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Asterix and the Class Act (Astérix et la rentrée gauloise) | |
---|---|
Date | 2003 |
Series | Asterix |
Creative team | |
Writers | René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo |
Artists | Albert Uderzo |
Original publication | |
Date of publication | 2003 |
Language | French |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | Asterix and the Actress |
Followed by | Asterix and the Falling Sky |
Asterix and the Class Act (French: Astérix et la rentrée gauloise, "Asterix and the Gaulish return; la rentrée is the French return to school after the summer break) is officially the thirty-second album of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations and some stories), published in 2003. [1] Unlike the other Asterix books, it is a compilation of short stories, rather than one long story. Each story has an introductory page giving some of its original history.
Only one of these stories ("Chanticleerix") is completely original in this album; the remainder are reprinted from earlier sources, most notably the French comic Pilote . The majority of these stories were written by Goscinny. "Chanticleerix", "The Lutetia Olympics" and "The Birth of Asterix" were written by Uderzo after Goscinny's death. "Springtime in Gaul" and "Asterix As You Have Never Seen Him Before..." were also written by Uderzo alone.
Most of these stories have had only very limited distribution prior to this publication. In the mid-1980s, a promotional collection of some of these stories appeared in a number of translations (but not English) as Astérix mini-histoires (Asterix Mini-Stories). In 1993 there was an earlier, smaller collection also called La Rentree Gauloise which was only available in French. It also contained a four page story called "L'Antiquaire" (The Antique Dealer) as filler which wasn't written by Goscinny, but drawn by Albert's brother Marcel Uderzo, does not fit with the other stories and contains two recycled and out-of-character villains. That story has not been reprinted, but otherwise "Class Act" is an expanded, updated version of this.
Originally an announcement page for Asterix and the Big Fight – Vitalstatistix holds a modern press conference for the upcoming stories (parodying the contemporary press conferences of then-president Charles de Gaulle).
Asterix and Obelix catch the village children for the start of the school year, but Obelix is put in class too when he shows ignorance of current affairs.
Story of the village on the day of Asterix's and Obelix's birth, which interrupts a quarrel among their friends' fathers.
Introduction to the stories (done for the American market): gives a synopsis of the themes and principal characters.
Dogmatix helps the village rooster (national bird of France) defeat an eagle (symbol of Rome) terrorizing the local animals, by stealing Asterix's gourd of potion to provide the rooster with the necessary advantage.
Obelix tries to use Gaulish customs to get a kiss from Panacea, but fails, and the kiss is instead won by Dogmatix.
A fashion show generates a fight after Impedimenta quarrels with Mrs. Geriatrix.
This is a mockery of the more outrageous "suggestions" made by readers, allowing Uderzo to show his facility with different styles of illustration:
For the honour of Gaul, Asterix and Obelix help Lutetia (ancient Paris) win the chance to host the ancient Olympic Games by acting as security for the event.
Asterix helps a tiny anthropomorphic personification of Spring overcome Winter.
Some unlucky Romans try to take Dogmatix as their "lucky" mascot, which brings Asterix and Obelix's vengeance down on them.
A joke on modern French anxiety over the bastardization of the French language (cf. Franglais) shows the Gauls using Latin loanwords.
The authors find a modern descendant of Obelix and invite him to their publishing house, only to learn that he is too much like his ancestor.
This story depicts a brainstorming session between the authors, in which they become too excited by the idea of the stories' fights and are as a result carted off to a mental asylum.
In recent editions of some translations (notably German) a new short story is included:
Obelix tries to learn to read after he receives a letter from Panacea for his birthday which he does not want to share with anyone else. This was later included in the book Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book .
On Goodreads, Asterix and the Class Act has a score of 3.77 out of 5. [3]
Asterix is a French comic album series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the odds of the Roman Republic, with the aid of a magic potion, during the era of Julius Caesar, in an ahistorical telling of the time after the Gallic Wars.
Asterix the Gaul is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). In Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, a 1999 poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde, Asterix the Gaul was listed as the 23rd greatest book of the 20th century.
Asterix at the Olympic Games is the 12th comic book album in the Asterix series. Serialized in Pilote issues 434–455 in 1968, it was translated into English in 1972. The story satirizes performance-enhancing drug usage in sports.
Dogmatix is a fictional white terrier dog who is a companion to Obelix in the Asterix comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French, his name is Idéfix, itself a pun on the French expression idée fixe meaning an obsession.
Asterix and the Big Fight is a French comic book, the seventh in the Asterix comic book series. It was written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. Its original French title is Le Combat des chefs and it was first published in serial form in Pilote magazines, issues 261–302, in 1964. It was translated into English in 1971.
Asterix and the Golden Sickle is the second volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in Pilote magazine issues 42–74 in 1960.
Asterix and the Goths is the third volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first published in 1963 in French and translated into English in 1974.
Asterix and the Banquet is the fifth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in Pilote magazine, issues 172–213, in 1963.
Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield is the eleventh volume in the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo. It was originally published as a serial in Pilote issues 399–421 in 1967.
Asterix and the Black Gold is the twenty-sixth volume of Asterix comic book series, originally published in 1981. It is the second book to be both written and drawn by Albert Uderzo.
Asterix and Cleopatra is the sixth book in the Asterix album series by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in Pilote magazine, issues 215–257, in 1963.
Asterix and the Normans is the ninth book in the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo. It was first published in serial form in Pilote magazine, issues 340–361, in 1966. It depicts a meeting between Asterix's Gaulish village and a ship full of Normans (Vikings).
Asterix in Belgium is the twenty-fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (story) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations).
Obelix and Co. is the twenty-third volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). The book's main focus is on the attempts by the Gaul-occupying Romans to corrupt the one remaining village that still holds out against them by instilling capitalism. It is also the penultimate volume written by Goscinny before his death in 1977; his final volume, Asterix in Belgium, was released after his death in 1979.
Asterix in Corsica is the twentieth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (artwork). It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 687–708 in 1973. It is the best-selling title in the history of the series, owing to its sales in the French market, but is one of the least-selling titles in the English language.
Asterix and the Soothsayer is the nineteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 652-673 in 1972.
Asterix in Switzerland is the sixteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was originally serialized in Pilote magazine issues 557–578 in 1970 and translated into English in 1973.
Asterix and the Roman Agent is the fifteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It first appeared as a serial in Pilote magazine issues 531–552 in 1970 and was translated into English in 1972.
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar is a 1999 French-Italian-German comedy fantasy adventure film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the Asterix film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines plots of several Astérix stories, mostly Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and the Soothsayer, Asterix and the Goths, Asterix the Legionary and Asterix the Gladiator but jokes and references from many other albums abound, including a humorous exchange between Caesar and Brutus taken from Asterix and Cleopatra, and the villain Lucius Detritus is based on Tullius Detritus, the main antagonist of Asterix and the Roman Agent.