The famous- French comic artist who illustrated the cartoon character Asterix the Gaul, has died at the age of 92.
His family confirmed to press that Albert died on Tuesday morning, after suffering from a heart attack.
His relatives confirmed his death was not linked to coronavirus.
After Goscinny’s death, Uderzo left Dargaud, his original publisher, to set up his own company, Les éditions Albert-René, and took up the torch for eight solo Asterixes (not counting the anniversary and short story albums). He wrote and illustrated the series until he retired in 2009.
Uderzo, who was the son of Italian immigrants, rose to fame thanks to the mustachioed hero, Asterix, who has entertained readers with his magic-potion exploits alongside Obelix since 1959. Uderzo’s success brought fortune thanks to the 370 million albums sold worldwide (translated into 111 languages or dialects), about fifteen films (animation and cinema), a leisure park, and hundreds of merchandising products.
But despite his role in creating a global phenomenon Uderzo managed to maintain his anonymity. Those who knew him described the artist as reserved and someone who preferred to talk about his work rather than himself.
“My hand was not made for this job,” he said reflecting on his work.”They’re butcher’s hands, I’ve got big bones, like my father. I inked all my drawings with a brush, which requires a lot of skill.”
A signed original illustration for an early Asterix comic book cover sold for more than 1.4m Euros (£1.25m) at a Paris auction in 2017.
RIP, Albert.