They quarrel and fight, hunt wild boars, buy rotten fish and beat Romans: this is how we have met the Gauls, who live in a small village in Brittany and seek to consolidate their existence under the Roman occupying forces. A famous thorn for the Roman emperor Julius Caesar.

What he failed to achieve in the previous issues, the Romans will now attempt with the “white iris”. Their plan is to hypnotize the unruly Gauls with… love, healthy eating and positive energy, thus rendering them unable to fight.

Balancing on a tightrope

The stories of Asterix always seek to move in the wider social contexts of the time, with the protagonists however remaining the same. Keeping up with the times for six decades is not easy.

In the last few issues readers started to lose touch with the characters somewhat. After René Gossini’s death in 1977, his long-time collaborator, Albert Uderzo, took over as copywriter – something that was not entirely successful. Gossini’s subtle and heretical wit partly gave way to clumsy jokes.

In 2013, an entirely new writing team took over, with Didier Conrad as illustrator and Jean-Yves Ferry as copywriter. Konrad masterfully copied Uderzo’s style, and Ferry wrote texts with humor and wit. Despite their initial success, over time the characters gradually lost their potency again.

After Gossini, Uderzo and Ferri, Fabrice Caro from the south of France, or Fabcaro, is the fourth author who decides on the words and sayings of the characters. And while Konrad’s designs can be considered ‘safe’, the question now is: can the ‘new’ approach the tone of the classic stories – or are the Asterix stories now completely out of step?

Current issues are troubling the Galatian village

Current social issues are incorporated into the story – without being over the top. E-skates, climate protests, fleeing the cities, xenophobia and self-improvement are some of the issues touched on in the new volume of Asterix. The new issue even includes a reference to the hit German TV series Babylon Berlin and the extravagant club Moka Efti (which, incidentally, was opened by Greek businessman ‘Giovani’ Efthymiadis in Berlin in 1929).

“Asterix and the White Iris” is rather a careful anniversary volume – it wants to win back the old fans, not to alienate those who remain and ideally to win new ones: That is, the grandchildren of all those who laughed their hearts out 50 years ago .