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:

Introduction
- Family Portrait (historical overview)
- Tracking the Tracks (criteria and methodology)
- Missing in Action (help!) NEW!
- Found in Action NEW!

French-Speaking Europe
- Francophonie until 1950
- Francophonie 1952-1959 (Asterix, finally!)
- Francophonie 1960-1962
- Francophonie 1963-1966
- Francophonie 1967-1969
- Francophonie 1970-1976 NEW!

Northwestern Europe
- Great Britain until 1940
- Great Britain 1945-1955
- Great Britain & West Germany 1960-1972
- Low Countries until 1960
- Flemish Belgium 1961-1967
- Low Countries 1968-1973 NEW!

Mediterranean Europe
- Italy until 1962
- Spain until 1949
- Spain 1955-1961
- Spain 1963-1970

Eastern Europe & Beyond
- Eastern Bloc until 1966
- United States until 1964 (for context)

... and more to come. 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