Over the years, my Asterix collection has grown considerably. What started with a single German album bought during a holiday has turned into a hobby that regularly sends me searching through foreign websites, second-hand marketplaces, and comic book shops across Europe. My main interest is collecting Asterix albums in as many different languages and dialects as possible, although I also enjoy picking up special editions when the opportunity arises.
Of course, there is plenty of Asterix merchandise that I would love to own. Companies such as Fariboles occasionally release beautiful figurines that are difficult to resist. However, collecting those as well would quickly become an expensive undertaking, so I have decided to concentrate on the books themselves. Even that is enough to keep me busy!
Since I live in the Netherlands and regularly travel abroad, I have developed a few ways of finding albums without spending a fortune. Some are fairly obvious, while others require a little more detective work. For anyone interested in expanding their own collection, here is where I usually look.
Buying New Asterix Albums
Whenever a new Asterix or Idefix (Dogmatix) album appears, I usually start with the Dutch edition. These are easy enough to find in the Netherlands, either through a local bookstore or one of the larger online retailers. The softcover editions are also commonly sold in supermarkets, where they can sometimes be found among the magazines.
For the original French editions, I generally turn to Amazon. The various European Amazon websites are also useful for ordering German and English translations, although availability can differ between countries. It is worth comparing prices, particularly when shipping costs are involved.
Naturally, ordering online is convenient, but there is something much more enjoyable about finding an album while travelling.
Visiting Comic Book Shops Abroad
Whenever I visit another country, I try to find at least one local comic book shop. It is a good opportunity to discover what is available in the local language, and occasionally I come across editions that I would never have thought to search for online.
In fact, this is how my international collection began. As a kid I grew up with the Dutch Asterix albums, but during a holiday in Germany, I bought a German Asterix album. At the time, I had no particular ambition to collect translations from around the world, but that purchase eventually led to the collection I have today. Buying Asterix albums when on holiday, became a tradition.
Unfortunately, there is no dedicated comic book shop in where I live. Whenever I visit another Dutch town and happen to come across one, I usually take a look inside. Strangely enough, I rarely leave with an Asterix album. More often than not, I end up buying a graphic novel by an entirely different artist!
Nevertheless, visiting comic book shops remains one of my favourite ways to discover new books. Even when I find nothing for my Asterix collection, the visit is rarely wasted.
Finding Special Editions
Every now and then, publishers release special editions of Asterix albums, including beautiful large-format versions. These are not always easy to find through ordinary bookstores, particularly if you are looking for an edition published in another country.
For these books, I often use BDaddik, a French retailer specialising in comics and related merchandise. Their selection is extensive, and they ship throughout the European Union. It is one of the websites I regularly check when looking for special editions that are difficult to obtain in the Netherlands.
Of course, special editions can be expensive, particularly when international shipping is added. I generally try to be selective rather than buying everything that appears.
Vinted: My Favourite Place for Second-Hand Albums
Most of the translations in my collection have probably come from Vinted. Although the platform is primarily associated with second-hand clothing, it has become an excellent place to find books, including Asterix albums in various European languages.
One of its biggest advantages is the relatively affordable shipping. Depending on the countries involved, buying an album from someone elsewhere in Europe can be surprisingly inexpensive. This makes Vinted particularly useful when collecting translations that are no longer available in ordinary bookstores.
Naturally, finding specific editions requires patience. Sellers do not always include the language, publisher, or publication year in their descriptions, and sometimes an interesting album is listed under a rather unexpected title. Searching in different languages can therefore produce results that would otherwise remain hidden.
I regularly browse Vinted to see what has appeared. Sometimes I find exactly what I am looking for, while on other occasions I discover an edition that I did not even know existed. That is part of the fun of collecting.
Why I Rarely Use eBay or Catawiki
There are several other websites where collectors can find Asterix albums, but I use some of them much less frequently.
Catawiki, for example, regularly features comic books and collectable editions. However, the auction prices often exceed what I am prepared to pay. Once additional fees and shipping costs are included, an apparently reasonable purchase can become rather expensive. I occasionally browse the listings, but rarely place a bid.
My experience with eBay has been similar. There are certainly interesting albums available, including editions that are difficult to find elsewhere, but asking prices are often relatively high. International shipping can also be expensive, particularly compared with the options available through Vinted.
I have also tried French marketplaces such as Rakuten and Leboncoin. Both can be useful for finding French publications, but buying from outside France is not always straightforward. Some sellers do not offer international shipping, while certain purchasing options are clearly designed with French residents in mind. Considering that we live in an age when ordering something from the other side of the world is often remarkably simple, I find these restrictions rather frustrating.
That does not mean these platforms are useless. They simply tend to be less convenient for the kind of collecting I do.
The Challenge of Finding Regional Dialect Editions
Some of the most interesting Asterix translations are also among the hardest to obtain. This is particularly true of albums published in regional languages and dialects, where distribution is often limited to a relatively small geographical area.
Recent translations into Walloon and Guaraní are good examples. Unlike the major European language editions, these books are not necessarily available through international retailers. Sometimes the only option is to find a small regional publisher, an independent bookshop, or a particular seller who happens to have copies available.
This is where collecting becomes a little more complicated. I have spent quite a few hours searching foreign websites, translating descriptions, and trying to work out whether a particular shop will ship to the Netherlands. Occasionally, the postage costs almost as much as the album itself.
Still, I enjoy this part of the hobby. Finding an obscure translation after a lengthy search is much more satisfying than simply adding another readily available book to an online shopping basket.
It also means that I occasionally discover interesting regional editions, publishers, and languages that I knew very little about beforehand.
Buying and Trading with Other Collectors
One of the best ways to expand an Asterix collection is to get in touch with other collectors. Thanks to the internet, finding fellow enthusiasts in other countries has become much easier, and many are happy to help someone looking for a particular edition.
Sometimes another collector has a duplicate album available for sale. On other occasions, someone might be willing to buy a locally available translation and send it abroad. This can be particularly helpful when dealing with books that are difficult to order internationally.
Trading is another possibility. An album that is easy to find in the Netherlands might be surprisingly difficult to obtain elsewhere, just as a common edition in another country might be missing from my own collection. Exchanging books can therefore be beneficial to both collectors.
I particularly enjoy this aspect of the hobby because it brings me into contact with people who share the same rather unusual interest. After all, there are not that many people who understand why someone would want dozens of copies of the same Asterix story in different languages!
There Is Always Another Album to Find
One thing I have learned over the years is that an Asterix collection is never really finished. Just when I think I have a reasonably good overview of the available translations, I come across another edition, a regional dialect I had overlooked, or a publication that has been out of print for decades.
That is precisely what makes collecting so enjoyable. Some albums are easy to obtain, while others might take years to track down. Along the way, I get to discover new languages, explore foreign bookshops, and meet collectors from around the world.
And although I have become fairly good at finding albums online, I still enjoy the possibility of walking into a small comic book shop somewhere in Europe and discovering something unexpected.
Are you collecting Asterix albums or translations yourself? I am always interested in buying, selling, or exchanging albums with fellow collectors. Feel free to contact me through my social media channels if you have something interesting to offer or are looking for a particular edition!
Over the years, my Asterix collection has grown considerably. What started with a single German album bought during a holiday has turned into a hobby that regularly sends me searching through foreign websites, second-hand marketplaces, and comic book shops across Europe. My main interest is collecting Asterix albums in as many different languages and dialects as possible, although I also enjoy picking up special editions when the opportunity arises.
Of course, there is plenty of Asterix merchandise that I would love to own. Companies such as Fariboles occasionally release beautiful figurines that are difficult to resist. However, collecting those as well would quickly become an expensive undertaking, so I have decided to concentrate on the books themselves. Even that is enough to keep me busy!
Since I live in the Netherlands and regularly travel abroad, I have developed a few ways of finding albums without spending a fortune. Some are fairly obvious, while others require a little more detective work. For anyone interested in expanding their own collection, here is where I usually look.
Buying New Asterix Albums
Whenever a new Asterix or Idefix (Dogmatix) album appears, I usually start with the Dutch edition. These are easy enough to find in the Netherlands, either through a local bookstore or one of the larger online retailers. The softcover editions are also commonly sold in supermarkets, where they can sometimes be found among the magazines.
For the original French editions, I generally turn to Amazon. The various European Amazon websites are also useful for ordering German and English translations, although availability can differ between countries. It is worth comparing prices, particularly when shipping costs are involved.
Naturally, ordering online is convenient, but there is something much more enjoyable about finding an album while travelling.
Visiting Comic Book Shops Abroad
Whenever I visit another country, I try to find at least one local comic book shop. It is a good opportunity to discover what is available in the local language, and occasionally I come across editions that I would never have thought to search for online.
In fact, this is how my international collection began. As a kid I grew up with the Dutch Asterix albums, but during a holiday in Germany, I bought a German Asterix album. At the time, I had no particular ambition to collect translations from around the world, but that purchase eventually led to the collection I have today. Buying Asterix albums when on holiday, became a tradition.
Unfortunately, there is no dedicated comic book shop in where I live. Whenever I visit another Dutch town and happen to come across one, I usually take a look inside. Strangely enough, I rarely leave with an Asterix album. More often than not, I end up buying a graphic novel by an entirely different artist!
Nevertheless, visiting comic book shops remains one of my favourite ways to discover new books. Even when I find nothing for my Asterix collection, the visit is rarely wasted.
Finding Special Editions
Every now and then, publishers release special editions of Asterix albums, including beautiful large-format versions. These are not always easy to find through ordinary bookstores, particularly if you are looking for an edition published in another country.
For these books, I often use BDaddik, a French retailer specialising in comics and related merchandise. Their selection is extensive, and they ship throughout the European Union. It is one of the websites I regularly check when looking for special editions that are difficult to obtain in the Netherlands.
Of course, special editions can be expensive, particularly when international shipping is added. I generally try to be selective rather than buying everything that appears.
Vinted: My Favourite Place for Second-Hand Albums
Most of the translations in my collection have probably come from Vinted. Although the platform is primarily associated with second-hand clothing, it has become an excellent place to find books, including Asterix albums in various European languages.
One of its biggest advantages is the relatively affordable shipping. Depending on the countries involved, buying an album from someone elsewhere in Europe can be surprisingly inexpensive. This makes Vinted particularly useful when collecting translations that are no longer available in ordinary bookstores.
Naturally, finding specific editions requires patience. Sellers do not always include the language, publisher, or publication year in their descriptions, and sometimes an interesting album is listed under a rather unexpected title. Searching in different languages can therefore produce results that would otherwise remain hidden.
I regularly browse Vinted to see what has appeared. Sometimes I find exactly what I am looking for, while on other occasions I discover an edition that I did not even know existed. That is part of the fun of collecting.
Why I Rarely Use eBay or Catawiki
There are several other websites where collectors can find Asterix albums, but I use some of them much less frequently.
Catawiki, for example, regularly features comic books and collectable editions. However, the auction prices often exceed what I am prepared to pay. Once additional fees and shipping costs are included, an apparently reasonable purchase can become rather expensive. I occasionally browse the listings, but rarely place a bid.
My experience with eBay has been similar. There are certainly interesting albums available, including editions that are difficult to find elsewhere, but asking prices are often relatively high. International shipping can also be expensive, particularly compared with the options available through Vinted.
I have also tried French marketplaces such as Rakuten and Leboncoin. Both can be useful for finding French publications, but buying from outside France is not always straightforward. Some sellers do not offer international shipping, while certain purchasing options are clearly designed with French residents in mind. Considering that we live in an age when ordering something from the other side of the world is often remarkably simple, I find these restrictions rather frustrating.
That does not mean these platforms are useless. They simply tend to be less convenient for the kind of collecting I do.
The Challenge of Finding Regional Dialect Editions
Some of the most interesting Asterix translations are also among the hardest to obtain. This is particularly true of albums published in regional languages and dialects, where distribution is often limited to a relatively small geographical area.
Recent translations into Walloon and Guaraní are good examples. Unlike the major European language editions, these books are not necessarily available through international retailers. Sometimes the only option is to find a small regional publisher, an independent bookshop, or a particular seller who happens to have copies available.
This is where collecting becomes a little more complicated. I have spent quite a few hours searching foreign websites, translating descriptions, and trying to work out whether a particular shop will ship to the Netherlands. Occasionally, the postage costs almost as much as the album itself.
Still, I enjoy this part of the hobby. Finding an obscure translation after a lengthy search is much more satisfying than simply adding another readily available book to an online shopping basket.
It also means that I occasionally discover interesting regional editions, publishers, and languages that I knew very little about beforehand.
Buying and Trading with Other Collectors
One of the best ways to expand an Asterix collection is to get in touch with other collectors. Thanks to the internet, finding fellow enthusiasts in other countries has become much easier, and many are happy to help someone looking for a particular edition.
Sometimes another collector has a duplicate album available for sale. On other occasions, someone might be willing to buy a locally available translation and send it abroad. This can be particularly helpful when dealing with books that are difficult to order internationally.
Trading is another possibility. An album that is easy to find in the Netherlands might be surprisingly difficult to obtain elsewhere, just as a common edition in another country might be missing from my own collection. Exchanging books can therefore be beneficial to both collectors.
I particularly enjoy this aspect of the hobby because it brings me into contact with people who share the same rather unusual interest. After all, there are not that many people who understand why someone would want dozens of copies of the same Asterix story in different languages!
There Is Always Another Album to Find
One thing I have learned over the years is that an Asterix collection is never really finished. Just when I think I have a reasonably good overview of the available translations, I come across another edition, a regional dialect I had overlooked, or a publication that has been out of print for decades.
That is precisely what makes collecting so enjoyable. Some albums are easy to obtain, while others might take years to track down. Along the way, I get to discover new languages, explore foreign bookshops, and meet collectors from around the world.
And although I have become fairly good at finding albums online, I still enjoy the possibility of walking into a small comic book shop somewhere in Europe and discovering something unexpected.
Are you collecting Asterix albums or translations yourself? I am always interested in buying, selling, or exchanging albums with fellow collectors. Feel free to contact me through my social media channels if you have something interesting to offer or are looking for a particular edition!