The Week UK - 04.04.2020

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4April 2020 THE WEEK

Obituaries

Asachild,AlbertUderzo
didnotseemdestinedto
becomeanillustrator.He
wasborncolour-blind,and
withsixfingersoneachhand.Evenafterthe
extra digitshadbeenremoved,hecouldonly
graspapencilawkwardly,betweenhisthird
andfourthfingers,saidTheTimes.Yethegrew
uptodrawoneofthemostfamousillustrated
charactersofalltime:theindomitableAsterix
theGaul.CreatedwiththegreatRené
Goscinny,whowrotethebooksuntilhisdeath
in 1977 ,thestoriesaboutGaulishvillagers
resistingandoutwittingtheRomaninvadersin
50 BChavedelightedreadersallovertheworld.

TheAsterixbookshavebeentranslatedinto
111 languagesanddialects,andhavesoldsome
380 millioncopies.InFrance,though,Asterix
andhiscomradesaremorethanjustwell-loved
characters:theyhavecometobeseen as
symbolsofFrenchpatriotismandfighting
spirit.ItwastypicalthataftertheCharlieHebdoattacksin 2 015,
Uderzocameoutofretirementtoproducetwopencildrawings:
one ofAsterix furiouslyexclaiming“Moiaussi,jesuisun
Charlie”; asecond, arguablymorepowerful,ofAsterixand
Obelix with theirheadsbowedinmourning.For Uderzo, the
diminutive Gaulishwarrior,madeinvincible bythedruid’smagic
potion,wastheretogive succourtolife’sunderdogs.“[Asterix]
stands fortherevengeofthelittleguy,” hesaid.“Everyone feels
putuponbyforceswhicharemore powerfulthan theindividual.
Whetherit’stheRomans,theking,thepresident oftherepublic,
thepolice...onemaybe little; onestillhastofightback.”

Somethingof anunderdoghimself,hewasborn innorthern
France,thesonofpoorItalianimmigrant parents. Heloved
comics asachild(he boughtthefirstissueofMickey Mouse
magazine,butpreferred Popeye–whoderived hispower from
spinach). Hismother andhisolderbrotherBrunoencouraged his
talentfordrawing;in hisyouth, healsoworkedwithBruno ona
farminBrittany,whichwouldinspirethe ruralbackgroundsfor
theAsterixbooks. Hiscareeras acartoonistbegan atEditionsdu
Chêne; later,hemoved toWorld Presswhere,in theearly1950s,

hemetGoscinny–whohadalreadycreated

LuckyLuke,andwouldgoontowriteLePetit

Nicolas.Thetwobecamecollaboratorsand

firmfriends.Theycreatedfirstacharacter

calledOumpah-pah;thendevisedAsterixin

195 9foramagazinecalledPilote,saidThe

Guardian.Rememberinglearningaboutthe

chieftainVercingetorixatschool,theydecided

theGaulswouldhavenamesendingin“ix”,

andtheRomansin“us”.Thefirstbook,

AsterixtheGaul,soldamodest6,000copies

initsfirstrun.Butby 1965 ,Asterixhadsuch

aholdonthecountry’simagination,thefirst

Frenchspacesatellitewasnamedafterhim.

Theinitialprintrunforthetenthbook,Asterix

theLegionary,in 19 67,wasamillioncopies.

TherewasagreatenergytoUderzo’s

drawings,aswellaswittydetail:hisRoman

buildingsareremarkablyaccurate;evenminor

charactersareexpressivelyrealised;andinthe

backgroundofthestrips,thereisalways

bustlingactivity–dinersfeastingonwildboars,chariotssnarled

upintraffic–tohelp bring Asterix’sworldto life. Goscinny was

amasterof cleverwordplayandculturalallusion(ingeniously

preserved and sometimesenhancedinthe Englishtranslationby

AntheaBell andDerek Hockridge), while Uderzointroduced

visualjokesand references,saidTheDailyTelegraph. InAsterix

the Gladiator,amuscularslave“adoptsthe posesoftheLaocoön

and Rodin’sThinker”;elsewhereabunch ofpirates onaraftarea

car toonversion ofGéricault’sThe Raftofthe Medusa.Four mop-

topped bardsaremobbed byadmirersinAsterixinBritain;and

JacquesChirac,then mayorofParis,makes acameoinObelix

and Co.,asadeviousyoungRomancalledPreposterus.

WhenGoscinny diedofaheartattack aged51, Uderzowasloath

to continue;buthis publisher forced himtofinish thebookthey’d

been workingon,Asterix inBelgium,andfansbeggedfor more.

He obliged.The first two,TheGreatDivideandTheBlack Gold,

were worthyof the originals;later bookshad“sillierpremises”

and lessclever jokes.Yet theycontinuedtoresonate:last week,

fansrejoicedincirculatingastripfrom2011,in which the pair

defeatamasked charioteerby the nameof Coronavirus.

Albert Uderzo

1927-2020

Julie Felix,whohasdiedaged

81,wasayoungsinger perfor-

minginfolk clubs inLondon in

themid-1960swhen achance

encounterwith David Frostledtoher appearing

onTheFrostReport,saidThe Daily Telegraph.

Audiences were so enchanted, sheendedup

hosting twoTV seriesofher own(one ofwhich

was the first onBBC2 in colour), which did much

to bring folktoamassaudience. Meanwhile,she

mixed with TheBeatles,gave aseriesof concerts

with GeorgieFame (supportedbyCat Stevens),

andsold out the Albert Hall. Suchwas her

popularity, shewas referredto as the UK’s Joan

Baez–though she was, infact, American.

Felixwas born in Santa Barbara, California,to

LorenzoFelix ,amariachi musician, andhis wife

Doris, who hadWelsh ancestry.Although Julieloved music,she

never intended tomakeacareer ofit,but in 1962,she decidedto

embarkonabeatnikadventuretoEurope–and tookherguitar

with her.She befriended Leonard Cohenonthe Greek islandof

Hydra,before hehadevenstarted writingsongs; andarri ved in

Londonin 1964 .Shewassignedby Deccaon

thestrengthof atapeofher singing;herdebut

albumincludedcoversofWoody Guthrieand

earlyBobDylan songs.She metDavid Frost

in th eliftofthe apartment block in Chelsea

wherethey bothlived. Having featuredher

on hisown show,hepersuaded the BBCto

commissionOnce More with Felix,from 1967;

it wasfollowedbyThe Juli eFelix Show.Cohen

made his BritishTVdebutonher show:they

performedHeyThat’sNoWay to Say Goodbye

together. Other guests included Donovan, Dusty

SpringfieldandJimmy Page,said The Guardian

–but her favourite wasSpike Milligan.

Independent-mindedandpolitical, Felix did

not relishpop f ame,and in 1971,shemoved

toNorway with herdaughter. Shehad already

worked forChristian AidinAfricaand –now back in the US–

developed an interest inspir itualism.She moved back to Britainin

the 1990s. Sheremainedclose to Cohenuntil hisdeath, and at a

concert in Londontocelebrateher 80thbirthday in 2018, her old

friendJohn PaulJone s, ofLed Zeppelin, was amongthe guests.

JulieFelix

1938-2020

Brilliant illustrator who created Asterix the Gaul

Uderzo:championoftheunderdog

Felix: folk ambassador

American folk singer known as the UK’s Joan Baez