Asterix the Gaul

Asterix the Gaul (French: Astérix le Gaulois) is a French comic story, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. First published by Dargaud as a serial for Pilote magazine in October 1959, it was later released as a comic album in 1961. The story focuses on a Gaul named Asterix, whose village resists Roman rule, as he attempts to rescue his village's druid from a Roman garrison when its commander seeks to secure the secret of the village's superhuman strength.

The story proved hugely popular with French readers, leading to Goscinny and Uderzo writing further stories that would go on to form the Asterix comic strip series, with international versions of the comic helping to broaden its appeal outside of France. Dargaud later developed an animated adaptation of the comic for theatrical release in 1967 with its own production company, though Goscinny and Uderzo disapproved of the poor animation quality; they later blocked a sequel based on their next story. Alongside the film, an audiobook adaptation was created by EMI Records.

In 1999 Asterix the Gaul was voted as the 23rd greatest book of the 20th century, in a poll conducted across France by French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde for Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century.