Asterix and Son (1983)

Asterix and Son Review

Asterix and Son is the 27th volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. It was published in 1983 and it is a pretty solid, though decidedly odd installment in the series.

A little baby is left in a basket outside Asterix and Obelix’s hut, so the two Gauls have to protect the baby until they find out who his parents are. Whenever I see this sitcom formula with an abandoned baby, I dread going through it, but the end product here was actually surprisingly solid, though I have my qualms about it. The final twist that it has been Caesar and Cleopatra’s baby all along made no sense given that the baby looked nothing like them, but it was still an unexpected, fun twist that was very memorable.

That entire ending was unprecedented in its darkness. The whole volume is very lightweight and comedic in its first half, but then it suddenly went into very dark territory toward the end. The Romans burning the entire village of the Gauls to the ground was truly unexpected and shocking. It begged the question why they hadn’t done that before, but besides that plot hole, this moment remains the darkest in the entire series’ run and the closest the Romans came to victory. Caesar offering to rebuild their village was very funny and unexpected as well.

The funniest moments in this story are those starring Crismus Cactus, a Roman prefect sent disguised as a nursemaid to steal the baby from the Gauls. The baby drinking magic potion and becoming so strong cleverly echoed Obelix’s origin story and this Roman villain in drag getting beat up throughout this story was hilarious. Brutus as the big baddie was also very memorable and those historical elements were interesting additions to this story. Caesar’s love-hate relationship with the Gauls was very well explored here as well.

Impedimenta failing to protect the baby produced one emotionally powerful scene and Asterix in a fatherly role was quite endearing. Uderzo’s illustration work on this volume is pretty solid as well, though hardly iconic as most panels aren’t truly memorable. The second half of this story was so strong that it made the first half inferior in comparison as it was slower and far less impactful.

Asterix and Son is a very odd and flawed, but ultimately pretty solid Asterix comic that benefits from interesting historical elements added, a great use of Caesar, excellent humor and an unexpectedly dark ending that was truly unforgettable.

My Rating – 3.9