The star of the 38th Asterix album is a peculiar teenager named Adrenaline. The daughter of Gallic chief Vercingetorix "is a young rebel who shakes things up," said author Jean-Yves Ferri ahead of the release of "Asterix and the Chieftain's Daughter." It's Ferri's fourth book in the series developed by Rene Goscinny. The illustrator is Didier Conrad, who took over after Albert Uderzo retired.

The name of the teenager refers to the hormone that's released in stressful situations. The young Adrenaline causes upheaval in her small Gaulish village — but not only there. Her name also reaches Julius Caesar in Rome, who gets on her case. The problems all start because her neck ring, an heirloom from her father Vercingetorix, the chieftain of the Gallic tribe.

Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, was the first main female character in the Asterix series. The book "Asterix and Cleopatra" was adapted into an animated film in 1968 in which the Egyptian ruler attempts to impress Julius Caesar by building a huge palace within three months. The Gauls are hired to complete the project. Few other female characters took on a central role in the series after this story.

Women long played a minor role in the adventures of Asterix and Obelix. That changed with the 29th book, "Asterix and the Secret Weapon." The 1991 book played on gender relations and feminism. The story's main character is a female bard named Bravura, who introduces the village to all the trends from Lutetia, the predecessor of present-day Paris: From now on, pants are "in" for women.

On top of her work as the village's music teacher, Bravura (front left in blue striped trousers) organizes fashion shows for the residents. She also exhorts the women of the village to liberate themselves from men's authority. That leads Impedimenta, the wife of the chief of the village, to briefly take over her husband's position on the leader's shield.

In her relationship with chief Vitalstatistix, Impedimenta is the one with the final say anyway — even if her husband would never admit it. She profits from her privileges as the first lady of the village, skipping for instance the queue at the fishmongers. But she'd actually prefer to return to the more sophisticated town of Lutetia.

The wife of Unhygienix, the village fishmonger, first appears in "Asterix in Spain" — translated into English in 1971. Bacteria works with Unhaygenix in his shop but after Bravura's visit she becomes one of the first women in the village to start wearing trousers. Her husband teases her about the polka dot pants, saying she looks like he did when he had the measles.

She's never been officially named in the comics, but in Parc Asterix, the amusement park based on the series, she is called Taillefine, which is French for "slim figure." By far the most refined Gallic woman in the village, she is married to Geriatrix, the oldest resident. She appears to be less than half his age and a lot taller than him. But that doesn't seem to matter at all to the couple.

Panacea studied in Condatum (present-day Rennes) and is extremely charming. In the book "Asterix the Legionnary," Obelix has a crush on her, but she ends up marrying the tall, handsome and muscular Tragicomix.

His name is the same in almost every language: Obelix. He is Asterix's rotund companion who fell into a cauldron of magic potion as a child and since then has possessed superhuman strength. In Icelandic, however, the name of this emotional giant is "Steinríkur," which roughly translated means "rich in stones." It probably alludes to the monoliths that he loves and carries around with him.

Obelix's best friend contrasts starkly with his stout master. The little white pup is named Idefix in both the original French and in the German translation, and his name is a word play on the French term "Idée Fixe" — a possessive or reoccurring idea or motive. For South African readers, the dog's name is also a pun relating to thought and the mind: "Witblix" is Afrikaans for "flash of genius."

The village troubadour is a lovable guy — if it weren't for his terrible voice, which always manages to annoy his neighbors. His English name, "Cacofonix," alludes to his highly jarring — cacophonous — voice, while his German name "Troubadix" is a pun on the word "troubadour," a poet-musician of the Middle Ages. In Bengali, he's named "Kawlorobix," which means "raising a racket about nothing."

His specialty is a magic potion that gives the drinker superhuman strength. In the French original, the white-bearded druid's name "Panoramix" refers to his broad knowledge. In English, his name "Getafix" reminds the reader that he is the guy to go to when you need a potion of any sort! His Serbian name is particularly creative: "Aspirinix" — a word tribute to the well-known headache medicine.

Asterix is the star of the Gauls. The petite warrior always manages to defeat the Romans using his sharp wits — and with a little help from Getafix's magic potion. It's no wonder that in Chinese, Asterix's name is translated as "Yali," which roughly means power.