Via [dev.null.org]

[www.cambridge-news.co.uk]

Cartoon hero takes a swipe at a world superpower

FORGET Michael Moore – it seems George Bush has a new enemy, in the unlikely form of comic strip hero Asterix.

After years of bashing the occupying Roman army, the indomitable Gauls have turned their attentions to the stars in their latest adventure, Asterix And The Falling Sky.

But it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to realise that the story is actually a none-too-subtle attack on the current American administration and its intervention in Iraq.

In the book, the 33rd in the bestselling series, the diminutive warrior and his brave chums find themselves facing alien invaders from the planet Tadsylwien – an anagram of that unassailable US icon, Walt Disney. The ruler of the alien world is called Hubs – I’ll leave you to work that particular puzzler out for yourself – and, according to one invader with more than a passing resemblance to Mickey Mouse, Hubs has sent them to Earth in a futile search for the Gauls’ “stockpile of lethal weapons”.

More at [www.cambridge-news.co.uk] and the book itself is at Amazon, where it gets pretty dismal reviews.