La Grande Galerie des Personnages is a collection of 70 officially licensed resin figurines from the Asterix universe. Published by Hachette as a subscription series between 2011 and 2014, each release combined a hand-painted statuette with a 32-page booklet containing background material on the character and the album from which the pose was taken. Within this collection, figurine No. 20 (Asterix) and figurine No. 35 (Obelix) stand out because both are based on scenes from the very first album, Astérix le Gaulois.

Asterix from the First Page of Astérix le Gaulois

Figurine No. 20 depicts Asterix exactly as he appears on page 1 of Astérix le Gaulois. The figure captures the characteristic visual style of Uderzo’s 1961 drawings: a slightly leaner Asterix, smaller proportions, and early helmet and costume details that differ subtly from later albums.

Hachette’s resin sculpture reproduces this posture faithfully, including the position of the arms, the tilt of the head, and the early album-era proportions. This makes No. 20 a very memorable figurine in the entire collection, as it represents Asterix as he originally appeared at the beginning of the saga.

Obelix eating boar

Figurine No. 35 shows Obelix engaged in one of his earliest on-page activities: eating a roast boar, but not yet a whole boar just a leg. This scene establishes the character almost immediately as cheerful, direct, and constantly hungry—traits that would define him for decades.

Hachette’s sculpt matches the panel closely: the posture, the placement of the boar, the facial expression, and the stylised early-period anatomical proportions of Obelix. As with figure No. 20, this makes the representation authentic to the comic’s first-year designs rather than the more refined style of later albums.

Role of Booklets and the Hachette Format

Each figurine in the collection was distributed with a 32-page illustrated booklet. Although the booklets vary in content, they commonly include character information, album context, artwork reproductions, and short production notes.

Why These Two Figurines Matter

Because both figurines are sourced from Astérix le Gaulois, they hold special significance within La Grande Galerie des Personnages. They capture the original designs of Asterix and Obelix as they appeared at the very beginning of the franchise. Many later figurine series, whether produced by Plastoy, Attakus, Fariboles or others, tend to use modernised character models. Hachette’s decision to base these pieces on the earliest canonical drawings sets them apart and enhances their documentary value for collectors and historians of the series.

Conclusion

Figurines No. 20 and No. 35 from Hachette’s La Grande Galerie des Personnages are faithful resin reproductions of the early designs of Asterix and Obelix from Astérix le Gaulois. With verified panel origins—Asterix on page 1 and Obelix on page 3—they stand not just as collectible items but as miniature representations of the birth of France’s most famous comic heroes.