Asterix 40: The White Iris
German, Albert Uderzo, René Goscinny, 2023
The release date for the next Asterix adventure has been set: the new volume will be in stores on 23 October. There are also the first vague clues about the plot.
The Asterix series celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2024, but there was no new adventure. "The White Iris" had already been published in 2023 - and the two-year cycle means waiting until the end of 2025 before the next volume, number 41, will be available to buy.
However, the publishers' marketing machine is already up and running. The interested public has been informed that a new adventure is coming with volume 41, "peppered with gags, new acquaintances and culinary discoveries". Well, that's as concrete and surprising as the horoscope in the TV guide. Because for many years now, a story set predominantly in the Gallic village has been followed by one in which the Gauls are travelling.
The PR people, who want to keep the Gauls on the road to success, have therefore included two "interviews" with author Fabcaro and illustrator Didier Conrad in the media release. In them, Fabcaro reveals that he is as excited as a little boy to be travelling with the Gauls. He is not yet revealing where he is travelling to. But it should be somewhere they have not yet visited. After all, there are still some countries and regions of the world that have not yet been visited: Australia, Japan, South Africa, South America. On the other hand, Asterix will not be visiting the Goths, the Swiss or the Spanish again.
While Fabcaro is slowly nearing the end of writing the story, illustrator Didier Conrad is about to complete the pencil drawings. The publisher has approved one of them for publication.
The next step, says Conrad in the interview, is the ink drawings, which he does "armed with my trusty Winsor & Newton brush. Also available at Galaxus ... if you want to try your hand at drawing too.
Fans of the scrappy Gauls can shorten the wait for volume 41 on Netflix this spring. The streaming provider will then release the animated series "Asterix and Obelix - The Battle of the Chiefs". It will be released simultaneously in all 190 countries in which Netflix is available and will be available in 39 languages.
In fewer languages and not on Netflix, by the way, there is another Asterix content from my colleague Ramon:
Journalist since 1997. Stopovers in Franconia (or the Franken region), Lake Constance, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zurich. Father since 2014. Expert in editorial organisation and motivation. Focus on sustainability, home office tools, beautiful things for the home, creative toys and sports equipment.