Asterix and the Chariot Race (2017)
Asterix and the Chariot Race Review
Asterix and the Chariot Race is the 37th volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written and illustrated by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad. It’s a stupendous entry.
First published in 2017, this was the third book that Ferri and Conrad did together after ‘Picts’ and ‘The Missing Scroll’. Both of those comics were quite good, but this one is even better, which further affirms this period in Asterix history as almost a Renaissance. Asterix and Obelix are racing other competitors from so many different countries and tribes throughout the entirety of Italy.
The premise is very simple, but the execution is surprisingly strong and confident. Yes, in its somewhat episodic travelogue narrative it was rather reminiscent to ‘Asterix and the Banquet’, but it was better than that problematic story as it is more timeless in quality and universal in its appeal. In particular, the characterization was the biggest strength of this volume.
Asterix himself takes somewhat of a back seat, though he still had his moments. Obelix was very funny at times with the volcano scene being very memorable. I did not like that the two won once again and a different, more interesting ending was missing here, but the double twist about the identity of Coronavirus was brilliant. Yes, there is actually a character named Coronavirus in this story, which makes this volume quite prescient in retrospect. The last twist that it was Caesar in that final stretch of the race was very clever and very much in character.
Caesar was hilarious in his trademark talking in third-person speeches. It was also wonderful seeing all the different tribes racing together, many of these faces referencing previous Asterix stories. Some got less development than others and their huge number resulted in very small arcs for most of them, but as a group they really worked.
Yes, this comic is very episodic in nature, but the structuring of the race with inn breaks worked for me as it meant that we got to visit so many different Italian towns on the way to the finish line. The story is crowded and overly briskly paced, but undeniably very entertaining, adventurous and even quite funny at times. Conrad’s illustrations are incredible here. This is his best work to date as he put so much detail into each and every panel with the largest, one-page panels again stealing the show. The backgrounds, character designs and the chariots themselves all looked splendid.
