Reviews

Somewhere in Armorica, there is a small Gaelic village much like our own, but one that is divided into two parts, each ruled by a separate chief Cleverdix & Majestix. And we are talking about Berlin wall level of separation, with instead a ditch. When the fishy conniving aptly named schemer Codfix, manipulates Majestix to side with the Romans, Cleverdix seeks assistance from his old friend Vitalstatistix.

So Asterix, Obelix, Getafix & Dogmatix set out to reunite the warring village, mend some bridges, and of course mess with some Romans along the way.

The magic potion & Getafix's other concoctions, after being in the background the last few chapters, are presented in full glory here. As both the Gauls and Romans manage to get their hands one some leading to some magic fueled absurdity.

Gaelic problems require Gaelic Solutions

The Hurricane of Puns:

Ø Cleverdix
Ø Majestix
Ø Histrionix
Ø Codfix
Ø Altruistix
Ø Alcaponix
Ø Melodrama
Ø Schizophrenix
Ø Infectius Virus
Ø Umbrageous Cumulonimbus
Ø Congenitalidiotix

ladyfie's review against another edition

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funny

3.75

jadejade's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Full disclosure, I grew up on this series so my opinion is necessarily biased.

I'm of the view that there is no such thing as a bad Asterix book ... but some volumes, like this one, are just okay. This was Uderzo's first solo effort after the passing of Goscinny, and he was already showing a penchant of leaning into the fantastic.

As a child, I often borrowed this one from the library, possibly because there's a female in a relatively prominent role. As an adult, I wish the traitor character (Codfix in English, Acidenitrix in French) didn't look so repulsive (he literally has fangs), as the Evil Makes You Ugly trope is actually harmful to audiences who do not look like the majority.

Content Warnings