Asterix and the Magic Carpet
by Albert Uderzo; trans. Anthea Bell & Derek Hockridge (Hodder, 1988)
A breezy if inconsequential adventure. Uderzo sends his heroes on a tour of the ancient world and depicts India for the first time, his illustrations proving less cluttered and less exotically Eastern than those of Jean Tabary’s Iznogoud (which gets a shout-out).
Iznogoud and the Magic Computer
by Goscinny; ill. Tabary (Cinebook, 2009) [from ‘Iznogoud et l’ordinateur magique’, 1970]
Five pun-filled stories featuring the nefarious Iznogoud, oft-thwarted scourge of ancient Baghdad. Goscinny overdoes the wordplay and undercooks the characterisation while Tabary’s panels evoke a clutter, not a treasure trove, of detail. (Admittedly his camels and elephants make for comic haute cuisine.)
The Wicked Wiles of Iznogoud
by Goscinny & Tabary (Cinebook, 2008)
[first published as “Les complots d’Iznogoud”, Dargaud Editeur Paris, 1967]
Six pun-filled tales from ancient Baghdad as the wicked protagonist Iznogoud (think Dick Dastardly) is repeatedly thwarted in his nefarious plans to depose the caliph. Goscinny’s imagination is clearly in evidence but the stories lack the scope of his writing for Asterix.