Asterix co-creator Albert Uderzo passed away in his sleep after a non-coronavirus-linked heart attack, according to BBC.  He was 92.

Uderzo’s history with the character, one of the most popular bande dessinee and well-known among the cognoscenti in North America, has stretched over sixty years.  The series was co-createdby Uderzo, then editor and artistic director of Pilote magazine, with Rene Goscinny in 1959.  They co-created 24 volumes through 1977, when Goscinny passed away. Uderzo created 10 volumes on his own until he retired from writing and drawing in 2011.  New volumes under Uderzo’s supervision were being created by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad.

Papercutz recently announced a re-launch of the property in the U.S. (see “Papercutz Gets ‘Asterix’ for U.S.”), which has now been rescheduled for July (see “Papercutz Delays Asterix Relaunch”).