''Asterix and the Class Act'' (french: link=no, 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 ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

comic book series, by

René Goscinny René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...

(stories) and

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...

(illustrations and some stories), published in 2003. 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.

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 a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

". 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 1993 there was an earlier, smaller collection also called ''La Rentree Gauloise'' which was only available in French. It also contained a story called L'Antiquaire (The Antique Dealer) as filler which was not by Goscinny nor 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. Even earlier, 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).

The stories

Introduction (Press Conference)

Originally an announcement page for ''

Asterix and the Big Fight ''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'' ("The Battle of the Chief ...

'' – Vitalstatistix holds a modern press conference for the upcoming stories (parodying the contemporary press conferences of then-president

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

). :(''1964 – Conférence de presse'') – 1 page. ''First published in Pilote #260; Appeared in "Astérix mini-histoires"''

Asterix and the Class Act

and

Obelix Obelix (; french: Obélix) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his bac ...

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. :(''1966 – Rentrée gauloise'') – 2 pages. ''First published in Pilote #363; Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

The Birth of Asterix

Story of the village on the day of Asterix's and Obelix's birth, which interrupts a quarrel among their friends' fathers. :(''1994 – En 35 avant J.C. (Julius Caesar)'') – 4 pages. ''Published in the 35th anniversary special of Pilote ( the first Asterix story began in the first issue)''.

In 50 BC

Introduction to the stories (done for the American market): gives a synopsis of the themes and principal characters. :(''1977 – En 50 avant J.C.'') – 3 pages. ''First published in the May 1977 issue of

National Geographic Magazine ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

for an article on the history of

Celtic people The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

Chanticleerix

Dogmatix 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 ...

helps the village

rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

(national bird of France) defeat an

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

(symbol of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) terrorizing the local animals, by stealing Asterix's gourd of potion to provide the rooster with the necessary advantage. :(''2003 – Chanteclairix – Le Coq Gaulois'') – 5 pages. ''New with this album. ''

For Gaul Lang Syne

Obelix tries to use Gaulish customs to get a kiss from Panacea, but fails, and the kiss is instead won by Dogmatix. :(''1967 – Au gui l'an IX'') – 2 pages. ''First published in Pilote #424. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

Mini Midi Maxi

A fashion show generates a fight after Impedimenta quarrels with Mrs. Geriatrix. :(''1971 – Mini, Midi, Maxi'') – 2 pages. ''Done for French women's magazine "Elle" #1337. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

Asterix As You Have Never Seen Him Before...

This is a mockery of the more outrageous "suggestions" made by readers, allowing Uderzo to show his facility with different styles of illustration: *black and white, simplistic line drawings and telegram-type text in a very short story satirizing ''

Asterix and the Great Crossing ''Asterix and the Great Crossing'' is the twenty-second volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). Plot summary Unhygienix has run out of fresh fish. Since his stock has to be transpo ...

'' (following a reader's complaint - also in telegram text - that the Asterix stories were too long and complicated), *using flowers on female legionaries in a story drawn in a psychedelic style (following a reader's complaint that the Asterix stories were too male and too dull), *in a quasi-modernized one-panel plot in which Getafix has constructed modern firearms (which Asterix and Obelix do not know how to use properly), Asterix is telephoning Getafix, and where the word "like" is constantly dropped into their speech (after a reader had written a letter punctuated with the word "like" to Goscinny, complaining that the characters looked weird and old fashioned), *fighting aliens on a distant planet as ''Jim Asteryx'' (after a ''

Flash Gordon Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by, and created to compete with, the already established ''Buck Rogers'' adve ...

'' fan had called the comics mediocre). *Last of all, Goscinny and Uderzo write a message saying that as they are the authors, they should be allowed to draw Asterix as they wish, and so draw a picture of him and Obelix wearing

plus-fours Plus fours are breeches or trousers that extend four inches (10 cm) below the knee (and thus four inches longer than traditional knickerbockers, hence the name). Knickerbockers have been traditionally associated with sporting attire sinc ...

(a put-on of

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

), much to Asterix and Obelix's fury. :(''1969 – Amicales coopérations'') – 3 pages. ''First published in Pilote #527.''

The Lutetia Olympics

For the honour of Gaul, Asterix and Obelix help

Lutetia The Gallo-Roman town of ''Lutetia'' (''Lutetia Parisiorum'' in Latin, in French ''Lutèce'') was the predecessor of the modern-day city of Paris. It was founded in about the middle of the 3rd century BCE by the Parisii, a Gallic tribe. Tra ...

(ancient Paris) win the chance to host the

ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. ...

by acting as security for the event. :(''1986 – Lutèce olympique'') – 4 pages. ''Done to aid the 1992 Paris Olympic bid and originally published in the bid's promotional materials.''

Springtime in Gaul

Asterix helps a tiny

anthropomorphic personification Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

of Spring overcome Winter. :(''1966 – Le printemps gaulois'') – 2 pages. ''First published in Pilote #334. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

The Mascot

Some unlucky Romans try to take Dogmatix as their "lucky"

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

, which brings Asterix and Obelix's vengeance down on them. :(''1968 – La mascotte'') – 4 pages. ''First Published in Pilote "Super Pocket 1". Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

Latinamania

A joke on modern French anxiety over the bastardization of the French language (cf.

Franglais Franglais (; also Frenglish ) is a French blend that referred first to the overuse of English words by French speakers and later to diglossia or the macaronic mixture of French () and English (). Etymology The word ''Franglais'' was first at ...

) shows the Gauls using Latin loanwords. :(''1973 – Etc, etc ...'') – 1 page. ''Where it was actually first published is not certain. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise" and "Astérix mini-histoires"''

The Obelix Family Tree

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. :(''1963 – Obelisc'h'') – 5 pages. ''First serialized as strips in Pilote #172–186. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise"''

The Birth of an Idea

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. :(''1962 – Naissance d'une idée'') – 1 page. ''First published in Pilote #157. Appeared in the original "La Rentree Gauloise"''

Notes

In recent editions of some translations (notably German) a new short story is included:

Obelix: As Simple as ABC

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''. :(''2004 – Lire avec Obelix '') – 3 pages. ''First published in French literary magazine ''"LiRE"'' for the 45th anniversary of the Asterix comics.

In other languages

*Croatian: ''Povratak u klupe'' (Back to school) *Dutch: ''Het pretpakket'' *Finnish: ''Gallialainen kertomataulu'' (''The Gaulish Multiplication Table'') *German: ''Asterix plaudert aus der Schule'' *Greek: ''Ο Αστερίξ και η επιστροφή των Γαλατών'' (''Asterix and the return of the Gauls'') *Italian: ''Asterix tra banchi e... banchetti'' *Portuguese: ''Astérix e o regresso dos Gauleses'' (Portugal) / ''Astérix e a volta às aulas'' (Brazil) *Polish: ''Galijskie początki'' *Serbian: ''Asteriks i povratak u galsku školu'' *Swedish: ''Åter till Gallien''

Reception

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

, ''Asterix and the Class Act'' has a score of 3.77 out of 5.

External links

*http://www.asterix-obelix.nl/index.php?page=thebooks/album-32.inc

References

{{Asterix, Class Act, Asterix and the, type=book Class Act, Asterix and the Works originally published in Pilote 2003 graphic novels Works by René Goscinny Comics by Albert Uderzo Comics set in Paris