Obelix and Co. (1976)
Obelix and Co. Review
Obelix and Co. is the 23rd volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. It was published in 1976 and it’s one of the most sophisticated installments.
Julius Caesar sends Caius Preposterus, a bright young graduate of the Latin school of Economics, to corrupt the indomitable Gauls by introducing them to big business. Obelix’s menhir trade is soon thriving, backed by a heavy advertising campaign, but it eventually all comes crashing down due to various factors. This is the smartest volume in the series after ‘The Mansions of the Gods’, though it’s never as entertaining as that masterful story.
It was an ingenious idea to give Obelix the role of the protagonist basically. This is also the only entry in the series that bears his name in the title, which was all refreshing to witness. But giving Obelix an entire menhir business was brilliant and suitably hilarious as he has always been obsessed with these huge rocks, so it was only natural that he would be starting a business centering on them. His cluelessness was so funny here and seeing him in a different suit and a business one for that matter was very amusing.
Asterix is the sensible guy here and so is Getafix. They knew very well that this would end soon and they were right. The Preposterus character is solid, but Caesar is not all that well used here, and most of the other characters were forgettable with the exception of Geriatrix’ wife, who got the meatiest role so far. The illustrations here are different than usual as the character designs are changed quite a bit, but overall the background work is solid and the volume looks satisfactory.
Obelix and Co. is definitely very clever and timeless in its treatment of economics and just how the market works. When a certain foreign business arrives, others will certainly try to copy it, which would plummet the prices, leading to bankruptcy for everybody. How prices, competition and marketing work was all well explored here and true to real life. My only issue is that in its emphasis on economics and extensive dialogue, the story forgot to be fun and adventurous, leading to one of the more serious Asterix installments.
