Asterix The Gaul - Publishing History

Publishing History

The story was first published as a serial in Pilote, a French comic magazine founded by Goscinny and a few other comic artists.

The first page appeared in the promotional issue #0, distributed on June 1, 1959, and the story was serially published in the magazine from issue #1 (October 29, 1959) until issue #38 (July 14, 1960). A small head of Asterix first appeared on the cover of #9 (December 24, 1959), and a full Asterix cover was used on #21 (March 17, 1960).

The next story, Asterix and the Golden Sickle, started in issue #42 (August 11, 1960).

Asterix le Gaulois was published in July 1961 by Dargaud in the so-called "Pilote collection" with a print of 6000 copies. A Dutch translation followed in 1966, and other languages followed soon after.

The English translation by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge was first published in 1969 by Brockhampton Press.

The plate for page 35 was redrawn by Albert Uderzo's brother Marcel in 1970 because the original was lost. This is why there are some slight differences in the drawing style. All English versions from Hodder & Stoughton (Hodder Dargaud) use the original illustrations, which were made from a copy of an actual printed page, hence the blurriness. The 2004 release from Orion Books uses the redone illustrations from the French editions.

An audiobook of Asterix the Gaul adapted by Anthea Bell and narrated by Willie Rushton was released on EMI Records Listen for Pleasure label in 1990.

On the 29th of October, 2009, Google prominently featured an integration of Asterix and Obelix in its mast head, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first publication.