Clarification because people are going to ask: this has nothing to do with COVID-19.
Look, even his son-in-law had to tell the news (AFP) that his death has nothing to do with it:
Décès d'Albert Uderzo, le dessinateur d'Astérix, à l'âge de 92 ans (famille) #AFP pic.twitter.com/rBWZ8U96TQ
— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) March 24, 2020
“Albert Uderzo died in his sleep at his home in Neuilly, after a heart attack that was not linked to the coronavirus. He had been extremely tired for the past several weeks.”
But I do have a fun fact for you: a masked character in a 2017 Asterix comic release was called Coronavirus. No, I’m not kidding:
What was the name of the Roman charioteer in Asterix and the chariot race? Interestingly it was Coronavirus and he also wore a mask. I thought this was too good not to share #Asterix&Obelix #Goscinny&Uderzo #Genius pic.twitter.com/X0ulyPhKpc
— Jaaved Jaaferi (@jaavedjaaferi) February 9, 2020
But back to the main story.
Albert Uderzo Passed Away at 92
Fans of puns and Uderzo’s amazing artwork would definitely miss him and never forget the legacy he left behind in his comics, which he created together with René Goscinny.
No doubt that he will be remembered: the series sold over 370 million copies across the world and was translated into over a hundred languages, had 11 films and a theme park.
Goscinny had passed away in 1977 and left Uderzo to continue the series alone until 2011. The duo had written volumes 1–24, 32 and 34 of the series together.
Uderzo published eight more volumes before handing over to Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad in 2013.
Asterix Was A Big Influence Even to Other Authors
According to The Guardian, other authors had also expressed their love for the Asterix comics.
Cressida Cowell, author and illustrator of How to Train your Dragon, said, “I loved Asterix as a child, and his style was absolutely iconic. Creating a huge cast of individually recognisable characters, and the minute detail of all those group battles and the action scenes is an achievement in itself, but his real skill was combining fast-paced adventure with such humour and warmth. Children come to read in a lot of different ways, with comics and graphic novels being hugely important for a lot of kids. Asterix has taught generations of children around the world to love reading.”
Mark Millar, the creator of comics Kingsman and Kick-Ass, among others, called Uderzo “the Master” and “my gateway drug to beautiful European comics”.
Rafael Albuquerque, illustrator and co-creator of American Vampire, said that Uderzo was “his biggest influences in comics”.
Oliver Kamm, a writer, said Uderzo was “a cartoonist of genius, whose skills perfectly combined with those of the brilliant René Goscinny”. His mother, Anthea Bell, translated the Asterix books into English.
Chris Addison, a comedian, also mourned Uderzo’s passing on Twitter.
Waaagh! Albert Uderzo has died. Oh, man. I think very few people's work will ever give me the amount of pleasure his has ever since I was very young. One of my greatest culinary regrets is that I'll never get to eat wild boar the way he drew them for Asterix. Chapeau, monsieur.
— Chris Addison (@mrchrisaddison) March 24, 2020
RIP.
