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Asterix and the Griffin: Album 39
£6.20£7.60 (-18%)
Be the first to read the next action-packed adventure from the indomitable Gauls by pre-ordering now!
Follow Asterix and Obelix as they set out on their 39th adventure on a long journey in search of a strange and terrifying creature. Half-eagle, half-lion, and idolised and feared by ancient peoples, this creature is the griffin.
How will Asterix, Obelix, Dogamatix, along with the Druid Getafix, get drawn into the epic, perilous quest to find this fantastical animal? Find out in the next instalment of this multi-million bestselling series.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Sphere, 1st edition (7 April 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 48 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0751584711 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0751584714 |
| Dimensions | 21.6 x 0.6 x 28.6 cm |
by Leslie Crumpton-Taylor
With the much missed Goscinny & Uderzo long gone it seems that Ferri & Conrad have at last picked up the idea properly. This book is less like imitating their predecessors and more adopting the feeling of the original Asterix works to produce their own story which stands on its own merit. This gives great hope for the future.
There are two hints that plays on words might have been lost in translation and the puns on the names of the Eastern Europeans become a bit laboured albeit appropriate & in keeping with expectations. The use of the reversed “E” to indicate the accent of the Sarmatians given the size of the script does make it harder to read for those with less than perfect eyesight but after a few pages one acclimatises. For young children it would be worthwhile pointing out that the reversed “E” is not how words are normally printed.
There are some current references and historical jokes which will pass by younger folk but no doubt the adults of the household will have read this book first and will have pointed out that they have spotted them. Yes I bought it for me and yes I am looking forward to the next one.
by “tpurcell9”
You either love Astrix & Co. or you hate them. Personally, I’m a great fan of him and his fellow Gauls. This book (trying hard not to spoil anything) is the usual Caeser vs the Gauls and Caesar coming off the worse.
The jokes and one liners are as expected.
You know what you are getting here.
by Mikec3
Fantastic a new Asterix volume, of course it isn’t a real Asterix book as Goscinny and Uderzo are sadly no longer with us. But a new Asterix book!
It looks like an Asterix book… but when you start looking more closely the cartoony feel is slipping. There’s always been a small handful of characters who look less cartoony and a bit more realistic (Geriatrix’s wife being one), there are far too many characters who are edging towards this realistic look. Beautifully drawn but it isn’t the classic Asterix look.
Then the plot. Caesar initiates a diabolical plan and Getafix aided, as always, by Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatic go off to a far away land to help a friend of Getafix.
But it looks like there’s a whole page of the story missing which has our heroes at home, getting the message for help and setting off. The first we see of our heroes is of them journeying to the far and distant land, with no explanation. A massive hole in the plot.
A little research shows that there was a deluxe edition produced in France which does indeed have several more pages. There really are missing pages! Our heroes at home getting the call being just one of them (it’s available online but alas only in French I’m afraid).
Our heroes venture to a very familiar looking village in the snowy wastes of the steppes. The Unhygienix character in the ‘mirror’ village is introduced to us as Wottastinkov, 8 pages later his name is now Viraloadov. The late Derek and Anthea Bell wouldn’t have allowed that!
Later on, as our heroes head home, there’s a single frame featuring the pirates. Why? Are we missing another page? Nice for the pirates to not get beaten up, but where’s the frame with Asterix wondering what the pirates are doing? It doesn’t quite work.
The story mostly works (albeit very formulaic, but aren’t all Asterix books?), but the heavy editing and missing pages make the plot jump around.
There’s lots of references to the pandemic, COVID and Amazon. Some of the puns working, most falling flat. Clearly the story was rewritten (which probably explains the Unhygienix character’s name changing), the finished story being neither one theme or another. It’s as though they never fully overwrote the original drafts.
I’d like to read the complete story in the deluxe edition (only available in French) to compare the two. But this version is really let down by the editing.
by Rob
I’ve been a fan of Asterix for a long time, whether it’s the animated movies or the books I just love them and I feel that they’ve done a great job with the franchise on this book too!!
I thought the story was great! The magic potion freezing over etc.. and the twist at the end was really good, I also thought it was a nice touch with the backwards E to show the accent, initially I wasn’t sure if I’d like this with the E when I first heard about it but it’s actually really good!!
The illustrations are lovely too and really nice and vibrant, it’s a fantastic addition to your Asterix collection for sure and very enjoyable!!
I bought a couple of copies of this on pre order and wanted to wait until I’d read it before leaving a review and honestly, it’s really good!!
I really enjoyed it!!
by Adrian Walker
Great book ????????????????
by N. Lipscomb
Asterix and Obelix are back again and this time they head out east.
There are some strong women characters and corny Amazon jokes.
Fun but not their greatest escapade.
by Fred Bux
I think the last time i laughed reading an Asterix book was more than forty years ago. In this one there’s a scene where a gladiator and a cartographer start arguing and it took me back instantly to reading the Roman Agent as a kid. Well done!
by magdalena
Nice book, asterix as always.