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.