Alright, starting today we’re going to be kicking this review series into overdrive and doubling our total number of books, mostly because we’re not even halfway through the series and if we keep this pace up we’re going to be reviewing books until next summer.
So buckle up and get ready for a turbocharged review.
Written by Rene GoscinnyArt by Albert Uderzo
Illustrated by Albert Uderzo
This week we look at “Asterix and the Soothsayer”, “Asterix in Corsica”, “Asterix and Caesar’s Gift”, and “Asterix and the Great Crossing”
At this point in the history of the Asterix series, the books have been well established as a massive hit and are well on their way towards becoming one of France’s greatest comic book series and a pop cultural icon.
Asterix and the Soothsayer
It’s a dark and stormy night in the village of the Gauls, and if there’s one thing that the Gauls actually fear, it’s the sky falling on their heads. Unfortunately for the Gauls, their druid Getafix is away at the annual conference of the druids and cannot help them. Even more unfortunately, a tall and imposing stranger named Prolix finds his way into the village. Prolix is a soothsayer, a man supposedly able to tell the future by reading things like the entrails of animals or the flights of birds. Prolix makes a bold prediction: “when the storm ends the weather will improve” and miraculously..,it does! While Asterix remains level headed and skeptical of this stranger in their homes, the rest of the village seems to take Prolix seriously and are soon overcome with paranoia and distrust. And that’s before the Romans get their hands on him.
It’s worth mentioning that the comic establishes Prolix as a definite fraud and con man, it’s just that he’s a politically useful fraud. It becomes very much apparent when the Romans get their hands on him, and threaten to throw him in prison as a threat to Roman security. Prolix winds up in a desperate and confusing struggle for his freedom and reputation that winds up spiraling out of control as the Romans, Asterix, and the rest of the village attempt to use his words to their own advantage.
“Asterix and the Soothsayer” is an ancient story with a very modern moral: don’t trust con men who chase riches and status by simply telling you what you want to hear.
Asterix in Corsica
“Asterix in Corsica” opens with a reunion and reminder of the comic’s greatest hits. You see, the villagers often celebrate their participation at the real life Battle of Gergovia by gathering friends, drinking a lot of magic potion, and then attacking the Roman camps. The Romans celebrate this anniversary by leaving the camps and participating in maneuvers away from the village. Unfortunately for one of the Roman camps, they are tasked with holding a Corsican revolutionary named Boneywasawarriorwayayix (who will be referred to as “Boney” for short), who was captured by a greedy Roman praetor. The Gauls rescue the Corsican and resolve to travel to the island to help Boney reclaim the island from Roman rule, which any proud Corsican would refuse to accept…unless the emperor is Corsican himself.
“Asterix in Corsica” is partially a celebration of everything the comic has done up to this point, and a satire of the island of Corsica itself. In the real world, Corsica was bought by France in the late 1700’s although the Corsicans didn’t recognize the purchase. The island is famous for things like smelly cheese, inhabitants who love their siesta naps, and for being the home of the French Emperor and famous conqueror Napoleon Boneparte, also known as “Boney” to the English. It’s another Asterix book that is more concerned with modern satire than ancient history, and it really helps to understand French culture when reading it.
Asterix and Caesar’s Gift
“Asterix and Caesar’s Gift” opens with a group of Roman legionaries receiving their historically accurate honorable discharge which came with a plot of land. Unfortunately, there is a soldier named Tremensdelirius who is a legendarily bad soldier and notorious drunkard. Caesar decides to play a joke on the legionary by “gifting” him the famous Gaulish village, which Tremensdelirius proceeds to pawn off to a local tavern keeper named Orthopaedix in exchange for more wine. When Orthopaedix attempts to cash in his gift, he is greeted with laughter and scorn by the Gauls, until the chief Vitalstatistix takes pity on the man and grants him a building in the village where he can build a tavern. Unfortunately, while Orthopaedix is welcomed into the village, his wife and the wives of the other men in the village get along like a house on fire, and the resulting social spats devolve into outright political violence that threatens to tear the village apart and make them easy pickings for the Romans.
Continued below“Asterix and Caesar’s Gift” is a smaller, more intimate story that deals with the local politics of the village and shows just how powerful and capable the women of the village can be when they get pissed off. It also shows how tight knit and insulated the villagers can be, and while they can be friends with outsiders, accepting them into their lives on a permanent basis can be a bit difficult.
Asterix and the Great Crossing
“Asterix and the Great Crossing” opens with Getafix requesting fresh fish in order to brew his famous magic potion. Since the village fishmonger Unhygenix refuses to go out and fish on his own, insisting that his fish are not rotten and unhealthy and are bought from only the finest wholesalers, Asterix and Obelix decide to go out to sea and fish themselves. They make a mess of it and are blown so far off course they wind up stumbling on a new land inhabited by weird animals and strange tribes of men who they can’t understand. It turns out that Asterix and Obelix have discovered America centuries ahead of schedule, While the two Gaulish warriors can’t understand a word the natives are saying, they manage to get along fine and even manage to integrate themselves into this strange new world rather well. However, the two want to go home, and getting back to Europe requires them to discover and meet up with a band of Viking raiders, who are also several centuries out of date.
“Asterix and the Great Crossing” is probably the most ambitious journey the two characters have taken yet. While we know that the Europeans wouldn’t make their way to America for another thousand years, it’s still a fun bit of historical “what if” and speculation, even if it does require ancient Gauls to interact with medieval Vikings for it to work.
Next week we look at a rare non Asterix book in “Obelix and Co.”, we meet warriors braver than the Gauls in “Asterix in Belgium”, and then tragedy strikes as we say goodbye to the writer of the series in “Asterix and the Great Divide” and “Asterix and the Black Gold”
