Asterix illustrator criticised by daughter for selling 'ownership of cartoon hero'

London, Jan 15 (ANI): The illustrator of popular cartoon character Asterix is facing criticism from his own daughter for surrendering its ownership to a major publishing company.

French illustrator Albert Uderzo, who created Asterix in 1959 with the late writer Rene Goscinny, sold his stake in the Asterix publishers in December.

However, his daughter Sylvie Uderzo said that the decision betrayed the spirit of Asterix.

"I am entering resistance against perhaps the worst enemies of Asterix, the men of finance and industry," the Telegraph quoted her as writing in the newspaper Le Monde.

"It's as if the gates of the Gaulish village had been thrown open to the Roman Empire," she added.

For Uderzo, the besieged village is the Editions Albert Rene, the small-scale publishers of Asterix in which she owns a 40 per cent stake.

The publishing giant Hachette Livre has bought the remaining 60 per cent from her father and from Goscinny's daughter.

She denied that her concerns stemmed from a family row.

"It's not a question of brandishing a family squabble like a red rag to a bull, but... the survival of a work of art," she wrote.

"I will therefore fight, not against my father, but to preserve everything he has achieved."

When Albert sold his stake, he reportedly said that he believed the new owners were "respectful of the moral and patrimonial rights of the authors". (ANI)