In an Asterix comic from 2017, one of the villains is called: “CORONAVIRUS”
Yes, that's true, but only in the French and English versions of the volume: “Asterix in Italy”. Since this topic is making the rounds on Facebook again, we will be taking it up again. In the French original and the English language version of “Asterix in Italy”, the villain there is called CORONAVIRUS.
Note: Coronaviruses have been known since the 1960s . The Coronaviridae family of viruses was named for their wreath-shaped appearance. Corona is Latin and means “crown” or “wreath”.
By Teutates! It's not just The Simpsons who predict future events.
The Asterix volume “Asterix in Italy” was published in 2017.
In this volume, a villain named “Coronavirus” appears. In social media, author Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrator Didier Conrad are currently achieving a prophetic status similar to the Simpsons. The animated series “The Simpsons” already discussed the presidency of Donald Trump in 2000.
Coronavirus, the unscrupulous charioteer
Twitter users post pictures from “Asterix in Italy” – excerpts from the comic in which spectators at a chariot race can be seen cheering “Coronavirus!” and thus cheering on the masked charioteer.
“Are Asterix and Obelix the new Simpsons?” asks Twitter user Petr Araon Pechar.
Challenge in translation
The name “Coronavirus” is only used in the English and French language editions.
In German, the villain was given the name “Caligarius” by translator Klaus Jöken. He had given some thought to finding a different name together with the German publisher.
“Coronavirus is a disease. We Germans perceive illnesses as something very unsavory and disgusting. For the French, a virus is more of a synonym for something dangerous and mean.”
Finding a name was quite difficult: “As a Roman name, it had to end in -us, and at the same time it had to start with C because his car was marked with the logo. This is how Coronavirus became Caligarius in German.”
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You can also find the corresponding tweet on Twitter. From this you can see that in the German-language version the villain is called “Caligarius”.
This is what the Comidex.de dictionary says about the two names!
“…when he takes off the mask, the driver reveals himself to be Testus Sterone, who is a caricature of the French Formula 1 driver Alain Prost and looks anything but happy. On the other hand, Klaus Jöken, the translator of the adventure from French into German, converted the name Coronavirus from the original into Caligarius, which translated into Latin means something like shoemaker. Here he has created a punch line for the German reader, which of course points to the most successful Formula 1 driver, Michael Schumacher." ( Source )
as well as it says here under PAGE 13 / PICTURE 3:
“Here he is, the favorite from Rome! The greatest ancient charioteer with MCDLXII victories! Known as “the masked Aurige”! The great Caligarius with his companion Bleifus!” – The announcement and introduction of the Roman racing driver by Bifidus is, on the one hand, a reference to Gaius Appuleius Diocles, a famous charioteer in ancient Rome in the first half of the 2nd century. Traditional sources report that he was able to achieve a total of 1,462 (MCDLXII) victories with his teams. In addition, the name of Caligarius is an ingenious translation of the original name Coronavirus, because translated into Latin it means something like shoemaker. Here the translator has created a punchline for the German reader, which of course refers to the most successful Formula 1 driver, Michael Schumacher. ( Source )
