Asterix and the Falling Sky

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Asterix and the Falling Sky is the thirty-third volume of the Asterix comic book series, by Albert Uderzo (story and illustrations). It is the newest book, having come out on October 14th, 2005 around the world.

The album is explained by Uderzo as a tribute to Walt Disney, who inspired him to become an artist. It is generally not well liked by fans.

Uderzo has been adamant this will not be the last Asterix album, saying in a [Financial Times] interview "No, no, no, it is not the last. Certain journalists believed this because the cover was the mirror image of the first Asterix album. That is indeed the case but it was not at all my intention to suggest it would be the last album."

Plot summary

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Breaking with the more or less historical setting in previous albums, two rival outer space alien ships appear above the Gaulish village.

The evil aliens Nagma want to know the secret of the great weapon the Gauls have (Getafix's potion), that is "known throughout the universe", in order to conquer more planets. However a Tadsilweny called Toon comes to the village with the mission to destroy the weapon.

The aliens are styled on the happy-faced Walt Disney and DC Comics superheroes of the American comic book style on one side, and futuristic robot and insect-like Japanese manga style on the other.

References

Uderzo has admitted that this book is poking fun of "certain things that come from America" and he admits he has a dislike for mangas.

America is famous for alien encounters.
The Tadsilweny's favourite food is hot dog.
Toon says their leader is called "Hubs", an anagram of "Bush".
Toon wants to confiscate the village's magical potion because it is a dangerous weapon. This is supposed to be an analogy to when the Americans thought the Iraqis had secret weapons in the Gulf War and in the 2003 Invasion.
Nagma is an anagram of manga.
"Tadsilweny" is an anagram of Walt Disney.
Toon (a pun on "toon") looks like a purple Mickey Mouse, with no ears. In a scene, he even gets black, like Mickey. Asterix comments by saying that black suits him well.
The design of the mothership of the Nagmas is based on the anime robot Grendizer. In the original French version, the smaller ships that it spits are called "Goelderas", a name which literally means "rat faces" but is written in a way reminiscent of the French name of Grendizer: Goldorak. It is to be known that the Grendizer cartoon series is/was extremely famous and popular in France.
The golden armor of the Nagma leader could be a reference to the golden armors worn by the protagonists of the anime Saint Seiya, which was also famous in France.
The "super clones" used by the Tadsilweny are similar to Superman, carry a shining green ring and have the face of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Toon also says that they can become bat or spider super clones.
Directly translated from French the original title is in fact The Sky Falls on his Head which is the only thing the Gauls fear.

Uderzo has been criticized for giving a very negative (almost racist) image of mangas and Japanese in the album, as even though he made fun of Americans too, he showed them in a more positive light. Uderzo has admitted: "I don't know manga well. I bought some in a Neuilly library. And I was baffled when I discovered, amongst the comics piles, one about sex education. Mentioning everything about it! And yet, in Neuilly, it is not something to kid with. It makes a kid lose his virginity!" It was obvious to some fans that he fell on Futari Ecchi, a manga that is forbidden for those under 15 in France. Uderzo also doesn't like the style of manga, saying that "manga characters all look alike, with big or tiny eyes, and small mouths." He still concluded by the fact that he doesn't "spit on manga".

External links

[Asterix NZ's Asterix and the Falling Sky Page]

{| style="margin: auto; text-align: center; clear: both" class="toccolours" |- ! style="padding: 0; background-color:#E0F0F0;"| The Adventures of Asterix and Obelix |- | style="font-size: 90%; padding: .5em 1em 1em" | Asterix the Gaul | Asterix and the Golden Sickle | Asterix and the Goths | Asterix the Gladiator | Asterix and the Banquet | Asterix and Cleopatra | Asterix and the Big Fight | Asterix in Britain | Asterix and the Normans | Asterix the Legionary | Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield | Asterix at the Olympic Games | Asterix and the Cauldron | Asterix in Spain | Asterix and the Roman Agent | Asterix in Switzerland | The Mansions of the Gods | Asterix and the Laurel Wreath | Asterix and the Soothsayer | Asterix in Corsica | Asterix and Caesar's Gift | Asterix and the Great Crossing | Obelix and Co. | Asterix in Belgium | Asterix and the Great Divide | Asterix and the Black Gold | Asterix and Son | Asterix and the Magic Carpet | Asterix and the Secret Weapon | Asterix and Obelix All at Sea | Asterix and the Actress | Asterix and the Class Act | Asterix and the Falling Sky |- |How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little Boy |-

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