Quote:are their any comic-books with ancient roman subjects available?
Apart from Asterix books, there have always been and there still are several series. The classic is probably Jacques Martin's Alix series, which started in the 50s and is still being published (although Martin doesn't do the drawings anymore).
I think they're still published in German, but just like with all good Franco-Belgian comic books, it's always good if you know French, just in case they don't publish all issues in your language. General info on Alix here:
[url:3n4qdv6u]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Alix[/url]
A good source for the German versions (even out-of print issues) and all other comic books is Hummelcomic in Hamburg (they have a website to order, too).
Another classic is the Herman/Charlier series "Jugurtha", I don't know if that's still available, though. Based on the real Numidian king, very anti-Roman, not historically correct at all, but fun.
Then there's the excellent newer series "Murena" about the rise (and probably fall) of Nero by Delaby and Dufaux. Very realistic and historically well researched, and all available in German.
A review of the latest book in the series here (in German):
[url:3n4qdv6u]http://www.comicradioshow.com/Article2403.html[/url]
Then there is the "Vae Victis" series, about the conquest of Gaul. The Romans are the bad guys, but it's pretty entertaining.
Here a few covers:
[url:3n4qdv6u]http://www.comicshop.de/inhalt.asp?rid=19698[/url]
When I was in France last winter, I also saw a new book, the first in a series called "Les Aigles de Rome" (The Eagles of Rome), which looks prettty cool. I don't know if they'll publish it in German, but it looked like it was a big success in France, so they probably will.
Here is a promotional video about that:
[url:3n4qdv6u]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3fbmo_les-aigles-de-rome_creation[/url]
Last but not least, I bought the first issue of a new series about the adventures of a Roman officer in Gaul during Caesar, called "The Last Battle". Not historically correct (segmentatas abound, etc.), but ok.
I know that that one is available in German.
As I said, if you're interested in the German versions, Hummelcomic has most of them (and they might also import the French versions, if no German is available), and there are plenty of other comicbook vendors.