The Cousins of Asterix

Have you ever come across comics similar to "Asterix"? There turn out to be quite a few of them — hundreds to be precise.

In this project, I focus on comics where ancient or medieval history meets comedy. I research, catalog, and describe titles from various countries and decades. Some of them are surprising — in terms of style, content, or even country of origin. For example, who would have guessed that Turkey has its own local equivalents of the famous Gallic warrior? I call these comics "cousins" and for the undefined subgenre I use the label "Sword and Laughter", abbreviated as S&L ("Dawno i nieprawda" or D&N in my native Polish).

The following chapters have been released so far:

1. Family Portrait (historical overview)
2. Tracking the Tracks (criteria and methodology)
3. Great Britain until 1940
4. Great Britain 1945-1955
5. Spain until 1949
6. Spain 1955-1961
7. Francophonie until 1950
8. Italy until 1962
9. Low Countries until 1960
10. Eastern Bloc until 1966
11. Francophonie 1952-1959 (Asterix)
12. Francophonie 1960-1962
13. United States until 1964 (for context)
14. Flemish Belgium 1961-1967
15. Francophonie 1963-1966
16. Francophonie 1967-1969
17. Spain 1963-1970
18. Great Britain & West Germany 1960-1972
19. Francophonie 1970-1976
20. Low Countries 1968-1973
21. Spain 1971-1977
22. Eastern Bloc 1967-1979 (Kajko i Kokosz)
23. Italy 1966-1976
24. Unknown Lands part 1: until 1979
25. Great Britain 1973-1979
26. Francophonie & Spain 1977-1979
27. Low Countries & West Germany 1974-1979
28. ... and more to come

SUPPLEMENTS:

1. Missing in Action (help!)
2. Found in Action NEW!
3. Found in Action - Archive

The texts are in Polish, but you can use Google Translate widgets in the sidebar or below each post.

HOW TO READ THE FLASHCARDS?

All described one-shots and comic series are presented as uniform flashcards. This diagram shows their structure:

Just below the starting date, you will see a row of small icons that provide a brief summary of the form and content of each title. In most cases, these icons are sufficient to determine whether a comic belongs to the S&L (D&N) category. Here is the key to decode each icon:

In the corner of each flashcard, there is a symbol indicating compliance with S&L criteria. A thumbs-up means it can be considered a "cousin" of Asterix and Kajko & Kokosz (currently on Netflix). A thumbs-down indicates that while it is not a true "cousin," it is still worth paying attention to.

I welcome your feedback, suggestions, and any corrections you may have.

Best regards,
Krzysztof Janicz a.k.a. Kapral

WERSJA POLSKA