Goscinny and Uderzo's characters first appeared in the October 29, 1959, issue of the French journal "Pilote." "Asterix the Gaul," the first full book of the comics, appeared in 1961.
Goscinny and Uderzo's creation took off quickly. New Asterix publications were met with great excitement in France and, later, worldwide.
The Asterix books have been translated into 107 languages. At one time there was concern that the French sensibility and sense of humor the cartoons are said to embody would not translate well, but that has proven untrue.
Although Goscinny died in 1977, Uderzo has continued the series, handling both the illustrating and the storytelling. In 2009, the fiftieth anniversary of the characters' creation was marked with a new publication.
So popular are Asterix and Obelix, that two films have been made about them. Also, in 1989, a theme park based on the Asterix characters opened north of Paris.