The European festivities which gathered fans and professionals in Brussels in September may have overwhelmed 78-year-old Alberto Aleandro Uderzo, who at the time confided to us his great delight at receiving such recognition, but it was readers from the world over who proposed the final toast! And what a toast! According to provisional reports from our publishers in the run up to the Christmas celebrations, sales of the 33rd opus have beaten all Gaulish records: between 5.5 and 6 million albums have already been sold! Of which more than 2.4 million are in French (France, Belgium and Switzerland)!

The fact that the new album caused some uproar only goes to prove that it filled a need among readers. And not just its usual readers: booksellers have witnessed a renewal in part of the Asterix readership since, for the first time, the last two and the first two titles of the collection are the best sellers! Sales of Asterix albums increase each time a new title comes out, but this is the first time that the 1st and 2nd (Asterix the Gaul and Asterix and the Golden Sickle) and the 31st and 32nd (Asterix and the Actress and Asterix and the Class Act) scored above others in the collection: new readers and readers catching up on the two last albums!... It looks like the 33rd album has acted as a catalyst for young readers and has revived the enthusiasm of former readers!
May the sky fall on our heads like this more often! Cheers, hic!

Out of respect for the Spanish public and just for the sheer pleasure of it, Albert Uderzo's last trip for the promotion of the 33rd album will be to Spain. The album has had an "absolutamente loco"success in Spain, even more so than elsewhere! The SN Brussels Airlines Asterix plane, which will be bringing Albert Uderzo to meet the local press, should touch down in the capital on Wednesday, 14 December. Whereas the Northern European countries have been able to get to know the Gauls better thanks to Belgium's efforts (especially thanks to the Asterix Mirror World Exhibition in Brussels, which runs until 15 January) and people on the continent were able to discover more about Albert Uderzo's work by visiting the Frankfurt International Book Fair, it's understandable that those further South feel a bit neglected. And we all know how proud these Mediterranean types can be after having read Goscinny/Uderzo's memorable works set in Spain and Corsica!
With this in mind, the very last trip was saved for Madrid. I here and now promise our Lusitanian friends that Lisbon will be on the agenda for upcoming celebrations as the success of the latest album (120,000 copies!) deserves a visit very soon, perhaps in connection with the Asterix exhibition…
Whatever the case, Hispania has treated our Gauls well as almost 300,000 copies have been sold in two languages (Castilian and Catalan) south of the Pyrenees since its release on 14 October! I'll let you know how the sangria is in Madrid. The question is: with or without gin? I'm telling you, it's these little things that count!

There's just over a month left in which to see the major Asterix exhibition at Tour et Taxis in Brussels. A hit with critics (5 stars in all Belgian guides) and a popular success, this exhibition is to the world of Asterix what a good dictionary is to literature. An exclusive version of the superb catalogue (compiled by crazies for the crazy Gauls village… well, it does make sense) is available at the site. Another version is now available in your nearest bookshop in France. Written in three languages (English, Dutch and French), it gives, for the first time, a general overview of all the albums and toys from the last 46 years. Here's a recent quote from a visitor hooked on all things Gaulish, "I saw everything, I think. The visit took me 4 hours or so - congratulations, it's an absolute delight!" To be on the safe side, which is the fashion in these schizophrenic times, we recommend you visit the Mirror World exhibition with a survival kit, just in case…!

PANJIM, DEC 2
The premiere of the film Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra has just taken place in Panjim, India to the delight of an enormous audience!
This Indian sneak preview took place in a big cinematic complex in the presence of actress Noémie Lenoir who came to promote the release of Alain Chabat's film in the country of Orinjade.
It was France's ambassador to India, the well-known Gaul Girardominix, who requested that the film be programmed during the French day of the 36th International Film Festival of India. It's funny, don't you think, to see our feasting Gauls transformed into ambassadors for French culture?
All the more so since the artistic image of France as represented in the film is very chic, don't you think? Thank you India and Mr Girard, all of you who organised the event, as well as Messrs Goscinny, Uderzo and Chabat. And their parents while we're at it, there, everyone's taken care of!

Attached you'll find an exclusive of the first teaser poster which will go up around Lutetia and on the walls of cinemas everywhere at Christmas time…
The threat of Viking invasion looms large in European cinemas
We'll be sure to let you know when it will hit so you have time to enrol in cliff-top acrobatic lessons…