MV #21/41/1967
MV #21/41/1967 (14 October 1967) marks the first appearance of Asterix — and his entire supporting cast — in a legitimate, author-sanctioned German-language publication: Egmont Ehapa's weekly anthology MV (later MV Comix). The issue inaugurated a serialisation relationship between Asterix and the Ehapa/Egmont stable that would run unbroken until 1977, making this the true foundation of what became Germany's best-loved Franco-Belgian comic franchise. It also triggered the switch of the magazine itself to weekly publication, signalling that Egmont considered Asterix a serious editorial bet. Critically, this appearance came directly after Goscinny and Uderzo had stripped the licence from Rolf Kauka's Lupo Modern over its politically distorted 'Siggi und Babarras' adaptations — so the issue represents not only a debut but a course correction, restoring the characters to something faithful to their creators' intentions on German soil.
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The story serialised beginning in this issue is 'Le combat des chefs' (known in Germany as 'Der Kampf der Häuptlinge'), originally written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo, first published in the French weekly Pilote in 1964. Egmont Ehapa acquired the German rights after Goscinny and Uderzo revoked Rolf Kauka's licence — the Kauka/Lupo Modern run had grotesquely recast the Gauls as Cold War West Germans and introduced material the creators described as right-wing propaganda. The Ehapa serialisation, beginning with issue 21/41, ran weekly through issue 26/46/1967, covering the full story across six instalments; Egmont would not release the material as a standalone album until 1969.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: 14 October 1967 (issue numbered 21/41 in the MV/MV Comix run of Egmont Ehapa's anthology magazine).
- First appearance of Asterix, Obelix, Idefix (Dogmatix), Majestix (Vitalstatistix/Abraracourcix), and the village ensemble in a legitimate, author-approved German-language comic publication.
- The story being serialised is 'Le combat des chefs' ('Der Kampf der Häuptlinge' / 'Asterix and the Big Fight'), originally written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo, first published in Pilote in 1964.
- This issue introduces the story-specific characters Aplusbegalix (later renamed Augenblix in revised German editions), the rival Gaulish chieftain of the village Serum; Langelus (later Lacmus), the bellowing Roman centurion commanding Camp Babaorum; Perclus (later Spreizfus), his adjutant modelled visually on Niccolò Machiavelli; and Gotix (a character appearing in the village scenes).
- The arrival of Asterix prompted MV to shift from a fortnightly to a weekly publication schedule, a major structural change for the magazine starting with this very issue.
- This debut came directly after Goscinny and Uderzo withdrew their licence from Rolf Kauka's Lupo Modern, where Asterix and Obelix had been distorted into the West Germanic characters 'Siggi und Babarras' from 1965–1966.
- All new Asterix adventures continued to be pre-published in MV/MV Comix (the magazine's eventual final name, adopted with issue 35/1968) through 1977, covering the first 23 stories before Egmont switched to album-only releases.
- The album collected from this serialisation ('Der Kampf der Häuptlinge') was adapted in part for the 1989 animated film 'Asterix – Operation Hinkelstein'.