There are a few bits of Asterix that are pretty problematic, too, for example the depiction of the African pirate. YMMV, but for me it's a small enough piece that it's worthwhile just talking it over with my kids (vs something like Dr. Seuss's "If I Ran The Zoo", which probably belongs in the dustbin of history, along with Song of the South and everything else that really isn't worth it at this point).
The authors are mocking of caribbean pirates, not of black people. The character speaks with a thick caribbean accent and is a stereotype of a strong and dumb man in a multiracial team that acts by greed (and are punished again and again for that). Is not problematic at all. I've always seen him as a Latino character in fact.
There are thousands of other strong, brutish, malevolent, greedy or dumb-as-bricks white characters in Asterix also. The main antagonists are almost invariably white. They mock of almost any white stereotype and made fun of almost each european country and culture.
...But they don't trash it or are disrespectful. The histories always include positive characters ambassadors of those cultures, friends or relatives, that get in trouble and ally with the main characters to solve the problem together. They are treated always by Asterix as equals without hesitation, with one bold exception: A black woman.
In Asterix and Cleopatra the main characters are sent in a mission to help an african old friend in trouble and the druid goes also (to learn about some discoveries of african people). The friend is depicted as smart, hard worker and educated (architect chief). Another main character in the comic is Cleopatra, depicted as a beauty, very sophisticated and well bred government in charge, their main flaw is being whimsical. This is one of the few characters that is depicted not as equal, but over the main male characters, in an upper class.
And this comic was released in 1963. If there is something that Asterix isn't, is racist.
Wow, I've been reading Asterix since I'm 6 and never thought it was a gorilla, that's seem really stupid to me, or at least a very us-centric view, no offense.
I can see Tintin in the Congo being worth discussing, I mean it's from the 30s, but even as the child I knew to take some distance from it even without adult supervision.
Exactly. Also the black characters in Asterix were not "black", they were Numidians or Nubians. They were characters with agency like any other, the Mansion of Gods comic is the best example.
Of course no offense. You don't have a history of the most brutal systematic slavery in history and the ensuing racism that persists to this day. European subjugation and mockery of Africa is older and has left wounds that have had more time to heal. The wounds are still fresh in the US and they keep being reopened, so it's of course natural for them to still hurt in the US.
I don't see why European artists should self-censor so as not to hurt the sensibilities of Americans just because your country was built on slavery and genocide. Sort out your wounds yourselves and let us live.
(For the record, there are plenty of "black" characters (Numids, Nubians etc.) in Asterix and Baba is the only one with his characteristic. Many of the others are depicted favorably, as the other commenter said)
No, but every time a black character is drawn as a racist caricature with giant lips and a bone in their hair, it's a racist caricature which was systematically used in the US and other countries to hurtfully mock black people. There's a long history of such racist stereotypes in American and European culture. It's not benign.
There are other ways to draw black people in comic books that doesn't have to rely on hurtful stereotypes.
There are many ways to draw people, and Uderzo had theirs.
Asterix is short, has a big nose and promotes drugs abuse, Obelix is dumb and will hurt the feelings of fat people, he eats wild boars and vegan children could feel unconfortable or pick up dangerous ideas reading this comics. Ideafix chase cats in a flagrant case of animal cruelty...
Is just a parody. Please calm yourself.
I'm really tired of this dark soup of neopuritanism, SJW and porcelain people. By the way, who are you to tell me how I must to draw an human figure?. Has returned Maoism or Degenerate art? Do you know what other artists create images depicting black people with big lips and different types of hair ornaments? All african artists.
If you don't like the comics, just don't read it. The solution is really simple.
Does a racist caricature exist? Does racism itself exist? If it does, what does it look like?
If you don't think the pickaninny or the mammy are racist, I have no idea what you think racism looks like.
The pickaninny and the mammy were part of minstrel shows and lots of other pernicious hurtful portrayals. Nobody has ever complained about the other characters in Astérix because there is no history of black people systematically enslaving whites and then making ridiculous shows and cartoons about the enslaved whites. Of course white people aren't offended by how white people draw themselves.
Uderzo didn't even invent the style in which he drew black people. He's just copying the same racist caricatures that existed long before he did.
I'm sorry for what you have been through, are still going through and all that.
I spent some years homeless and I post as openly female on HN, which at least historically was overwhelmingly male.
I do my best to educate people here (about homelessness, being a woman online, etc) and I try to keep it as conversational as possible. People who want to be good and want to see themselves as good don't react well to being attacked and accused. It tends to close minds and, with it, doors.
I'm not trying to attack you nor criticize you. I'm hoping to empower you with a better methodology.
Long experience tells me you probably won't see it that way. I don't plan to argue with you about the choice I've made to comment here.
Here's wishing you fair winds for your journey going forward.
Stupid, unfunny, monochromatic and afraid to normalize the appearance of interracial couples, or to show black, jew, indian, or hispane characters in positive roles, or to depict different cultures and religions living together.
Therefore, totally the opposite to this comics.
If comics for you, mean only US schools and Steamboat Willy cartoons, then this is just a tunnel vision problem. Can be treated by exposition to different schools of cartoonists. In Europe there are some really big: Uderzo and collaborators, Hergé (Questionable first history, corrected later), Franquin, Peyo or Ibañez among other. Ibañez is undoubtely the wildest one; If you think Asterix it's politically incorrect you're going to freak out with this:
The pirates are a spoof of another french Belgian comic named Redbeard (Barbe Rouge) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redbeard_(comics)
The wikipedia page even has the Asterix parodies next to the actual ones.
https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/magazine/how-to-read-a-ra...