The Romans must be crazy

"Asterix" is a French comic developed by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. At least in Europe, it's considered a classic.

The plot is set in Gaul shortly after the Roman conquest. All of Gaul, including Lutetia, "the greatest city in the world", is occupied by the Romans. All of Gaul? Well, no, not really. A small village inhabited by fierce, fat and fanatical patriots is still free. Its inhabitants are invincible, due to the magical potions of their druid Getafix. The village warrior Asterix and his friend Obelix (who is a menhir delivery man!) roam the Roman Empire, creating mischief for Caesar, Pompey and Cleopatra. They also have a strong dislike for pirates and bandits. Often, they are followed by their loyal dog Dogmatix, who looks suspiciously similar to Asterix (despite being a dog).

Like most kids, I probably only understood half of the humour in "Asterix". For instance, how many children understand that Spartacus looks very similar to Kirk Douglas? Or the pun intended when Vercingetorix "surrenders" to Caesar by throwing his shield *at* his feet, hurting the Roman leader rather badly? Or all the bizarre premonitions of Caesar's death at the hands of Brutus? The names of the various characters are puns themselves, creating constant problems for the translators. However, I think the English ones did a great job calling the druid "Getafix" and the dog "Dogmatix", but why is the village headman named Vitalstatistix? Perhaps they should have called him Quangocratix, instead. Never mind.

Wikipedia believes that "Asterix and the Laurel Wreath" is the most "adult" episode of the entire series, since it includes drunkenness, slavery, debauchery, graphic violence and androgyny. Moreover, you need - wait for it - "an unusually sophisticated knowledge of art and history to really appreciate it". Ah, that must be it. I didn't mind the debauchery and androgyny (come on, I grew up in liberal Sweden - we saw worse stuff on TV) but the strange allusions to Laocoon, the Punic Wars and Roman jurisprudence left me bewildered. I decided that the story was "boring" and that was that. Only as an adult did I reread "Asterix and the Laurel Wreath" and finally got a good laugh out of it.

I mean, the plot *is* absurd, almost to the point of conceit: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome, "the greatest city in the world", voluntarily selling themselves as slaves in order to steal the wreath of Ceasar, since Vitalstatistix wants to spice a stew with its laurel leaves in order to impress a competing village chief. Oookay. It's pretty much downhill from there, with...well, drunkenness, debauchery, graphic violence and androgyny. During a frame up trial, Asterix bizarrely demands to be thrown to the lions, only to refuse to enter the arena at the last moment, making the lions and tigers eating each other, much to the chagrin of the Roman audience. In the end, Asterix and Obelix blackmails Caesar's house slave Goldendelicious (called Semper Fidelis in the Swedish version) into finally giving them the wreath. Back in Gaul, Quangocratix, sorry, Vitalstatistix serves his competitor the ultimate steak spiced with Caesar's laurel, only to be insulted when the meat turns out to be overcooked!

What a mindjob, what do you say to a thing like that?

Five stars, perhaps...?