Albert Uderzo has been illustrating Asterix for 37 years, and has written the most recent titles since Goscinny's death. He enjoys racing sports cars and owns a large number of Ferraris. He was the recipient of the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest honour, for services to the arts. Asterix is a best seller in 70 languages

Rene Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, and spent most of his childhood in Argentina, before eventually moving to Paris in 1951. He died in 1977.

Albert Uderzo was born in 1927 in a small village in Marne, France. He met Rene Goscinny in 1951 and on 29 October 1959 their most famous creation, Asterix, made his first appearance on page 20 of Pilote. Asterix the Gaul, their first album, was published in 1961 and there have now been 34 Asterix albums.