We’re continuing our charge into the heart of the Asterix and Obelix books. If you’re reading these reviews and think you’d like to pick up the books yourself (as you should, they are famously good) they are currently being published by Hachette Book Group. You can also find them at almost any self respecting book store, comic book store, or Amazon.
Written by Rene Goscinny
Illustrated by Albert Uderzo
This week we look at “Asterix and the Actress”, “Asterix and the Class Act”, “Asterix and the Falling Sky”, and “Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday”
We are now deep into the Albert Uderzo era of the Asterix books, an era that has divided fans and been the topic of some debate. There are some people who think that Uderzo’s books weren’t as well written when Goscinny was alive and the series should have stopped with “Asterix in Belgium”.
For my money, there are some definite and noticeable differences in the quality and complexity of the writing, but the books are still pretty good and there’s a lot to celebrate about them.
Asterix and the Actress
We’ve been with Asterix and Obelix through thick and thin. They’ve defended their village from countless Roman plots that range from the silly to clever and they’ve traveled all across the known ancient world, and a few places outside the ancient world as well. But there’s one aspect of our hero’s lives that we haven’t really touched upon: their family lives.
“Asterix and the Actress” is the first main Asterix book that introduces the reader to the parents of Asterix and Obelix, and like almost all the parents of middle aged bachelors, they’re wondering when our heroes are going to get married and give them grandchildren. However, it turns out that our hero’s parents sell “modernities” (a play on selling antiques) and have accidentally acquired the sword and helmet of Pompey, Caesar’s political and military rival. Desperate to not lose face to the Roman public, Pompey hires a famous Roman actress to adopt the identity of Panacea–a gorgeous woman and old friend of Asterix and Obelix– to spy on the Gauls and steal the sword and helmet back. Mix ups and slapstick hijinks ensue, and the whole affair is eventually settled with the standard end of book feast.
“Asterix and the Actress” is probably the best written book by Uderzo alone, combining the classic Asterix hijinks with actual history and familiar characters. It’s nice to see Panacea and her husband again, and it’s also nice to see a callback to actual history with Pompey Magnus, who was Caesar’s actual political and military rival. Granted, the book takes the usual liberties with history, but it’s still nice to see.
Asterix and the Class Act
“Asterix and the Class Act” isn’t a traditional Asterix book. Instead, it’s an anthology book with several short stories from across the many decades of the book’s publication. It’s definitely the most meta of all the Asterix books, opening with a short one page story where chief Vitalstatistix addresses the reader directly in a mock press conference. It then moves on to several other short stories that had been published in the French magazine Pilote from across the ages, plus one original story called “Chanticlearix” where Dogmatix helps the village chickens defeat a threatening hawk. It also includes actual appearances from Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo themselves in several meta stories where they meet a modern day descendant of Obelix and have a rather intense brainstorming session that sends them to the loony bin.
“Asterix and the Class Act” is a fun little series of short stories and a love letter to a creative endeavor that has become a pop culture icon for decades. My personal favorite stories are a collection of experimental shorts where the creators address some of the long running complaints of the series. It’s all lighthearted, fun, and an absolute must read for anyone who loves the series and what it has become.
Asterix and the Falling Sky
There’s no easy way to describe “Asterix and the Falling Sky” so I’m just going to give a simple, one sentence synopsis: aliens come to the Gaulish village in an attempt to learn the secret of Getafix’s magic potion and wind up bringing an intergalactic war to Roman Gaul.
Continued belowYes…really.
While “Asterix and the Falling Sky” was a commercial success, it was almost universally panned by critics and it’s easy to see why. This is not a traditional Asterix tale by a very long shot, although if you read it more as a satire of the modern comic books and manga and the 2003 American invasion of Iraq it starts to make a little more sense. Still, it’s a book that somehow manages to be both incredibly weird and almost mind numbingly simple. Long story short, it’s an okay book that did sell really well, but it’s definitely not the best Asterix story by a long shot.
Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday
“Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday” is a literal and metaphorical celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Asterix books. Uderzo decides to celebrate his greatest creation by aging the characters by 50 years and actually drawing himself into the book to say hello to his creations.
Unfortunately, Obelix is not happy with the aging process and proceeds to lay a beatdown on Uderzo, who realizes the error of his ways and revert the characters back to their original ages. The rest of the story takes place in the village as the villagers and many of the supporting cast from around the ancient world celebrate the birthdays of these two famous Gaulish warriors.
“Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday” is a celebration of everything that the Asterix books have been over its fifty year run, and even has a cheeky wink at the things that it could become. It’s a thoroughly modern book with strange gifts and ideas like a modern fashion show, a travel catalogue, and modern art. It’s sweet, fun, and a great bit of perspective on one of France’s greatest comic books
It’s also a very bittersweet book since this is the last book that Uderzo would write and illustrate on his own. While Uderzo had planned to have Asterix end upon his death, a combination of family drama and estate troubles led him to selling the rights to Hatchette in 2011, where the book would continue with different creators. It was a definite end of an era, but definite proof that these books had staying power that would last beyond their creators.
Next week we finish this series with a look at the new and thoroughly modern Asterix books with “Asterix and the Picts”, “Asterix and the Missing Scroll”, “Asterix and the Chariot Race”, “Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter”, and “Asterix and the Griffin”.