#asterix and the cauldron

[alex-procrastinates]

just finished this drawing for a contest on deviantart:

[image: a digital drawing of two characters fighting at sunset in a grassy clearing with trees visible on both sides. the one on the left is asterix, a short white man with blonde hair, a moustache and wearing a winged helmet, black shirt and red pants. the one on the right is whosemoralsarelastix, a tall white man with longer blonde hair and moustache, a hooked nose and wearing a helmet with larger wings, a pink cloak, blue tunic and orange pants. whosemoralsarelastix is lunging forward with a maniacal grin, in the middle of swinging his sword downwards at asterix. the tip of the sword has cut asterix from his right cheek to right thigh, sending out a small spray of blood. asterix is stumbling backwards in shock and fear, his sword lying off to the side. end id]

there's a whole lot of context for it, so i'll put it under the cut

so this is an au of asterix and the cauldron. if you haven't read it, basically what happens is asterix is banished from the village because he fails to protect a cauldron of money entrusted to the village by another chief called whosemoralsarelastix. he and obelix have a bunch of misadventures trying to earn back the money, but eventually they give up and head to whosemoralsarelastix's village to return the cauldron. on the way there, though, they meet a passing tax collector, try to rob him and discover that the money he carries smells like onion soup - just like the money that was in the cauldron! so asterix realises that whosemoralsarelastix got his men to steal the cauldron in order to pay his taxes and stay in the romans' good books. he confronts him and they have a swordfight, which asterix loses, but then the cliff whosemoralsarelastix is standing on crumbles and his money falls into the sea, so he gives up and asterix and obelix go back to the village.

so my au stemmed from a little ficlet i wrote about asterix's thoughts while he was leaving the village, which then got me thinking about why he might be on his own. and i realised it would be very easy for the romans to have taken advantage of this situation if they had known about it.

so in my au a roman spy overhears asterix being banished and the romans decide to try and capture him while he's vulnerable. they stop obelix from following him by intercepting him at an inn, where they drug his food and transport him somewhere where he can't get away before he loses his strength because he's gone so long without eating. meanwhile, asterix has some pretty similar misadventures to the comic.

he finds out about what whosemoralsarelastix did, but doesn't just barge in and confront him where he's protected by his men. so he does some stealth missions and sows doubt in whosemoralsarelastix's mind by making it look like his men are trying to get on the romans' bad side, and then arranges a meeting in a forest clearing away from the village, which whosemoralsarelastix doesn't tell anyone about because he doesn't trust his men.

in the climax of the story, which is depicted in the drawing, asterix confronts him, and they fight, but this time whosemoralsarelastix isn't standing on a cliff, so he nearly succeeds in killing asterix.

by this point obelix has escaped and been looking everywhere for asterix, so he soon finds him and brings him back to the village, where getafix treats his injuries and they explain about the whole fiasco. it's a lesson to everyone not to take asterix for granted.

sorry for that long spiel, i did a LOT of thinking about this idea. it might even end up as a fic someday ;)

as for the actual art, it was a lot of fun trying to do the sunset lighting! what i did was i actually started with just the sky and drew everything else as silhouettes, which i then sketched and did lineart and coloured on, and then used the original silhouettes as the shading. i think it turned out pretty good! also i'm really proud of the motion smear on the sword :D

i think i messed up asterix's pose a little bit bc it's not at all clear where the sword is meant to have cut him, but at least it looks cool :D

[balu8]

Asterix and the Cauldron

by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

[skopostheorie]

[asterixlabs]

[bdslab]

they should've made asterix and the cauldron a movie it's got everything: tax evasion, heists, destruction of the economy, cartoonish fighting i'm sorry i am just really sad right now i can't even make good tweets about how much i like one of my favorite asterix stories

[jihef03]

If I had my way I'd definitely adapt Astérix and the cauldron into a movie

[smbhax]

Ardok the Barbarian (C64)

US reskin of Asterix and the Magic Cauldron in which Asterix is replaced by an unlicensed barbarian.

[coe-olivier]

PART IV I'm back, be prepared!

XI. Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield - Nameless Centurions and Legionary I love Centurions with blond hair... who expect that huh? HAHHAH I like small but confident soldiers + I love his nose a lot!

XII. Asterix at the Olympic Games - Gluteus Maximus/Claudius Cornedurus MY MAN! I love him so SOOOO MUCH! it's impossible not to like this guy, seriously. Where can I find man like this?! I NEED ANSWEARS!! BHAHAHA Adorable, strong man, what can I say more? He's perfect in my eyes even if he's a bit slow. He's my himbo 🫶

XIII. Asterix and the Cauldron - Whosemoralsarelastix's men and Eleonoradus Look at their helmets! Large feathers, horns with gold AAAAAA I'M IN LOVE Of course, Eleonoradus could not be missing here!! ✨ THE ARTIST ✨ THE ICON ✨ He is lovely! The man we all need. Absolutely adore everything about his look, the blue eyeshadow slays 💅✨

That's it, thanks again darlings!

[bestanimatedmovie]

Welcome to Revenge of the Underrated!

Some of you asked me to put a "haven't watched both" to be more fair to the more unknown movies, but I've seen other tournaments doing this and I think it limits too much who can participate in the polls. So what I decided to do is a double elimination!

What does that mean? That means a movie has to lose twice to be eliminated. In other words, there will be a sorts of losers bracket that'll be part of main bracket. I'm undecided on whether to do this for only one round or the whole bracket, as it would make the tournament very long. Do let me know if you have any opinion about it.

Anyway, Revenge of the Underrated, Round 1:

Miss Hokusai vs Happily N'Ever After

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children vs Tiger and Bunny: The Rising

Ballerina vs Book Girl

On-Gaku: Our Sound vs Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal The Movie Part 1

Cats don't Dance vs The Flight of Dragons

Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge vs The Girl Without Hands

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix vs Flatland: The Film

Felidae vs Pokemon the Movie: The Power of Us

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West vs Unico in the Island of Magic

Rock and Rule vs Rock-A-Doodle

The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning vs Freddie as F.R.0.7

The Plague Dogs vs The Magic Riddle

Pokemon Heroes vs The Pebble and the Penguin

Strange Magic vs Sea Prince and the Fire Child

Help! I'm a Fish vs Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs

16.Azur and Asmar: The Prince's Quest vs Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer

17.Titan A.E. vs Ico, the Brave Horse

18.The Adventures of Mark Twain vs A Troll in Central Park

19.The Case of Hana and Alice vs Once Upon a Forest

20.Underdogs vs Long Way North

21.Mars Needs Moms vs The Twelve Months

22.Phineas and Ferb: The Movie: Candace Against the Universe vs Blinky Bill

23.Robot Carnival vs Revue Starlight: The Movie

24.One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island vs Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom

25.Ruben Brandt, Collector vs Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie

26.Lupin III: The First vs Pippi Longstocking

27.The Three Caballeros vs The Legend of Manxmouse

28.Princes and Princesses vs The Snow Queen

29.A Letter to Momo vs Seven Days War

30.The Wild Thornberrys Movie vs The Rabbi's Cat

31.Night on the Galactic Railroad vs The Boy who Wanted to be a Bear

32.The Swan Princess vs Planetarian: Hoshi no Hito

33.Patema Inverted vs Bartok the Magnificent

34.Next Gen vs Padak

35.Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods vs Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

36.Thumbelina vs Catnapped!

37.Early Man vs Rainbow Magic: Return to Rainspell Island

38.Junk Head vs Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie

39.Charlotte's Web (1973) vs The Princess and the Goblin

40.Shaun the Sheep Movie vs Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius

41. Redline vs Balto

42. The Addams Family vs Inu-Oh

43. Epic vs Mary and the Witch's Flower

44.The Girl Who Leapt Through Time vs Vivo

45.Barbie: Princess Charm School vs Kronk''s New Groove

46.Waking Life vs The Transformers: The Movie

47.Barbie in the Nutcracker vs Barbie as Rapunzel

48.Pokemon: The First Movie - Mewtwo Strikes Back vs Cool World

49.The Land Before Time vs When the Wind Blows

50.The Secret of NIMH vs Summer Wars

51.The Black Cauldron vs All Dogs go to Heaven

52.The Red Turtle vs FernGully: The Last Rainforest

53.Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas vs Ron's Gone Wrong

54.The Boxtrolls vs Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

55.Arthur Christmas vs One Piece Film Red

56.Barbie of Swan Lake vs The Rescuers Down Under

57.Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole vs Secret of the Wings

58.The Castle of Cagliostro vs Pokemon: The Movie 2000

59.Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust vs Arthur and the Invisibles

60.Tinker Bell vs Barbie as the Island Princess

61.Mind Game vs Tekkonkinkreet

62.The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh vs Dragon Ball Super: Broly

63.Mirai vs Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

64.The Lion King II: Simba's Pride vs Scooby-Doo! and the Cyber Chase

[filosofieke]

I'm sort of preparing for that Asterix's helmet fic, and one thing about it is that in my headcanon, Asterix would have had access to the magic potion at the earliest when he was sixteen, officially when he was seventeen. Obelix fell into the cauldron when they were six.

These two illegally sneaked into the forest for TEN years with Obelix being dozed up on magic potion while Asterix had no access to it.

The shenanigans they will have gotten into during that time, it's a goldmine.

[neopetstoreality]

Obelix - Asterix and Obelix

Flutter (Neodeck)

From Wikpedia: He fell into a cauldron of the Gauls' magic potion when he was a baby, causing him to be the only Gaul in Asterix's village who is in a permanent state of superhuman strength.

[alex-procrastinates]

my thoughts on the magic potion

HELLO i am so sorry i havent done any finished art in ages. school is kicking my ass and probably will continue to kick my ass for a while yet, but i promise i am working on things! and i am very excited to get them finished! im just swamped with homework and kinda suck at time management lol

but in the meantime, i have a 17 page google doc where i put all my asterix headcanons when i think of them, so i thought i would share my ideas about how the magic potion works :D

The potion is said to increase someone’s strength tenfold. That means it only builds on the strength they already have.

This means the potion will work differently for different people, based on their original level of strength.

For most people, they have about the same average strength, so the potion will appear to have the same effect on them. This is also due to the fact that the potion is simply so powerful that everyone who drinks it is insanely strong relative to non-potion drinkers. However, in some cases, the differences are noticeable.

For example, Fulliautomatix would have more brute strength than, say, Cacofonix, when on the potion. Or Asterix would be able to run faster than Geriatrix when on the potion.

The potion builds on strengths the person already has - for Asterix, it makes him extremely fast, as he is already agile and a fast runner without it. For Cacofonix, it allows his voice to create more powerful soundwaves, which can even have physical effects. 

(Edit: As pointed out by @elkaos, this actually conflicts with some of the books, where the potion is shown to have the same effect on everyone, and that's relevant to the plot in some cases. I did sort of know this, but it slipped my mind somewhat while I was writing this post. So I guess I'll have to retcon either this idea or the events of books 3 and 12 from my headcanon. These headcanons are based on my own interpretation of Asterix, which is inspired by a lot of fanfics and other creators' ideas as well as the books. Personally I find the idea of the potion's effects varying from person to person more logical, as it's described as multiplying the drinker's strength tenfold. Although maybe the effect being the same has something to do with how it was developed? I've seen a fic where the secret ingredient of the potion is Vercingetorix's ashes - maybe it's something like that where the essence of a person is used in the potion and its effect is equivalent to that person's strength multiplied tenfold.)

The potion also increases a person’s durability - their bones, ligaments, tendons, organs and muscles are stronger and more resistant to damage. This is necessary to make sure that they don’t injure themselves by doing things like punching solid rock. 

Even if they do get injured, which can happen when they are faced with sharp blades, the potion also fills their system with adrenaline, which means they usually don’t feel and are not really affected by most injuries until after the potion wears off.

The potion also increases the drinker’s stamina and speed, although this also varies depending on the drinker’s non-potion-enhanced abilities.

Obelix is a special case. But why exactly did drinking a whole cauldron of potion make it have a permanent effect on him? The potion’s effects can’t be stacked by drinking more potion while you’re already under the effects. 

I suppose the quantity of potion does matter when determining how long the effects will last - the more potion is flowing through the drinker’s bloodstream, the longer it will take to dilute enough to not have an effect anymore.

Wait. If the potion flows through the drinker’s bloodstream, then how does it have an immediate effect? Digesting it would take at least a few hours.

I guess it might have some magical property that lets it sort of phase into any blood vessels it encounters? So maybe it just radiates out from the stomach, gets to the heart really quickly and starts being pumped around the body almost immediately.

So if Obelix drinks, like, his entire body weight in potion, it’s probably going to last long enough in a large enough quantity to spread and be infused into practically every part of his body, so that then his bone marrow actually starts to make potion-infused blood. 

Therefore, every cell that blood flows to, which is basically every cell in his body, is enhanced by the potion, so it becomes an actual part of his biological composition. His blood, muscles, organs, bone marrow, fat, saliva, even his stomach acid is infused with magic potion. The only things that aren’t are his hair and nails.

This is why the permanent effects of the potion are so important to his survival. There would have been a couple of years where they could have gotten it to wear off, but that would probably have involved bloodletting or something, and obviously they’re not going to do that to a six-year-old kid. It doesn’t cause him any adverse effects, anyway, so it’s not something that needs to be reversed. He’ll just have to learn to control his strength.

He wasn’t the strongest before he fell into the potion, but because of how the potion became an actual part of his muscle tissue, he was still able to grow his muscles like a normal person would - just with much heavier weights, like menhirs. Which he has probably been lifting and carrying nearly every day since about his mid-teens. Also because the potion is part of his bone marrow and the blood his body makes is naturally infused with the potion, it creates a sort of positive feedback loop where the effects of the potion, and therefore his strength, keep increasing. This is why he seems to be stronger than the other villagers on the potion, and why his feats of strength increase in magnitude across the series, until Chariot Race when he’s able to catch the huge lump of volcanic rock that explodes out of Mt Vesuvius.

The potion also increased his durability to a very high level. His bones are as hard as granite, and his skin is also quite thick and resistant to cuts. He can still get hurt, but it takes a lot, and almost never happens. This is also why he is so mobile and flexible despite being obese. 

Obelix is a bit of an extreme case, but for everyone who drinks the potion regularly (mostly just Asterix and maybe some of the other warriors, hunters or guards), it speeds up their metabolism considerably in order to provide them with the large quantities of energy they need to function while on the potion. This is how Asterix is able to eat most of a boar nearly twice his size. (Although that was pushing it and he usually doesn’t need that much energy.)

The potion does not actively heal wounds except in the very short term, when it can exacerbate the effect of adrenaline to such an extent that it will completely heal minor to moderately serious wounds if taken within about a minute after sustaining the injury. However, it does give the body more energy, enabling it to heal faster. It also helps the immune system fight infection and the body to remake lost blood. 

It won’t cure concussions, but it does get rid of them faster and reduces long-term damage. (This is how Asterix can have had no less than six concussions in the space of a few years and not feel any lasting effects.)

Chronic illnesses and fatigue can be treated, but not cured by the potion. It unfortunately doesn't help with nerve pain, because there's no wound for it to help heal or inflammation/ bacteria/ etc. for it to fight.

Over time, this will cause regular potion drinkers to have stronger immune systems and heal more quickly. (Cacofonix still gets sick easily, but without the potion he’d probably have been dealing with asthma or an autoimmune disease. Obelix still gets hay fever in spring, but I guess maybe the potion doesn’t help with allergies. He does sometimes get mild colds and stuff, but the potion protects him from a lot of more serious diseases.)

The potion also increases a drinker’s core body temperature slightly and makes it easier to maintain, which is how all the Gauls can walk around in the snow either in sleeveless tops or just straight up shirtless, with only maybe a scarf or gloves to keep them warm. This effect also lingers over time if you drink the potion regularly. (Or if you’re Obelix. He’s like a walking heater.)

In Asterix the Gaul, we see the Gauls take potion regularly and use their strength for everyday tasks. This is because they used to take potion in shifts, so that some people would always be ready to go fight the Romans if they attacked. Doing chores while on the potion was just an added convenience. (As I speculated earlier, the potion lasts longer if you drink more of it, so maybe they used to drink more potion with each dose to make it last longer - maybe half or even a full day.)

This seemed like a great strategy until one day, a new centurion decided to attack the village at an unexpected time. The people who were on the potion went out to fight, but Asterix's potion wore off mid-battle. Not realising in time, he got into a fight with the centurion and ended up getting pretty badly hurt. (Inspired by this post - I came up with this idea while I was thinking about what might have happened in that scenario)

After that, they decided to just take the potion when needed to prevent something like it happening again. This also enabled Getafix to spend more time experimenting with new potions because he wasn’t making the strength potion every day.

so yeah! that's all i got. thanks so much if you read this whole thing. hopefully i'll have time to finish something else soon :D

[balu8]

Asterix and the Cauldron

by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

[skopostheorie]

Enough enough enough enough die dieidudieididie die die I hope we all die. I HOPE JAKEY dies.

[asterixlabs]

Best of Asterix Seeding/Interest Polls

Seeding/Interest Polls will be going live tomorrow March 14th at 6AM EST! On each poll will be open for a week where you rate the album/movie/series out of 5 based on how much you like it. At the end of the polling period I'll seed them based on the total number of points (those with higher points will seed better). Any ties will be broken based on my original judgement on how I think they'll perform.

As a note, this blog will be posting polls for quite some time going forward. If you aren't interested in this tournament, please mute the #best of asterix tag.

The list of the different options to vote for is below, I'll attach links to their interest polls once they go live (not in seeding order)!

Mainline comics:

Asterix the Gaul (BD)

Asterix and the Golden Sickle (BD)

Asterix and the Goths (BD)

Asterix the Gladiator (BD)

Asterix and the Banquet (BD)

Asterix and Cleopatra (BD)

Asterix and the Big Fight (BD)

Asterix in Britain (BD)

Asterix and the Normans (BD)

Asterix the Legionary (BD)

Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield (BD)

Asterix at the Olympic Games (BD)

Asterix and the Cauldron (BD)

Asterix in Spain (BD)

Asterix and the Roman Agent (BD)

Asterix in Switzerland (BD)

The Mansions of the Gods (BD)

Asterix and the Laurel Wreath (BD)

Asterix and the Soothsayer (BD)

Asterix in Corsica (BD)

Asterix and Caesar's Gift (BD)

Asterix and the Great Crossing (BD)

Obelix and Co. (BD)

Asterix in Belgium (BD)

Asterix and the Great Divide (BD)

Asterix and the Black Gold (BD)

Asterix and Son (BD)

Asterix and the Magic Carpet (BD)

Asterix and the Secret Weapon (BD)

Asterix and Obelix All at Sea (BD)

Asterix and the Actress (BD)

Asterix and the Class Act (BD)

Asterix and the Falling Sky (BD)

Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book (BD)

Asterix and the Picts (BD)

Asterix and the Missing Scroll (BD)

Asterix and the Chariot Race (BD)

Asterix and the Chieftain's Daughter (BD)

Asterix and the Griffin (BD)

Asterix and the White Iris (BD)

Movies, picture books, and spinoffs:

How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little Boy (picture book)

Deux Romains en Gaule (movie)

Asterix the Gaul (animated movie)

Asterix and Cleopatra (animated movie)

The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (animated movie)

Asterix Versus Caesar (animated movie)

Asterix in Britain (animated movie)

Asterix and the Big Fight (animated movie)

Asterix Conquers America (animated movie)

Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (live action movie)

Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (live cation movie)

Asterix and the Vikings (animated movie)

Asterix at the Olympic Games (live action movie)

Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (live action movie)

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (animated movie)

Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (animated movie)

Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (live action movie)

Dogmatix & the Indomitables (cartoon series)

Adventures of Dogmatix (picture book series)

Idéfix et les Irréductibles: Pas de quartier pour le latin! (BD)

Idéfix et les Irréductibles: Les Romains se prennent une gamelle! (BD)

Idéfix et les Irréductibles: Ça balance pas mal à Lutèce! (BD)

Idéfix et les Irréductibles: Les irréductibles font leur cirque (BD)

Idéfix et les Irréductibles: Idéfix et le druide (BD)

[mask131]

Cold winter: Asterix and Obelix

ASTERIX AND OBELIX

Category: French media

We are in the year 50 BCE. The Roman Empire conquered all of Gaul… All of it? No! One small village forever resists against the invader!

This is the opening line of most of the stories of “Asterix”, a bande-dessinée (Franco-Belgian comic book) that was created in 1959 by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. This series, and the wider franchise it spawned under the name “Asterix and Obelix”, is recognized today as one of THE most famous French BD of all time, as well as one of the most famous pieces of modern French media worldwide. The series is still going on today, having survived the death of its two “fathers”, with a total of 39 volumes to this date (when it comes to BD, the “issues” are called “volumes” since they’re quite bigger than a normal American comic-book issue, and usually have self-contained stories). The series gave birth to both animated movies (10 to this day) and live-action movies (5 to this day), and that’s without counting all the various games. Translated in 111 different languages, it is currently the second most-sold comic book in the world, right behind “One Piece”.

But maybe you still haven’t heard of it? In which case, this post is here to introduce you to this world…

As I said before, the story of “Asterix” takes place in a small village of Armorique (the ancient name of today’s Bretagne), in a Rome-conquered Gaul: this village is the last independent Gaul village, constantly resisting the various attack of the Roman soldiers thanks to one wonderful trick – a magical potion brewed by the village’s druid, Panoramix, which grants whoever drinks it a temporary inhuman strength. It is thanks to this wonderful brew that the village could crush all the Roman legions sent to destroy them, and it is in this setting that we follow Asterix, one of the village’s warriors. He is quite small – very small, in fact, but he makes it up in both great bravery and cleverness. Mind you he still isn’t perfect, as the authors of the BD wanted an anti-hero: he is not so much intelligent than cunning, and if he is good-hearted, he still has a tendency towards grumpiness, grudge-holding and/or being easily annoyed. And whenever he needs to have some strength, all he needs is a gulp of the magical potion to be able to lift heavy rocks and run like the wind… Asterix’s best friend, and the co-protagonist of this story, is Obelix, who is the complete opposite of Asterix: very tall, very large (it’s all fat, but he HATES being called fat and will openly deny it before punching anyone in the face for “insulting” him), and quite slow-minded. Though he is usually much more good-natured than Asterix - for example while he is always ready to punch people away in the sky, for him it is just a “game” or his duty as a warrior, nothing personal. When he was a baby he fell into the cauldron of magical potion – which resulted in him having a permanent super-strength (it is a running gag that he still tries to have a drink of the potion whenever it is distributed, despite the druid insisting that he does not need it and will not have more). In his everyday life it helped him for his job, as he is a menhir deliveryman; but it also comes with an enormous appetite, that can only be satisfied by several boars at each meal. The third part of the trio is Idefix, Obelix’s small white dog, who tags along with the heroes in all of their adventures.

And when it comes to their adventures, the trio usually has two kinds. One is “local” adventures about helping or defending their village, either from internal problems (the druid needing an ingredient, political rivalries among the chief’s men, etc…) or from the numerous plots organized by the Romans (and by their leader, Julius Caesar) to crush this thorn in their side that is the village. The second kind is “foreign” adventures where the protagonist will be sent or called far-away into other ancient civilizations (Cleopatra’s Egypt, the Iberian Hispania, the Belgian Germanic tribes, the old Indus) to provide their help there – they event discovered America before anyone else, in volume 22.

The Asterix and Obelix franchise is an humoristic series. This is present in the very name of the characters: “Asterix” has to be heard as “astérique”, French for “asterisk” ; “Obelix” is of course “obelisk” ; Idefix is to be heard as “idée fixe” (an obsession), while “Panoramix” is for “panoramic”. Each name in the Asterix BD (unless it is of those of historical characters) is a pun. EACH OF THEM. They are all phonetic puns, with just the suffix changing depending on the culture (Gaul has -ix ; Rome has -us ; Goths have -ic ; Egyptians have -is ; Iberians have -on, etc etc…) ; and as a result our Gauls have to fight Roman enemies going by name such as “Infarctus” or “Garovirus” (gare au virus, beware the virus). But the humor of the “Asterix” series is actually a double-level humor, for you see the “Asterix and Obelix” franchise is for both children and adults. As a result you have a first level of humor aimed at a younger audience: cartoony violence, simple but efficient running gags, puns everywhere… And on the other side, there is a much more adult humor clearly present in the pages. Not “adult” as in “sex and violence” of course, but for example many characters that appear in the series are actually caricatures of real-life figures, ranging from politicians to singers and actors. The French Wikipedia even has an entire article dedicated to listing all of the people caricatured by “Asterix”. The series also deliberately plays on a series of goofy anachronism to introduce modern-day situations into the ancient world of Gaul and Rome (for example the children of the village have an open-air school taught by Panoramix eerily similar to 20th century classes ; and most of the depictions of the “foreign” cultures rely heavily on the stereotypes, clichés and jokes usually attributed to their modern-day descendants – for example you’ll recognize in the old Iberians of Hispania caricatures of today’s Spanish people, the Goths are obviously Germans, and the ancient tribe of the Helvets is in all-but-name Switzerland) ; but at the same time it also makes several historical jokes and nods that only people who know their history lessons will get.

This duality in humor results in the BD’s huge inter-generational success: usually a kid buys a volume and reads at a part of it, then becomes an adult and re-reads it, laughing at different parts, and then transmits it to their kid, and the cycle goes on…

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But let’s briefly talk about history in “Asterix and Obelix”… Because the BD series is half-historical: the authors clearly knew their topic when talking about the ancient world, and did their research when tackling new subject (in fact it was precisely because of this knowledge that they could make their jokes). But at the same time, they also took numerous liberties and used anachronism either for the sake of jokes (again, by having modern-day structures and problems being thrown in ancient world equivalents, example the menhir deliveryman job of Obelix), or to simplify things for children who would read the story (as a result, Julius Caesar from a real-life “imperator”, becomes here the “emperor” of the Romans). It also doesn’t help that the depiction of the Gaul and other ancient civilizations relies in numerous clichés, stereotypes and false beliefs that were widespread and “common knowledge” in the 19th and 20th century. For example, the idea that the Gauls were the ancestors of French people. It was a recurring topic that was reused and popularized by this BD, the idea that Gaul “evolved” into France, when in truth the real “ancestors” of France are mostly the Romans themselves, who erased almost all of the culture of Gaul through Romanization and inclusion in the Empire, before new Germanic tribes (such as the Franks) came in after the fall of the Empire and founded the “France” we have today.

But this tackling of historical subjects actually led to the series being scrutinized by many people… You see, as I said the series was HUGELY successful, and very influential among French youth. Many kids learned things about Gaul and its inhabitants throughout this series (with all the inaccuracies cited above), and this series was part of a renewal of interesting for ancient Gaul. But many historians accused the comics of having an anti-Ancient Rome agenda. Because you have to understand that in the 50s/60s, somebody actually placing the idolized and adored Roman Empire as the antagonist of a story, and rather have as heroes the “barbarians” and backwards Gaulish tribes presented as the “ancestors of the French”… It was groundbreaking. It was entirely flipping the table on how history was seen and perceived. And it led to a HUGE debate by historians over this franchise.

There was also another huge debate around it – but political this time. Being one of the faces of French culture and media, and depicting a small heroic tribe of “France’s ancestors” against a powerful invader dominating the country… Let’s say that both sides of the political spectrum tried to seize Asterix to spread their own messages. An habit that irritated to no end Goscinny and Uderzo, who refused to have any political message in their work, and even ended up making an entire volume centered around the idea of two political factions divided Asterix’s village only for him to denounce all of their nonsense and stay firmly neutral.