Those Magnificent Druids and their Golden Sickles

Book: Asterix and the Golden Sickle
Pen: René Goscinny 
Pencils: Albert Uderzo

Once the introductions were over Goscinny and Uderzo decided to get into the serious business of going on adventures out of home turf. This time it is not too far, but to Lutetia, the town which would, one day, become Paris.

Opening with the trademark peaceful village scene, we are rudely jolted by a string of obscenities. The kind that are best explained using symbols! Getafix the druid has broken his golden sickle. Mistletoe, a major ingredient in his magic potion, has to be cut with a golden sickle or else it wouldn't retain any magic qualities. The best golden sickles were made in Lutetia by the sicklesmith Metallurgix, who just happens to be a distant cousin of Obelix. The two friend decide to undertake the perilous journey across Gaul and get their druid a golden sickle.

Once they reach Lutetia they find that Metallurgix has disappeared and some Romans are running the sickle business. Suspecting something fishy, Asterix and Obelix search for Metallurgix. A bunch of shady characters led by the middleman Clovogarlix and shady Navishtrix. They are repeatedly captured by Roman patrols but are released by the bored Roman prefect Surplus Dairyprodus. Finally they find Metallurgix and Getafix gets his sickle. Obelix shares equal footing with Asterix in this adventure.  

It is the first view of Lutetia and the town is showed as a crowded and dangerous town, but with its attractions. Also appearing for the first time in Asterix adventures is a version of the famous “These Romans are crazy” phrase, though it is not uttered by Obelix.  

Tackling slightly non-childish themes like forced imprisonment and trading monopoly, Asterix and the Golden Sickle takes the heroes out of their comfort zone and forces them to use their cunning as well as strength. It is a precursor to adventures to further lands and firmly establishes that the books would work best if Asterix and Obelix were both front and centre.

Best names: Surplus Dairyprodus

The Saga Begins...

Book: Asterix the Gaul
Pen: René Goscinny 
Pencils: Albert Uderzo

It was the late 1970s. I was living with the parents in a small town in Nigeria. I was being home-schooled as the only school in the vicinity was one where kids took brooms to and spent the day cleaning up. We had a Peugeot 404 (CR 1215 CA, I still remember the license plate!) And every weekend my folks would drive me 30 km to the nearest town with a small children’s library. There I discovered Asterix.

Asterix comics take place in the year 50 BC. Julius Caesar has conquered all of Gaul, an area encompassing most of modern day France, parts of Belgium and Luxemburg and bits of other countries. All, that is, except one unnamed seaside village that houses a group of indomitable Gauls who value their freedom and bow before no man. They are led by their chief Vitalstatistix and have only one fear – that of the sky falling on their heads.

Their best warrior and the hero of these adventures is Asterix, brave, sensible, loyal, and slightly on the shorter side. His best friend is Obelix, a large and large-hearted man whose occupation is the manufacture and sale of menhirs – large, upright standing stones. Obelix’s eco-conscious dog is Dogmatix. These Gauls repel any Roman attack with the help of a potion brewed by their druid, Getafix, which gives them superhuman strength. Other characters include Cacofonix the bard, who is never allowed to sing,  by Fulliautomatix, the blacksmith, who is constantly in argument about the quality of fish provided by the monger, Unhygienix.

At six one is way too young to bother about continuity and reading order. I have no idea which was the first Asterix I read. So the reviews will go in order. Asterix the Gaul introduced us to this ragtag bunch. Uderzo had just started on the drawings that would forever define him and Obelix is not very well-defined.  The story is, thankfully, less about origins and more of introductions. We meet the characters and find out how they get their powers. The Romans want to find the secret and send a spy, Caligula Minus, who disguises himself as a Gaul called Caliguliminix and infiltrates the village. He soon learns the secret, but is also outed. The Romans kidnap Getafix, Asterix comes to his rescue and a fake potion is made that hastens hair growth. Cue lots of jokes about hair.

Originally, Asterix was supposed to be the sole hero in all these adventures, which meant a lesser role for Obelix. The creators rein in their imagination and give us a small story that introduces some of the characters and brings out the feel of how the future will be. Even Julius Caesar makes a cameo. You know that something special is in front of you and you will want to continue on the journey.

For English-language readers an almost equal partner in the Goscinny-Uderzo partnership is Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge, the duo who translated the books into English. Some of the puns are so language-specific that you instantly realize that it is all the translators’ minds at work. Lesser translators could have easily ruined the legacy. Bell and Hockridge make us love it. 

It takes a very brave (I’d say, foolish) person to shrug and walk away after reading Asterix the Gaul. For a lifetime, I’ve been glad I was not that person. By Toutatis, I’m glad! Over to you, folks.

Best names: Crismus Bonus, Marcus Ginantonicus.

Panels and Balloons

The guys above, they convinced me to read. Not read comic books. Read. Yes, that is the enormity of my debt towards them. They changed my life. Absolutely for the better.

Almost two decades later I find myself in Journalism school. Asked to write about the book that inspired me to write, I wrote a piece on Asterix. They reacted just like the Establishment would. I was kinda hoping they would!

Anyway, few more years passed. I got into a decently-paying non-journalism job. Filled up my house with secondhand fiction. Was generally pleased with my lot in life. Then one day my wife - who was a journalist - introduced me to a big shot in a publishing and distribution company. They dealt with DC and Marvel. And they gave me graphic novels at a discount that I could never get from any shop - concrete or online. My life changed again.

I have resisted the temptation to calculate what the damage to our life's savings is with all the graphics I have bought. Wife doesn't mind because she knows at any point if I sell them, I will get more than I paid for!

This is my bit about comics. Please do check it out if you are interested in them. And feel free to disagree. 

Oh, about the name, neverdespairneversurrender was taken. And I was in a Rorschach mood. So there!