This was the last book published by Dargaud in France. In truth, he was taken to court by the publishers and forced to draw this book from Goscinny's unfinished script-Something he would never forgive them for. Also notable is that Uderzo draws it raining two thirds of the way through to mark the moment when Goscinny died, and also I suspect, his mood. It's got some good moments, but it's rather thin plot wise and relies heavily on trivial references to Belgium (manikin pis, Thomson and Thompson, mussels and frites etc). It's rather self-indulgent, featuring a breaking of the fourth wall, numerous classical allusions and an extended parody of the battle of Waterloo, complete with altered lines (in the English translation) of Byron's 'The Eve of Waterloo'. Goscinny's last book is fittingly a tribute the country that's given so much to French language comic books. These little guys are dressed in grass skirts and look identical! In many ways it's a reflection, through parody of modern offices, of attitudes of the past, but Asterix should be turning those on its head to make its points in my opinion. One sour note: when you couple Uderzo's big lipped black characters (he was never one to shy from an outright racist caricature-but that was the times I suppose) with a story idea of little natives scuttling about delivering messages like little more than machines, you've got yourself a definitively racist joke.
(I would have liked to see how that panned out…). He and Crapulus, another drunk, get their just (sort of) rewards when Caesar promotes them far above their station. The charcoal is a lovely repeat joke-I'm sure it works even better in French as it's got to be an in-joke, but even better is the gloriously lazy, sometimes drunken legionary, Pusillanimus, who sweeps flagstones one half at a time. The structure gives the story more urgency and drama than many other books. This one is plotted like a detective story fitting around the larger concerns of Gaulish history and with some classic moments-like Vitalstatistix's liver pain. You can see why Asterix was instantly popular-it's such a terrific scenario. The climax with the hair growing potion is just brilliant, especially the page where the centurion progressively picks up smaller stones, convincing himself he's a superman.
#Asterix and cleopatra book series#
Later in the series such an incongruous scene would have been avoided.
The tickling torture scene is just silly. The lack of Gaulish women is slightly peculiar-the men do a dance (with Cacofonix tunefully accompanying them!) after taking the potion-this is chiefly to facilitate the unmasking of the Roman spy of course, so feels rather contrived.
Some of the best comedy comes from Asterix deliberately confusing people, but it's a characteristic he sadly lacks in many later books. Asterix displays his playful cunning when he confuses first the ox dealer, then all the Romans in the camp. The designs and personalities of the characters are pretty embryonic and there are some elements which were quickly changed-such as the Gauls taking a regular dose of potion rather than when they specifically need it. A cracking story which establishes some of the best tropes of the series, such as the way Asterix frustrates the Romans.
0 kommentar(er)
