Asterix the Gaul (1959)

Asterix the Gaul Review

Asterix the Gaul is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. It was first published in 1959 and it remains an absolute classic.

The year is 50BC and the entire Gaul area is under Roman rule except for one small village. In this village live Asterix, Obelix and the Druid Getafix. This druid brews a potion that makes them invincible, thus they have great defense against the Romans. In this story, Romans send a man in disguise to spy on the Gauls to find out from wherein lies their strength, which leads to hilarious results.

This was the very first Asterix comic and as such it has its own peculiarities that won’t be present in future volumes. Not only is the scale much smaller in this story, but Obelix is barely present, being pretty much a minor sidekick instead of the main character. Still, he did make an impression as this simpleminded, but caring brute. Asterix is this very small warrior in stature, but he is fearless nonetheless. He is also adventurous and extremely cunning, which is in full display here. Getafix is another standout as this goofy wizard-like character. The dynamic between the two was very amusing in this volume.

Other standouts include the Romans, who are uniformly memorable with the chief character being the funniest of the bunch. His angry outbursts are so amusing. Julius Caesar himself appears in the final tier and that was a terrific moment. The highlight of this story is the humor. While it is definitely smaller in scale as it’s very much is a situational comedy with this one situation exploding to grander proportions, there is no denying that the humor was infectiously strong.

The foolish Romans made me laugh more than a couple of times while the funniest moment was Asterix and Getafix giving them a beard-growing potion, which led to an absolutely hilarious sequence of events. The dialogue is fantastic, especially in the colorful language and exclamations used. The illustrations are also splendid, very pleasing to eye, vibrant and meticulously detailed with each frame holding highly expressive characters and amazing backgrounds.

Overall, Asterix the Gaul is a tremendous first volume in the Asterix series. While smaller in scale, the storyline is still phenomenal and the humor is superb. The second half was the comedic highlight with the character standouts being Asterix and Getafix.

My Rating – 4.7