By Toutatis! Asterix goes north of the border

The next Asterix adventure is set in ancient Scotland and is the first not being drawn by the plucky Gaul's ageing creator Albert Uderzo, the comic book's publishers said on Tuesday. "Asterix in the Land of the Picts" will be launched on October 24 and is set "in a land rich in tradition" whose people are "proud and attached to their customs, paving the way for a delightful story," publishers Albert Rene said. The Picts were Celtic tribes living in ancient eastern and northern Scotland who joined to become a nation and the forebearer of modern Scotland. Uderzo has written the stories and done the drawing for the Asterix comic books since their co-creator Rene Goscinny died in 1977. The new book is the first to be both written and drawn by outsiders, with French writer Jean-Yves Terri handling the story and the images by Didier Conrad. The adventures of Asterix began in 1959 in the comic Pilote, and quickly became a best-selling series. Initially, Goscinny wrote the humorous, pun-filled texts and Uderzo designed and drew Asterix and his sidekick Obelix. Uderzo carried on alone after Goscinny's death, and the series spawned an industry of spin-off movies, theme parks and toys.