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In other news ...
Oct. 11, 1996Web posted at: 12:00 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT)
New adventures of Asterix hit French bookstores
PARIS (CNN) -- Fans of the Asterix cast of plucky cartoon characters snapped up "Asterix and Obelix all at Sea," the first in the comic book series to be published since 1991. Some Paris bookstores quickly sold out.
In this adventure, Asterix and his giant dimwitted companion Obelix fight Romans on a voyage to the lost continent of Atlantis. New characters include a high priest, Absolutlifabulous, and Spartakis, a character with a striking resemblance to actor Kirk Douglas, who played the title role in the movie "Spartacus."
The artist who draws the Asterix series, Albert Uderzo, announced in 1994 that he was retiring, citing burnout. But he said Thursday he regretted announcing his retirement, and implied that he planned to write more Asterix books. This is the sixth book he has written and illustrated alone since writer Rene Goscinny died in 1977, and the 30th since 1959.
The new book, brought to market amid a publicity blitz, had an initial print run of 8 million copies in 15 languages, one of the largest in publishing history. Recent polls show Asterix is the best-known comic character in Europe, beating Mickey Mouse and Belgium's Tintin.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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