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 NEW!
25. ... and more to come

SUPPLEMENTS:

1. Missing in Action (help!) UPDATED!
2. Found in Action UPDATED!

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