With a new pairing of authors: Fabcaro (writer) joins Didier Conrad (illustrator) for this
40th book of Asterix adventures.
We have a wonderful surprise in store for all Asterix readers, young and old: the 40th book of Asterix tales will be published on October 31th, 2023!
Asterix #40: Asterix and The White Iris – Hardcover
Creators: Fabcaro, Didier Conrad
On-sale Date: October 31, 2023
Page Count: 64 pages | Age Level: 7 – 12
Hardcover Price: $9.99
ISBN: 9781545811368
A new indomitable character and talented author, Fabcaro, joins illustrator Didier Conrad to concoct the 40th Gaulish adventure! A first for this multi-faceted artist. Find out more about this new creative paring in these interviews from Editions Albert Rene!
Welcome to the Village! Who are you and where are you from?
I’ve been writing comic books for about twenty years and I’ve published quite a few books in that time, with small publishing companies as well as bigger ones. I live in the south of France, near Montpellier, out in the countryside, with my two donkeys. Why comics? It was a childhood passion, which is the same for all authors, I think. I’ve always loved drawing and writing. From a very young age, I spent all my time doing just that. I was a big reader too – I read everything I could get my hands on. I was already dreaming of writing books back then.
Why Asterix?
I grew up with Asterix. When I read my first one – it was Asterix and the Great Divide which my mum bought for me the day it was published – I fell head over heels. I went straight on to read Asterix and the Big Fight, Asterix and the Roman Agent . . . and I very soon found I was reading them all on a loop. I learned to read with René Goscinny and to draw with Albert Uderzo. I remember copying whole frames from the albums. I’ve reread those albums regularly all through my life, and I always enjoy them just as much.
How did you find working with the publishers?
I worked very closely with Céleste Surugue (Managing Director of Les Éditions Albert René). We had a lot of discussions to fine tune the writing and make sure it respected the spirit and language of the series. I valued his expertise.
Fabrice Caro, known as Fabcaro, writes graphic fiction and novels. Among his plethora of work which kicked off in 1996, highlights include Le Steak haché de Damoclès (2005), La Bredoute (2007) and On est pas là pour réussir (2012). His success was confirmed with the album Zaï zaï zaï zaï , which won the 2015 “Coup de Coeur” Prix Landerneau for a graphic work, the Prix Ouest France “quai des bulles” prize and many other prizes; and it was adapted for the screen by François Desagnat in 2020. In 2016, Fabcaro wrote the text for the new adventures of Gai-Luron, illustrated by Pixel vengeur (Fluide glacial magazine). Another standout publication, which combined absurd humour and social satire, came in 2018: Moins qu’hier (plus que demain). His novel Le Discours (2018) was adapted for the screen by Laurent Tirard in 2020. In 2021 he published Guacamole vaudou, a humourous photo-novel featuring the off-the-wall actor Eric Judor.
Asterix deserved Fabcaro and Fabcaro deserved Asterix! Not just anyone gets into the world created by my father and Albert Uderzo. It takes the intelligence to adapt, and agreeing to mould into the creators’ footsteps while making your own contribution – in this case a hint of madness. Challenge accepted!
– Anne Goscinny
I knew Fabcaro, of course. He knows it’s a big responsibility. He had to adapt to the world that René Goscinny and my father created. I’m waiting till the album’s finished, but our exchanges have been constructive. A new writer is also a way of breathing new life into the albums.
– Sylvie Uderzo
Asterix is a very special national treasure. Albert and Sylvie Uderzo and Anne Goscinny did us the honour of entrusting it to us. It’s our responsibility to ensure the legend lives on while respecting the legacy and values of its creators.
– Isabelle Magnac,
Éditions Albert René
Didier, how did you find working with your new acolyte, and how did it differ to your collaboration with Jean-Yves Ferri?
Working with Jean-Yves is a real pleasure! Working with Fabcaro is just as wonderful! They’re both brimming with imagination and it’s a huge pleasure bringing their stories to life… and the next one has some great surprises in store!
Like Asterix, Didier Conrad was born in 1959 – in Marseille. His first comic book, Jason, was published in 1978. He then started work illustrating the top of-page graphic sequences for Spirou magazine, working with the writer Yann, with whom he went on to create the legendary Les Innomables. This was followed by a succession of humorous creations with Wilbur; these included Bob Marone (1980), L’Avatar (1984), Le Piège Malais and Donito (from 1991 to 1996). In 1996, Didier Conrad moved to Los Angeles to work on visual development and storyboarding for the feature-length animation The Road to El Dorado (released in 2000) produced by Dreamworks SKG. He then returned to comic books two years later with further outings of Les Innommables, and he continued his collaboration with Wilbur for Tigresse Blanche (2005- 2010), the RAJ series (2007-2010) and Marsu Kids (2011-2012). He has been illustrating the Gaulish adventures since Asterix and the Picts (2013).
Jean-Yves, you’re not at the controls for album 40. Can you tell us why?
I thought to myself, “40? Gaul?” and it reminded me that I’d had an album on ice for a long time, a “de Gaulle” story that takes place in London in 1940… [he laughs] Since then, I’ve been working on that, and I couldn’t make the time to write the great story that our little Gaul deserves. But I know that Fabcaro has put together a great adventure full of humour and twists and turns. Meanwhile, I have some great ideas for future adventures.
It’s the year 1959 of the current era.
The writer René Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo are under pressure. They need to devise an original comic strip series based on French culture for the first edition of the review Pilote which is due to come out in a few weeks. The two writers are in Albert Uderzo’s apartment, racking their brains in a now famous brainstorming session:
“What are the most significant periods in French history?” René asks, opening a new line of enquiry.
“Well, there’s the prehistoric period,” Albert offers.
“No, already been used,” his friend replies.
“Well Gaul and the Gauls, then?”
René immediately runs with this, and their ideas start coming thick and fast. “Within two hours it was all sorted, all decided…” the writer remembers.
That’s how the adventures of Asterix began on 29th October 1959 in the first edition of Pilote magazine. Soon all of Gaul was occupied – and preoccupied – by Romans, a magic potion, puns and sibylline Latin quotes. All of it? Yes, all of it. Enjoying tremendous adventures and laughing along the way.
1959 : First publication, on 29th October, in Pilote magazine
1961 : Publication of the first Asterix book, Asterix the Gaul.
6,000 : Copies in the first print run.
117 : Number of existing translations (languages and dialects).
393,000,000 : Number of books sold around the world since 1959.
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