Since Asterix and Obelix were wildly successful, it wasn’t long until the movie industry came calling. The Gaulish heroes have had a long and storied history with animated movies–the first was Asterix the Gaul in 1967–and you can actually watch most of the older movies on Youtube if you want.
There are also quite a few live action films that have been produced a bit more recently, but personally I would recommend the cartoons.
Written by Rene GoscinnyArt by Albert Uderzo
Illustrated by Albert Uderzo
This week we explore local Gaulish politics in “Asterix and the Big Fight” and journey across the Channel to Brtannia in “Asterix in Britain”.
At this point in Asterix’s publication history we’re in the 1970’s, which was a pretty good time for the French comic book industry. In 1968, the industry began to take a turn towards more mature and adult stories, with magazines like the famous Metal Hurlant coming to the fore. We may recognize it by its English name Heavy Metal, a magazine that saw the rise of artists like Moebius and the creation of an aesthetic whose influence can still be felt today.
Fortunately for the purposes of this article, Asterix and Obelix were too big to fail and would continue to maintain their aesthetic and high quality stories.
Asterix and the Big Fight
“Asterix and the Big Fight” dials back the travels to exotic locations for a bit to focus on local Gaulish politics, which amounts to the two chiefs from each village duking it out for the right to rule. Of course, in this day and age the Romans are involved, with the roman centurion Nebulus Nimbus–a man who SEEMS TO HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO CONTROL THE VOLUME OF HIS VOICE–and his second in command: the sinister and scheming Felonius Caucus, scheme to use the Gaulish traditions to their advantage. The plan is to enlist the help of a Gaulish collaborator and lover of Rome named Cassius Ceramix to fight on their behalf and challenge the heroic Vitalstatistix to a one on one duel.
While the Romans understand that getting to Getafix to stop him from making the magic potion that gives the drinker super strength is vital to their plans, it’s easier said than done. Fortunately for the Romans, Obelix has chosen this exact moment to accidentally clobber Getafix over the head with a rock and cause him to lose his memory and how to make the potion.
It’s a race against time and brain damage to see if the tiny village of heroic Gauls will be able to save their way of life from the encroaching Roman political machine.
“Asterix and the Big Fight” is probably one of the most interesting of the Asterix books because the whole plot revolves around the Gauls making a series of boneheaded decisions (looking at you Obelix) while the Romans actually prove themselves to be capable bad guys and actually have a solid plan in place. Granted, this is an Asterix book and these are the Romans we’re talking about, so at the end of the day good will always triumph over evil, but it’s actually kind of refreshing to see the soldiers who have been the brunt of so many jokes finally get a bit of chance to be competent. Also, it’s a very good display of ancient Roman politics at its best, where the Roman Empire wouldn’t rule the provinces directly and instead rely on friendly chieftains and kings to rule in their stead.
Asterix in Britain
“Asterix in Britain” takes us back to the travels of our brave Gaulish heroes where they are set to embark on a journey to help their cousins in arms: the British. In Asterix’s world, Britain has already been conquered by the Romans, but they maintain a stiff upper lip and continue to enjoy their established traditions of warm beer, mint sauce, and taking regular breaks near the end of the day to enjoy hot water with spots of milk. However–in a rather interesting bit of symmetry–there exists one village that is holding out against the Romans, and Asterix and company decide to take a barrel of magic potion to the village to help them out. The usual hilarity and hijinks ensue, but this time the magic potion is replaced by a medley of herbs and spices that give the drinker a quick burst of energy and stamina. It’s a fascinating beverage, no idea what it’s called though.
Continued belowOut of all the books we’ve read so far, “Asterix in Britain” is probably the most historically inaccurate. Yes, it’s a bit nitpicky to complain about historical accuracy in a comic book for children, but you have to understand that Britain might as well have been the edge of the world for the ancient Romans. Sure, Caesar landed in Britain and founded a few towns, but the Romans presumably landed on the island, realized how cold and wet it was and saw all the barbarians running around painted blue and riding in chariots, and decided that conquering the island wasn’t really worth the effort. It wasn’t until Emperor Claudius decided to launch a full invasion in 43 A.D that the island was introduced to Roman rule, almost a hundred years after the comic takes place. Even after that, the Romans really didn’t conquer the whole island, they left parts of Whales and most of Scotland alone, and didn’t even bother to touch Ireland. Also, Britain was the first Roman province that was abandoned when Rome was in serious trouble, so it really shows just how much they cared about the place.
So while the historical accuracy wasn’t the forte of “Asterix in Britain” the jokes were great. France and Britain have had quite the rivalry over the centuries ranging from friendly to outright hostile, but considering that this book was written in a time after the French and British had been allies during WW2 and that bit of violence was still very fresh in everyone’s mind, the jokes are much more light hearted and friendly. For all the jokes about bad food, warm beer, and football, there is still a very real sense of camaraderie and friendship between the two cultures, which is nice.
Next week, we head to the farthest reaches of Northern Europe in “Asterix and the Normans” and see what happens when Asterix and Obelix decide to join the Roman war machine in “Asterix and the Legionary”.
