Podcast
“Asterix – the Podcast”
Asterix copywriter Jean-Yves Ferri on prejudiced jokes and why Asterix should actually be an antihero
The title character of the Asterix comics
© ASTERIX®- OBELIX®- IDEFIX® / © 2021 LES EDITIONS ALBERT RENE / GOSCINNY – UDERZO / Egmont Ehapa Media
Jokes about other nations belong to Asterix like roast boar and Roman helmets. But is that still up to date? in the starPodcast, culture editor Matthias Schmidt talks about it with a man who should know: the new Asterix copywriter Jean-Yves Ferri.
Listen to the podcast here or directly at Audio Now, Spotify, iTunes and other podcast providers.
For ten years and five volumes, the Frenchman has been responsible for the Gauls’ new comic adventures – and is following in the gigantic footsteps of Asterix inventor René Goscinny. “There used to be more camaraderie among countries, a good-natured spirit,” says Ferri. Today the peoples are regrettably less relaxed and more hostile. So his work has become much more complicated. Ferri: “In Goscinny’s day it was easier to laugh happily at the peculiarities of a country.”
After Obelix and Troubadix, Miraculix and women like Falbala, the sixth episode of the Asterix podcast by star-Culture editor and host Matthias Schmidt is now finally the title hero in the spotlight. The little one with the winged helmet does well as a brave warrior, without whose cunning and flashes of inspiration the Romans would have long been the sole rulers in Gaul, on the other hand, his know-it-all and infallibility can be annoying.
Asterix copywriter Jean-Yves Ferri with Asterix and Obelix figures
Asterix, the antihero
Ferri is very aware of the strengths and quirks of the Asterix character. “Asterix was originally designed as an anti-hero,” he says. Today, however, our view of heroes would have changed. “That’s why we don’t really know how to sort this figure any more.” Why is Asterix still so popular, especially with older readers? “When you open Asterix, you are immediately immersed in your own childhood,” says Ferri, who lives and works in a small town on the edge of the Pyrenees.
We should copy these food rules from the French
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For the “At the Teutates” section, Schmidts star-Colleague Bernd Teichmann this time collected useless and amusing knowledge about Cleopatra, who has several guest appearances in the comics. And he is concerned with the question of whether the Egyptian ruler was really such an irresistible woman.
For his Asterix podcast, host Matthias Schmidt regularly takes a closer look at various characters from the Asterix universe. That speaks for it star-Culture editor with Asterix experts and celebrity fans, including the entertainer Hella von Sinnen and the cook Johann Lafer, the magic duo Ehrlich Brothers and the legendary translator Gudrun Penndorf.
“Asterix – the Podcast” appears every two weeks on Thursdays on stern.de and the Youtube channel of star as well as on Audio Now and all common podcast platforms.