50 years ago yesterday, Asterix first appeared in print and the brave little Gaul has been kicking Roman butt ever since. Written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo, Asterix is the most popular French comic book series in the world, with the series being translated into over 100 languages,the adaptation of several books into 11 films; eight animated, and three with live actors. There have also been a number of games based on the characters, and a theme park near Paris, Parc Astérix, is themed around the series. To date, 325 million copies of 33 Asterix books have been sold around the world making co-creators Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo France's bestselling authors abroad.

To celebrate, here's part 1 of 9 of the 2006 animated feature Asterix and the Viking. Being in the US, I discovered Asterix somehow by accident as a kid and have always tried to keep my eyes open for comics and movies, though in the States, Asterix is not nearly as well known as he is in Europe and he's harder to come by, which is too bad. Anyway, here's to 50 years of Asterix, hoping for 150 more.

Read more here at Wikipedia.