In the long week since the horrific massacre at France's Charlie Hebdo magazine, there have been a number of tributes from artists worldwide to the fallen comic satirists. But today as the story of the attack reached a violent end, one more creator surprised fans with some social media solidarity: Asterix co-creator Albert Udzero.

Retired since 2011, the artist returned to the drawing board today to pencil two "Je suis Charlie" tributes featuring his famed characters Asterix and Obelix which were sent out in a pair of tweets on the official Asterix account.

"Charlie [Hebdo] and Asterix have nothing to do with each other obviously," the artist told Le Figaro in an interview. "I simply want to express my affection for those designers who have paid with their lives.

"Young designers are on hand now and I wish them courage," he added. "They keep in mind this terrible thing came to their colleagues that no one could expect."

Arguably Europe's most popular comic, Asterix has sold over 350 million copies worldwide. And even though Uderzo left the strip amidst a family feud over its rights (since settled), the stories have continued under the new creative team of Jean Yves-Ferri and Didier Conrad.

See Uderzo's new pieces below.





(via The Huffington Post)