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‘Asterix’ co-creator Albert Uderzo dies aged 92
Albert Uderzo, the co-creator and illustrator of the “Asterix and Obelix” comics that delighted legions of children and adults over the past six decades, has died aged 92, his family said Tuesday.
“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,”
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Uderzo created Asterix in 1959 with the fellow Frenchman and writer Rene Goscinny, who brought them to life in the French-Belgian comics magazine Pilote.
The adventures of the shrewd and indomitable Gaul, with his winged helmet and formidable blond moustache, and his massive sidekick Obelix as they gleefully thwarted Roman legionnaires became a huge hit, with translations into dozens of languages.
The series has extended into 38 books, most recently “Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter” from last year, though Uderzo had stopped illustrating the series in 2011, having carried on alone after Goscinny’s death in 1977.
Nearly 1.6 million copies of “The Chieftain’s Daughter” were sold last year in France alone, putting it at the top of best-seller lists.
Both men are considered founding fathers of modern comics and graphic novels, with 380 million of their books sold worldwide, and several stories turned into animated cartoons and feature films.
The pun-filled series is brimming with fist-fights, drunken arguments, heroic rescues and romantic interludes, and the stories often include not-so-subtle references to politicians or popular figures of the day.
They have been translated into 111 languages and dialects, including Latin and Ancient Greek.
– ‘Nobody recognises me’ –
Uderzo was born April 25, 1927, in Fismes, a village in northeast France near Reims, to Italian immigrants — his father was a luthier.
At birth he had six fingers on each hand — an anomaly corrected by surgery — and was colourblind, yet he discovered drawing after joining a Parisian publishing house after World War II, while also providing comic drawings for newspapers.
“Making a living through comics was extremely hard in those days, I drew an astronomical amount of pages just to get through the month,” he would recall.
He met Goscinny in 1951, beginning a friendship that would lead to their dreaming up Asterix and his village in Amorican Brittany, fuelled by cigarettes and pastis liquor, in a social housing apartment outside Paris eight years later.
Uderzo claimed he was inspired by tales from his older brother Bruno, who would head to western France to escape labour conscription by the Nazi occupiers.
The first Asterix book, “Asterix the Gaul,” appeared in 1961 and became an overnight sensation, eventually introducing the world of comics to a much wider public.
Marketing rights that extended to toys and even a popular French amusement park would make Uderzo a wealthy man, with a mansion in the posh Neuilly suburb of Paris and a collection of Ferrari supercars.
In 2017, an original Uderzo cover for one of the first Asterix books sold in Paris for a record 1.4 million euros.
Yet the easygoing Uderzo regarded his success with amused detachment, and largely avoid the media spotlight even as his reputation soared.
“Nobody recognises me when I walk down the street,” he said. “Characters can become mythical but not us, their fathers.”
He took up his crayons for one of the last times in 2015, to draw an Asterix in hommage to fellow illustrators and others killed in a jihadist massacre at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain the status quo in a dispute over the party’s candidates emerging from the Benue State APC primaries for the 2027 general election.
The order was made on Thursday by Justice Inyang Ekwo during proceedings in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1429/2026, filed by Engr. Sesugh Akaagba and other aggrieved APC candidates from Benue State against the APC and INEC.
The plaintiffs had, through an ex parte motion filed on July 5, 2026, sought six interim reliefs, including an order restraining the APC from substituting its validly nominated candidates in Benue State through its June 29, 2026 correspondence, or any subsequent communication, to INEC, pending determination of the substantive suit.
They also sought an order compelling the APC to immediately transmit to INEC the names of candidates validly nominated during the primaries monitored by the electoral commission.
When the matter first came up on July 8, 2026, the court declined to grant the interim application immediately, directing both APC and INEC to appear and respond before any decision was taken. The matter was adjourned to July 16.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel representing the APC and INEC were present in court, while the plaintiffs were represented by Mohammed Ndarani, SAN, alongside his legal team.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo held that since issues had been joined by the parties particularly with INEC now before the court, the defendants were required by law to preserve the subject matter of the litigation pending determination of the substantive suit.
When counsel to the plaintiffs urged the court to caution APC and INEC against taking any further action that could affect the disputed list of candidates, the judge responded that it was “not a matter of advice but of law,” stressing that the defendants were bound to maintain the status quo.
The court consequently restrained APC and INEC from taking any action capable of altering the disputed list of candidates pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The defendants did not object to the restraining order.
At the commencement of proceedings, the court noted that all parties had voluntarily submitted to its jurisdiction by duly filing and exchanging their respective processes.
It held that there was no procedural or jurisdictional impediment to the expeditious determination of the substantive action, and directed that the matter be heard without further delay.
In furtherance of the objective of preserving the res and safeguarding the efficacy of the judicial process, the court ordered all parties to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit, restraining any act or omission capable of prejudicing the rights of the parties or rendering the proceedings nugatory.
The court further directed that INEC be served forthwith with the originating and all consequential processes.
The effect of the subsisting order is that INEC is restrained from tampering with the existing list of candidates pending final determination of the suit, and from receiving, recognising, or acting upon any purported substituted list of National Assembly candidates from Benue State submitted by the APC.
The matter was adjourned to July 21, 2026, for hearing of the substantive suit.
Former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and former First Lady Patience Ibifaka Jonathan recently celebrated a significant family milestone as they attended the graduation ceremony of their son, Ariara Goodluck Jonathan, at Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom.
The proud parents joined family members and well-wishers to witness Ariara receive his degree, marking the successful completion of his academic programme. The occasion was filled with joy as the Jonathan family commemorated the achievement, highlighting the importance they place on education and personal development.
The graduation ceremony attracted warm congratulatory messages from friends, associates, and admirers, who wished the graduate continued success in his future endeavours.
The Following names joined the political family of Sen. Dr. George Akume today after leaving the sinking Alia ship .
Under the leadership of Barr. Emmanuel Jime .
The are ;
Chief Nelson Alapa
Douglas pepe SAN senatorial Aspirant zone A,
Engr Peter Ashiekaa
QS Clement Beetseh
Former commissioners
Joy Luga
Ann itodo
Barr martins Shaagee
Miss Dorcas
Prof Usar Joseh
Prof Cephas Tushima
Chief Patrick Idoko
Hon Patience Akor
Hon Fred Idoko
Hon Lawrence Ekpo Onoja Jnr
Hon Andrew Abah
Hon Agbo Innocent Ikwumonu
Hon Simon Omachoko
Hon David Egboja
Dr John Garba
Among together,
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