
Publisher| Papercutz
Format| Hardcover
Softcover
Digital comic
Genre| Historical fiction
Humor
Publication date| July 2020
No. of issues| 13 to date
Main character(s)| Asterix
Obelix
Dogmatix
Creative team
Written by| René Goscinny, Jean-Yves Ferri
Artist(s)| Albert Uderzo, Didier Conrad

Asterix Omnibus is a book series collecting the complete run of the Franco-Belgian bande dessinée comic Asterix, created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The series is available in both softcover trade paperbacks and in hardcover volumes, in conjunction with digital distribution. The publisher behind the project is Papercutz, which released the first volume of the series in July 2020.

## Background

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In November 2019 it was announced that the American publisher Papercutz would take over the American licence for Asterix and that it would begin to reprint all of its stories in an Omnibus series beginning in 2020. Future volumes were said to be planned for release at a pace of four volumes per year.[1] The first two volumes were initially planned to be released simultaneously on May 19, 2020.[2] However, due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the release date was pushed forward to July of the same year.[3] The first volume Asterix Omnibus Vol. 1 was finally launched for the United States market on July 14, 2020, with a print run of 20,000 hardcover copies plus an additional 50,000 softcover copies.[4]

## Format

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The Omnibus series is available in two versions: a hardcover and a softcover edition, both with identical contents. Each Omnibus contains three original Asterix albums. This choice was made by Papercutz owner Terry Nantier based on the assumption that the original European format of 48 pages per Asterix album would not work well in the United States audience, which is used to the graphic novel format, usually containing hundreds of pages per volume.[4] The volumes are printed in full color throughout. The album covers have been redesigned and have new dimensions which are smaller than previous editions for the American market. The page count per volume averages 160 pages.[5]

### Reproduction

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Hachette, the rightsholder to Asterix, has generally opposed changes made to the artwork for this reprint, but agreed to subtle changes in some character portrayals, especially to tone down the original comics' racist depiction of African people. In August 2020, Nantier said that he continues to negotiate with Hachette on the topic of providing context about the history of racial representation in each volume.[4]

### Translation

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The text for the series has been newly translated to American English by Joe Johnson, professor of French and Spanish at Clayton State University, Georgia, directly from the original French source material, in order to make it more appropriate for an American audience. Previous versions of Asterix, distributed in the United States by Orion Books (an imprint of Hachette), used a British English translation.[6][7][8] Nantier has stated that the new Americanized translation is expected to help attract new readers, especially younger ones.[9][10]

The new translation by Johnson has been described as more streamlined and accessible than the previous translations, including simplifications such as changing the phrase "And now I declare the revels open!" to "Let the party begin!". Many of the comics' characteristic puns have been retouched in order to reach a contemporary audience, while retaining their original meanings. Additionally, sound effects have been changed to ones that are common in current comics; "Kerplonk!", used when a rock lands on the ground, has been replaced with "Thuddd". An effort to make many of the European and Latin references more understandable for American readers has also been made.[10][11] Expressions and phrases in Latin are unchanged and accompanied by translations found in the page margins.[12]

Some characters names have been changed in the new translation, the most prominent of which is the druid Getafix, now named Panoramix. Some minor characters have also been subject to changes, mainly to get the puns hidden in their names across better to the modern American audience.[12]

## Volumes

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Volumes  Volume  | Release date  | Title  | Original
publication
years  | Collected
albums  | Writer  | Artist  | Page count | ISBN
Hardcover  | ISBN
Softcover

|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
|

1 | 2020-07-14 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 1 | 1959-1962 | Asterix the Gaul
Asterix and the Golden Sickle
Asterix and the Goths | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 160 | 978-1-54580-565-7 | 978-1-54580-566-4
2 | 2020-07-14 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 2 | 1964-1965 | Asterix the Gladiator
Asterix and the Banquet
Asterix and Cleopatra | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 160 | 978-1-54580-567-1 | 978-1-54580-568-8
3 | 2020-10-20 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 3 | 1966 | Asterix and the Big Fight
Asterix in Britain
Asterix and the Normans | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 160 | 978-1-54580-570-1 | 978-1-54580-571-8
4 | 2021-04-01 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 4 | 1967-1968 | Asterix the Legionary
Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield
Asterix at the Olympic Games | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 151 | 978-1-54580-628-9 |
5 | 2021-06-01 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 5 | 1969-1970 | Asterix and the Cauldron
Asterix in Spain
Asterix and the Roman Agent | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 152 | 978-1-54580-693-7 |
6 | 2021-08-01 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 6 | 1970-1971 | Asterix in Switzerland
The Mansions of the Gods
Asterix and the Laurel Wreath | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 152 |  | 978-1-54580-703-3
7 |  | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 7 | 1972-1974 | Asterix and the Soothsayer
Asterix in Corsica
Asterix and Caesar's Gift | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 152 | 978-1-44400-835-7 | 978-1-44400-836-4
8 |  | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 8 | 1975-1979 | Asterix and the Great Crossing
Obelix and Co.
Asterix in Belgium | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 152 | 978-1-44400-837-1 | 978-1-44400-838-8
9 |  | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 9 | 1981-1983 | Asterix and the Great Divide
Asterix and the Black Gold
Asterix and Son | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 152 | 978-1-44400-967-5 | 978-1-44400-966-8
10 |  | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 10 | 1987-1996 | Asterix and the Magic Carpet
Asterix and the Secret Weapon
Asterix and Obelix All at Sea | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 152 |  | 978-1-44400-425-0
11 |  | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 11 | 2001-2005 | Asterix and the Actress
Asterix and the Class Act
Asterix and the Falling Sky | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 161 |  | 978-1-44400-426-7
12 |  | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 12 | 2009-2015 | Asterix and Obelix's Birthday
Asterix and the Picts
Asterix and the Missing Scroll | René Goscinny | Albert Uderzo | 161 |  | 978-1-51010-723-6
13 | 2022-11-08 | Asterix Omnibus Vol. 13 | 2017-2021 | Asterix and the Chariot Race
Asterix and the Chieftain's Daughter
Asterix and the Griffin | René Goscinny &
Jean-Yves Ferri | Albert Uderzo &
Didier Conrad | 156 |  | 978-1-40872-595-5

## Related

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Free Comic Book Day 2020

In conjunction with the premiere of the reprint series, Papercutz participated in the Free Comic Book Day 2020 promotional campaign with a free comic issue titled Asterix Free Comic Book Day Special. Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, this issue was released on July 15, 2020, as the date of the Free Comic Book Day was changed to take place over the course of the summer, instead of the usual single day in May.[13][14]

## References

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1. ^ Graeme McMillan (November 7, 2019). "Classic French Comic 'Asterix' to Get U.S. Rollout in 2020". The Hollywood Reporter.
2. ^ Milton Griepp (November 7, 2019). "Papercutz Gets 'Asterix' for U.S." ICv2.
3. ^ Rich Johnston (June 29, 2020). "Retailers Asked to Hold Asterix Omnibuses For Two More Weeks". Bleeding Cool.
4. ^ a b c Brigid Alverson and Calvin Reid (August 19, 2019). "Race and Representation: Relaunching Asterix in America". Publishers Weekly.
5. ^ "Comics Should Be Cheap (7/15/20)". Multiversity Comics. July 14, 2020.
6. ^ Gustines, George Gene (November 7, 2019). "Asterix and the New Translated Editions". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
7. ^ Rich Johnston (November 7, 2019). "Asterix to be Retranslated Into American English by Papercutz for 2020". Bleeding Cool.
8. ^ Vicky Smith (July 19, 2019). "Asterix Redux". Kirkus Reviews.
9. ^ Etelka Lehoczky (July 15, 2020). "With A Glug Of Potion And A New Translation, 'Asterix' Aims To Conquer America". NPR – via NPR.org.
10. ^ a b Mark Kennedy (July 8, 2019). "Comic hero 'Asterix' plans friendly assault on the New World". The Chronicle-Journal.
11. ^ Livingstone, Josephine (June 16, 2020). "Asterix Comes to America". The New Republic – via newrepublic.com.
12. ^ a b "First Look: Papercutz's Asterix Translation". Pipeline Comics. July 4, 2020.
13. ^ "FCBD 2020 ASTERIX FCBD SPECIAL". Free Comic Book Day. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
14. ^ George Marston (July 13, 2020). "FCBD 2020 X-Men #1 leads Free Comic Book Summer week 1 titles". GamesRadar+.

## External links

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* Publisher website - Papercutz - Asterix

* v
* t
* e

Asterix

Comic books|

| Goscinny and Uderzo|

* Asterix the Gaul
* The Golden Sickle
* The Goths
* The Gladiator
* The Banquet
* Cleopatra
* The Big Fight
* In Britain
* The Normans
* The Legionary
* The Chieftain's Shield
* Olympic Games
* The Cauldron
* In Spain
* The Roman Agent
* In Switzerland
* The Mansions of the Gods
* The Laurel Wreath
* The Soothsayer
* In Corsica
* Caesar's Gift
* The Great Crossing
* Obelix and Co.
* In Belgium

|

Uderzo alone|

* The Great Divide
* The Black Gold
* Asterix and Son
* The Magic Carpet
* The Secret Weapon
* Asterix and Obelix All at Sea
* The Actress
* The Falling Sky

Ferri and Conrad|

* The Picts
* The Missing Scroll
* The Chariot Race
* The Chieftain's Daughter
* The Griffin

Fabcaro and Conrad|

* The White Iris
* in Lusitania

Other books|

* Asterix Conquers Rome
* The Class Act
* Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book
* Astérix et ses Amis
* How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When He Was a Little Boy

Films|

| Animated|

* Asterix the Gaul (1967)
* Asterix and Cleopatra (1968)
* The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976)
* Asterix Versus Caesar (1985)
* Asterix in Britain (1986)
* Asterix and the Big Fight (1989)
* Asterix Conquers America (1994)
* Asterix and the Vikings (2006)
* The Mansions of the Gods (2014)
* The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018)

|

Live-action|

* Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999)
* Mission Cleopatra (2002)
* Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008)
* God Save Britannia (2012)
* The Middle Kingdom (2023)

Television|

Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight (2025)

Video games|

* Asterix (1983)
* Obelix (1984)
* Asterix and the Magic Cauldron (1986)
* Asterix and the Magic Carpet
* Asterix (1992, Master System)
* Asterix (1992, arcade)
* Asterix (1993)
* The Great Rescue
* The Power of the Gods
* Asterix & Obelix
* Asterix & Obelix Take On Caesar
* Mega Madness
* Asterix & Obelix XXL
* XXL 2: Mission: Las Vegum
* XXL 2: Mission: Wifix
* Asterix at the Olympic Games
* XXL 3: The Crystal Menhir

Characters|

* Asterix
* Obelix
* Dogmatix

Related articles|

* Parc Astérix
* English translations of Asterix
* Asterix Omnibus (book collection)
* Oumpah-pah le Peau-Rouge

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