Asterix in Corsica (1973)
Asterix in Corsica Review
Asterix in Corsica is the twentieth volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. It was published in 1973 and it’s not among the best entries.
Asterix and Obelix travel to Corsica and help Chief Boneywasawarriorwayayix to foil the evil designs of Praetor Perfidius and oppose Julius Caesar’s army. This is another travelogue and the duo got the idea for it while traveling to Corsica themselves. This island is closer to Italy than France, which resulted in numerous references to that country with the various pastas being mentioned throughout.
I did like the chief character quite a bit. His name was way too long and not all that amusing, so I personally would have named him differently, but the character really worked and the depiction of Corsicans as full of stoicism and vendetta definitely made them fun characters. The final pages saw the two tribes settle their grievances with the help of Asterix himself.
And that brings me to my biggest issue with this volume – the aforementioned move is the only thing that Asterix got to do in this story with Obelix not getting anything to do whatsoever. They are pretty much afterthoughts when they always should be the protagonists. The same goes for the other Gauls, all being underused here. The beginning sees various characters from previous volumes come to the Gaulish banquet, but even though it was wonderful seeing all those familiar faces, they constituted nothing more than mere Easter Eggs.
Uderzo trumps Goscinny this time around. His illustrations are impeccable. The level of detail is mesmerizing and the use of depth in certain frames is truly remarkable. The hilly terrain looked simply gorgeous and the Corsicans themselves were so well designed. This book is very fun and charming with some amusing dialogue, but it definitely felt uneventful as even the reason to bring the protagonists to this island was not a strong one.
