Asterix and the Black Gold (1981)

Asterix and the Black Gold Review

Asterix and the Black Gold is the 26th volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. It was published in 1981 and it is a surprisingly solid entry in the series.

Asterix and Obelix must travel to the Middle East to find oil that Getafix suddenly needs for his magic potion. The fact that he at first needed the potion was already a convenient plot hole, but later he found the other supplement, which felt ridiculously convenient. Still, the story mostly worked because it was a rousing adventure and a great return to the travelogues that Goscinny once wrote with gusto.

There is so much to love here, in particular the character of Dubbelosix. He is an obvious riff on James Bond and especially Sean Connery as he literally looks like the actor, but he was also a very amusing villain as he was smirking throughout while consistently losing. But I did not care for the fly that followed him around. That was a needless fantastic element that made no sense. The return of Ekonomikrisis, though, was great and he was a terrific plot device.

The main duo got to argue here in one very well written sequence and Dogmatix discovering oil was a great touch. The story flows well, it’s reasonably diverting and adventurous, plus the illustrations are quite detailed, frequently even gorgeous and benefitting from terrific darker-hued panels once again. The dialogue was also pretty strong here and so was the humor for the most part.

My main issue with this volume is its middle stretch that felt rough. In particular, their meet-up with the Sumerians, Akkadians and other peoples from this area was poorly written as it was rushed and hardly as memorable as you’d expect from this real life area. As an adventure story, this comic book worked because it was well illustrated and it featured strong characterization and humor, but it wasn’t a truly great Asterix story due to the fact that it was overly convenient and rushed in its second half, plus it was overstuffed with spy genre references.

Overall, Asterix and the Black Gold is a pretty good installment, though it has its significant flaws. It was too convenient and rough in the second half, but the first half was great and the characterization was excellent here and so were the illustrations. It’s a solid travelogue, but one that also could have been much better.

My Rating – 3.8