Asterix in Switzerland is another one of the books that we didn't actually have when I was a kid, we had the cover, and a page or two, but
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Asterix in Switzerland is another one of the books that we didn't actually have when I was a kid, we had the cover, and a page or two, but the rest was missing. (like Obelix and Co., and Asterix and the Cauldron)
This is one of the best I've read for story, in that there's a twist...a Roman who's an ally, and needs help against...another Roman!
The Roman Auditor arrives in the midst of an orgy, to review the accounts of a wealthy province of Gaul that pretends to be poor (the money we see ends up in the pockets of the Governor and his subordinate) but has a lavish palace.
The auditor is poisoned by the governor, and the auditor reveals to his bodyguard/driver that Caesar often complained of the Gaulish village and their druid...Getafix. The bodyguard is dispatched to find our Druid, and hopefully be able to save his boss.
When he arrives in the village, Getafix agrees to help, because as a druid he must help everyone he tells our heroes. They go with him, and he arrives in time to diagnose the poisoning, which he keeps to himself, until explaining to Asterix that he's taking the auditor "hostage" while A&O go look for a necessary ingredient in the Swiss Alps, so that he's not murdered while recovering. The Governor is far too willing to agree, because he figures either way his problem is gone.
So Getafix, the auditor and bodyguard return to our village, and Asterix and Obelix go to Switzerland, where they run into swiss cheese, yodelling, fondue, neutrality, and a banker with tight vaults that he doesn't ask questions about (Zurix is his name). So there's some jokes about the Swiss, and the boys eventually find their specific ingredient on top of one of the Alps, which they climb roped together with other Swiss, because Obelix is hung over and sick from the cold and all the cheese. (So they also invented tying in to your climbing partner).
When they arrive back in the village, the governor (Varius Flavus) is already there, and nervous because he expected the auditor to be dead by now...the auditor (Vexatius Sinunitis) recovers and knocks Flavus into the sky, promising to expose his corruption and send him to the Colosseum and Lions.
In a new turn, the first time ever, a Roman is invited to the village banquet, something we have never seen before in Asterix books.
Between that, the ally Roman, and the serious nature of attempted murder, this is one of the more "adult" Asterix books, and probably why it holds up so well.
Asterix in Britain is one of the good ones, and more fun for me in that we didn't have it when I was a kid. So I'm not able to read it in m
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Asterix in Britain is one of the good ones, and more fun for me in that we didn't have it when I was a kid. So I'm not able to read it in my sleep yet.
Asterix's first cousin once-removed from England (Anticlimax) is part of a tribe of Britons holding out against the Roman invaders (sound familiar?) He sneaks out of the siege and comes to Armorica and the little Gaulish village seeking help.
Getafix brews a barrel of magic potion, and Asterix and Obelix accompany Anticlimax on the trip back to his village.
On the trip, Obelix gets drunk on warm beer (bitter) and locked in the Tower of London, which he promptly breaks out of. Asterix and Obelix also take part (accidentally) in a rugby match.
The potion barrel is destroyed by the Romans (one of the few successes they have during the whole of the series, which is a nice change of pace) but Asterix pretends he's able to make the potion again, using some leaves that he took from Getafix (actually tea leaves, so they add to the hot water than most Britons drink, ergo having Asterix "invent" the tea that Britain drinks!).
The Briton Chief (Mykingdomforanos) leads the village to victory against the Romans, and then tells Asterix he knows that it wasn't potion, but the psychological advantage was crucial.
Asterix and the Class Act is a grab bag of about a dozen short stories, published in various places over the last few decades, collected he
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Asterix and the Class Act is a grab bag of about a dozen short stories, published in various places over the last few decades, collected here together for the first time. I'm familiar with the Dogmatix storyline, as it was published as a stand alone book we bought my dad when I was young.
There's also the title, taken from when Obelix can't answer a simple question, and gets put back in class by Getafix.
Some OK stuff, but no really engaging story that grabs you, more of a curio and one time browse through.
In this one, Chief Vitalstatistix takes off for Belgium after hearing from a Roman patrol that they like being in Gaul because the Belgians
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In this one, Chief Vitalstatistix takes off for Belgium after hearing from a Roman patrol that they like being in Gaul because the Belgians are worse, and they don't mind getting thumped here...enraged, off the chief goes, with Asterix and Obelix not far behind.
The rest of the book involves the 3 Gauls bonding with the Belgians, and competing against to see who is better at thumping Romans. It goes so far as to ask Caesar to officiate the competition, which angers him immensely, so he leads his armies to crush them once and for all.
Of course, the combined might of the Belgians and our 3 Gauls is enough to stop them entirely.
Caesar is embarrassed, both tribes agree they're equally good at thumping Romans, and a banquet takes place.
One of the few missing from my dad's collection when I was a kid, I only had a few pages to go on.
Here is one of the few instances where there's actually a decent plan to take down the Gauls...this time, revolving around commerce, and the menhir. A Roman economist tells JC (Julius Caesar) that they could keep the Gauls distracted from fighting by making them ruled by coin...ergo, the menhir trade takes off, Obelix becomes wealthy, everyone works for him or makes their own menhirs, which Asterix sees right through, and convinces Getafix he has it under control. The Romans think they're winning, but in the end, it devalues the Roman economy, and once again the Gauls have the last laugh.
It's nice to see Obelix get more focus, and he even has a birthday, where the village lets him thump all the Romans from one new camp all on his own.
This one features Asterix, Obelix and Chief Vitalstatistix, on an adventure, our heroes take their beloved chief to a Hydro Spa in the coun
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This one features Asterix, Obelix and Chief Vitalstatistix, on an adventure, our heroes take their beloved chief to a Hydro Spa in the countryside, near Gergovia, as he's got some intestinal issues... While touring, they meet a Roman envoy, who gets smacked, and a coal merchant named Winesandspirix. There's a connection between the new friend and their chief, but not known to anyone yet. Meanwhile, the envoy meets with Caesar, who decides he doesn't like the natives of that particular area getting restless (check your history!) and demands the Shield of Vercingetorix, which he was presented after defeating the Great Gaulish/Celtic chief. This sets off a long chain of events, a race to find where the shield is, who has it, and of course, it should transpire that the shield belongs to. One other than Chief Vitalstatistix, who was given it by a young Winesandspirix after the Battle of Alessia and defeat of Vercingetorix, to help the young warrior lift his spirits. In fact, it's the same shield our chief is already paraded around on by his long suffering shield bearers.
This leads to the humiliation of the Roman garrison at Gergovia, and Caesar punishes them all, after seeing Vitalstatistix triumph on the shield of Vercingetorix.
Although it features Caesar, he's not the main antagonist, and though he's embarrassed, as usual, he doesn't punish or attack the Gauls. Goscinny and Uderzo didn't seem to hate Caesar, and there is a begrudging respect between our Heroes and Julius, which developed over the series. This makes him a far more interesting character.
Not to,forget our chief and his health issues, when he arrives back from treatment at Winesandspirix place, he's skinny as heck, which is how the coal merchant recognized him from all the years back. Of course, things are what they are, and by the time they return to our village, the chief is back to his robust self, and even though the compulsory feast is held, his wife refuses to allow his attendance!
Chief Vitalstatistix is in a foul mood, as his shield bearers are both out with food poisoning from bad fish, sold by village fishmonger Un
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Chief Vitalstatistix is in a foul mood, as his shield bearers are both out with food poisoning from bad fish, sold by village fishmonger Unhygienix (The proof is in the name alone), and so is angry, and egged on by blacksmith, and shit disturber extraordinaire, Fulliautomatix, leading to one of our famous village brawls.
Druid and voice of wisdom Getafix says this is unacceptable, as he needs "reasonably" fresh fish for the magic potion that the villagers all use to keep the Romans (and other threats) at bay.
Asterix offers to go fishing, and Obelix goes along for the ride. Of course, they're not fishermen, or sailors really, and end up blown way out to sea in a storm. They happen across a ship, of course, the pirates, and it's the Captain's birthday, so there's a sumptuous feast ready, Obelix discovers, and after pleading by the Captain, Asterix and Obelix don't sink the ship, even leaving a sausage for the crew.
Eventually things get worse, as they run out of food, have to drink rainwater, and Obelix gets loopy from lack of food, jumping out of the boat. They find a floating branch, and grab it, to swim back to the close land. At first they think it's home, but then Obelix discovers turkeys in the woods, and later, a bear, which aren't native to Gaul at all.
We later run into native Americans who take Asterix prisoner, and Obelix manages to find him (with the help of wonder dog Dogmatix). With a communication barrier, there's lots of sign language and miscommunication, until things smooth out. Obelix is to be wed to the chieftain's daughter, which he doesn't want. They sneak out one night in a canoe, but it has a hole and they're forced to swim to an island.
Later on, they spy a ship, which we know, is full of Danes (or other Scandinavians, but given the nature of the jokes, I think Danish) looking for glory and discovery. The Norsemen have great names, like: Herendthelessen, Haraldwilssen, Nogoodreassen, and Great Dane Huntingseassen.
Asterix stands atop a cairn of stones, with a torch and a cloth painting in his hand, meant as a Statue of Liberty reference (Which I'd NEVER caught until now) and the ship finds them. There's more miscommunication, and jokes about punctuation and accents and such, but only the dogs figure each other out. They all board the ship, and end up home in the land of Vikings, where the Chief is mad at Herendthelessen for going on a jaunty cruise while the rest were raiding villages.
There's some fun Shakespeare puns, and the chief plans to sacrifice Asterix and Obelix to the Gods, until a slave discovers they're Gauls, not from the New World as thought. There's a fight, and in the ruckus, the Gauls escape and manage to catch some fish on the way home.
The ending has Asterix explaining to Getafix that they went over the sea that way, to some "Long Island" and Getafix ponderously looking out to sea.
This was a fun one, lots of puns, and jokes, also about Asterix and Obelix ending up as the first Europeans in North America, even before the Vikings.
No Romans again, unless you miss them, not a problem for me.
DISCLAIMER: I grew up on Asterix, in the 80s, and in fact, I think my love of puns came from these books, and my understanding of that form
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DISCLAIMER: I grew up on Asterix, in the 80s, and in fact, I think my love of puns came from these books, and my understanding of that form of humour. They were my dad's books, and I remember when the "new" Asterix came out in Canada, getting it for him as a present, and it was a HUGE deal...this was the late 80s, and Albert Uderzo was still alive.
Lucky #13...A great place to start, from the ones in stock at my local. I've read each of the books tons of times, but this one was always missing pages when I was a kid, so it was always kinda exciting to get the full story from some Asterix I missed as a kid.
The little Gaulish village is visited by fellow Gauls, led by Chief Whosmoralsarelastix (Who's morals are elastic/ or lacking I suppose) who wants Vitalstatistix and the gang to watch a Cauldron full of money (sestertii) so the Roman taxman won't take it. He tells them he had to put it in the only thing he could find (a Cauldron full of onion soup), hence the smell of the money, and Obelix being dumbfounded that anyone would waste a pot of soup for something as silly as money.
Asterix is tasked with guarding the money, but it is stolen in the night, so Asterix is banished by the village council until he can return with money to replace what was lost. Of course Obelix thinks they're all off their rockers for sending Asterix anywhere alone, and he goes off after him.
The rest involves various plans for making money, such as checking Roman camps, selling boars, being gladiators, gambling on horse races, and robbing a bank.
They also end up acting, alongside Roman "Laurensolivius" and "Alecguinus", where Obelix gets stage fright, and proclaims "These Romans are Crazy", leading to a riot.
Finally, on the way home, they run into the Roman tax collector, who they rob, only to discover the original onion money! This leads to a showdown between Asterix and Chief Whosmoralsarelastix, where the money is lost, only to benefit the pirates, who had earlier been thumped by the boys on land, in a restaurant they tried to open. So things even out, and Asterix and Obelix return home.
Interesting side note: Obelix takes on the whole village during Asterix' duel, running into one Gaul who says "no fighting between brothers" leading one to wonder...was he literally Obelix's brother?
A fun one, like most. Not as much of the villagers, so if you like the villagers more, then avoid this one. Also no Caesar, and not many Romans.
This was a cute book. Roan wants to go to Pilot Academy, like his father before him...he doesn't get in, and thinks he will get stuck on Tatooine withThis was a cute book. Roan wants to go to Pilot Academy, like his father before him...he doesn't get in, and thinks he will get stuck on Tatooine with the plant academy...but he ends up with an invitation to Jedi School on Corcorant!
Hi jinx ensue, but the Force is strong with this one and we learn lessons about sometimes needing things we didn't want and learning to adapt.
Good for kids, especially young Star Wars fans....more
Asterix was where I first started reading comics. My dad had them, and they seemed cool...I remember it was so long ago that they put out a new one wiAsterix was where I first started reading comics. My dad had them, and they seemed cool...I remember it was so long ago that they put out a new one with the Original Goscinny and Uderzo, and it was a big treat, a Father's Day present for him.
This is where it all starts. The art improves from here, and our heroes look a bit different before they evolve...
The puns, the play on words, the names, slapstick violence, history, this series has it all.
You grew up with Tin Tin or Asterix. Both French, but one was an androgynous twat with a stupid Dog, and the other was a Gallic warrior who fought the Romans as a Guerilla...yup....more
***I will keep doing INDY WEEK stuff, as I don't have any FF on hand, and the library I've read all of them***
A Whiny main character who's move[image]
***I will keep doing INDY WEEK stuff, as I don't have any FF on hand, and the library I've read all of them***
A Whiny main character who's moved back in with his mother after his split/impending divorce from his wife.
A 25 year old protagonist who's friends are all fucking morons who think having sex or a regular girl will solve all the problems.
Emo before emo, as in woe is me I'm so down and sad but that's art man.
Rather offensive homophobia runs rampant in this book as well, numerous times characters make fun of male friendships being "homo" or whatnot. Being very sure to avoid anything which might make someone else think you're gay, being REALLY worried about complete strangers and their opinions.
Oh and of course, the casual racism. Cab drivers wear turbans; all Jewish girls are actually sluts who love Bacon; and so on.
Oh and there's a lot of sex.
So if you're 15, this might appeal to you. But if you've ever actually touched a boobie? I think you might be beyond this.
All the women are portrayed as weirdos and in a negative light, and even though the main character has sexual relationships with 3 different women over the course of a few months, they all seem to be the ones who are made to look like the strange ones, but he, the loser who needs to move out of mom's place, isn't?
I just don't want to read about schlubs. No schmucks, no losers, no pre-definition hipsters, or neurotic obsessives. All his friends are mostly dicks, and his best friend is more interested in getting laid by a former TV star than anything.
This just screams early 90s, when it might have passed for edgy or artsy; here it just seems lame and one-dimensional.
***Dark Horse reprinting of EC Comics, so very Indy!***
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This is a gorgeous collection of EC Comics from the early 1950s, published and written b***Dark Horse reprinting of EC Comics, so very Indy!***
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This is a gorgeous collection of EC Comics from the early 1950s, published and written by one Bill Gaines...aka Mr. MAD Magazine!
Along with some great other writers, Weird Fantasy is actually a Science Fiction book. 1950s Science Ficton from before the Witch hunt against comics leading to juvenile delinquency...a golden age in many ways.
There's a number of issues collected here (even though their numbering is off, they are chronologically the first 6 issues) with a great range of stories.
Time Travel, Space Exploration, Atomic War, Aliens, Life and Death, lots of great stuff that's been made into movies, some of the coolest ideas that sustained SciFi for the next 65 years.
Discussions of String Theory, 4th Dimensions, Gamma, Infrared, Atomic Energy, this isn't just dumb pulp, it's a blast.
From the man who builds a time machine (only with the help of his younger self, and the paradox loop that leads to), to the team that flies through space to a different solar system, only to loop back on themselves, a la Planet of the Apes (but this was written long before the Damn Dirty Apes), to the fears of Atomic Nuclear War and the aftermath: mutants, robots, uninhabitable wastelands.
This is such fun. This book is the kind of thing you used to love to find, just a bit older than you were supposed to be reading, it felt like some kind of secret they let you in on, and you always wanted more, reading it under the blankets at night by flashlight. (Or at least, I did...)
The art is colourful in this reproduction, bright, enjoyable, yet the subject matter is still the kind of questions we wrestle with today...
Thank you to Dark Horse for publishing the reprints of this great company, I cannot WAIT to get my hands on more of this. Without this, we wouldn't have the dreamers of comics like Morrison, Hickman, Ellis, others. Heck we might not even have the normal comics we do today. I love the intelligence that goes into something that was throw-away for so many, yet over half a century later, look how relevant the subject matter is. Great writing never ages.
I strongly recommend this to all the Shallows Gang, and anyone else looking for a fun read, that you could also share with kids worry free (Anne!)
Turns out it was quite a laugh. This guy's dad character seems like a cross between me and Calvin's daRandomly reserved at library due to funny title.
Turns out it was quite a laugh. This guy's dad character seems like a cross between me and Calvin's dad from Calvin & Hobbes. Some of the things are right on, to the point my wife was laughing hard and saying "did you read that? That's so you!" Well yes. The section where the dad buys comics for the kid instead of real books, and then promises a new PS3 (with Mario Kart??? oops!) to be the cool dad. Telling the son he's going to have a homeless man move into their house, or fooling mom into thinking the son actually knew his speech.
But the best is when the bully gets smacked in the head during pinata time. Priceless.
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