Asterix the Gaul

Graphicnovelbox
title=Asterix the Gaul
foreigntitle=Astérix le Gaulois


imagesize=
caption=Cover of the English edition
publisher=Dargaud
date=1961
series=Asterix
main_char_team=Asterix and Obelix
origpublication="Pilote"
origissues=1-38
origdate=29 October 1959 - 14 July 1960
origlanguage=French
origisbn=
writers=René Goscinny
artists=Albert Uderzo
pencillers=
colorists=
transpublisher=Brockhampton Press
transdate=1969
transisbn=
translator=Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
previssue=
nextissue="Asterix and the Golden Sickle"

"Asterix the Gaul" is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations).

Plot summary

All of Gaul is divided into three parts. No, four — for one small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the Roman invaders....

Centurion Phonus Bolonus, keen to discover the secret of the Gauls' superhuman strength, sends a spy into the village. The Roman's identity is revealed when he loses his false moustache, but he discovers the existence of the magic potion brewed by the Druid Getafix. With that potion, Phonus Bolonus believes that he could overthrow Julius Caesar, and become Emperor himself. So, he kidnaps Getafix to get the recipe.

When Asterix joins the druid in captivity, he and the druid demand a list of hard-to-find ingredients for the magic potion. Though magical, this turns out to be a very different brew — an extremely potent potion that causes the hair and beard of the drinker to begin growing at a rapid pace. The Romans eventually convince Getafix to make an antidote, and Getafix agrees to do so (though he in fact makes a cauldron of vegetable soup, as the hair potion is about to wear off anyway). At the same time, he also prepares a small quantity of the real magic potion for Asterix to drink. The two then begin bashing their way out of the Roman camp. As they are attempting to escape, they are stopped by a huge army of Roman reinforcements and are captured again.

When Phonus Bolonus returns to his tent, he finds Julius Caesar there checking on the condition of the area. Upon meeting Asterix and Getafix, Caesar learns of Phonus Bolonus' intentions. He then frees Asterix and Getafix for giving him the information, while reminding them that they are still enemies. As punishment, he sends Phonus Bolonus away to Outer Mongolia, where there is a barbarian rebellion.

Characters

Introducing

* "Asterix" - Gaulish warrior
* "Obelix" - Gaulish menhir delivery man
* "Getafix" - Gaulish druid
* "Vitalstatistix" - Chief of the Gaulish Village
* "Cacofonix" - Gaulish bard
* "Fulliautomatix" - Gaulish blacksmith
* "Julius Caesar" - Roman leader (historical)

Development

Because this is the first album, many story points and characterizations are still in their formative stages. In fact, due to its original, serial nature, some develop and change even as the story progresses:
* The Roman second-in-command changes abruptly a few pages into the story.
* Getafix begins the story living in a cave in the forest and looking much like a stereotypical caveman. He also uses a walking stick.
* Obelix is seen carrying an axe in his first appearance. It is never seen again. He is satisfied with helping Asterix eat just one boar between them.
* Asterix and other villagers appear to be using the potion constantly, yet seeing the potion being made is viewed as an event.
* Fulliautomatix is seen working metal with his bare hands. He also bears no resemblance to his later appearances.
* Cacofonix the bard plays and calls a dance, and at the end is seated at the table at the feast. Later albums established a running gag where he is never allowed to sing, and is tied up and gagged at feasts to prevent this.
* One of the few books where we get to see some of Getafix's other tricks, namely, the hair-growth potion and its antidote.
* When he is first introduced in the prologue, Caesar has a completely different look than he has in the rest of the series (NOTE: when he appears in the end of the album, he already has his new look; this can be seen as an error)

Publishing history

The story was first published as a serial in "Pilote", a French comic magazine founded by Goscinny and a few other comic artists.

The first page appeared in the promotional issue #0, distributed on June 1, 1959, and the story was serially published in the magazine from issue #1 (October 29, 1959) until issue #38 (July 14, 1960). A small head of Asterix first appeared on the cover of #9 (December 24, 1959), and a full Asterix cover was used on #21 (March 17, 1960).

The next story, "Asterix and the Golden Sickle", started in issue #42 (August 11, 1960).

"Asterix le Gaulois" was published in July 1961 by Dargaud in the so-called "Pilote collection" with a print of 6000 copies. A Dutch translation followed in 1966, and other languages followed soon after.

The English translation by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge was first published in 1969 by Brockhampton Press.

Notes

*This album establishes the convention that all Gaulish male names end in -ix, and all Roman male names end in -us.
*The plate for page 35 was redrawn by Albert Uderzo's brother Marcel in 1970 because the original was lost. This is why there are some slight differences in the drawing style. All English versions from Hodder & Stoughton (Hodder Dargaud) use the original illustrations, which were made from a copy of an actual printed page, hence the blurriness. The 2004 release from Orion Books uses the redone illustrations from the French editions. [ [http://gb.asterix.com/cgi-local/albft.pl?coll=gb&lang=gb&fiche=01gb] - Background document from the [http://www.asterix.com Official Asterix Website] ] [ [http://www.asterix-international.de/asterix/the_lost_page.shtml] - Page on the changes from [http://www.asterix-international.de/ Asterix International!] ]
*Throughout the entire Asterix series, the Roman legionaries use the wrong weaponry and armor for their period. For instance, their armor is the "lorica segmentata", which was the standard during the Roman Empire era; in Caesar's time, chainmail armor (the "lorica hamata") was in use. Also, the real-life Roman legionaries used pila (javelins) instead of spears, and they usually carried two of them.

Film adaptation

The book was adapted into a film, which was released in 1967. Goscinny and Uderzo were not consulted during the making of the film, and the first they heard of it was a few months before it was released, when they were shown an early version of it. It was generally not well received, and a planned adaptation of "Asterix and the Golden Sickle", made by the same animation team, was scrapped.

In other languages

*Bengali: "Gauljoddha Asteriks"
*Catalan: "Astèrix el Gal"
*Dutch: "Asterix de Galliër"
*Danish: "Asterix i Gallien"
*Estonian: "Gallialane Asterix"
*Finnish: "Asterix gallialainen"
*French: "Astérix le Gaulois"
*German: "Asterix der Gallier"
*Greek: "Αστερίξ ο Γαλάτης"
*Hebrew: "אסטריקס הגאלי"
*Hungarian: "Asterix, a Gall"
*Icelandic: "Ástríkur Gallvaski"
*Italian: "Asterix il Gallico"
*Mirandese: "Asterix, L Goulés"
*Norwegian: "Asterix og hans tapre gallere"
*Polish: "Przygody Gala Asteriksa"
*Portuguese: "Astérix o Gaulês"
*Serbian: "Астерикс Галски јунак"
*Spanish: "Asterix el Galo"
*Swedish: "Asterix och hans tappra galler"
*Turkish: "Galyalı Asteriks"
*Welsh: "Asterix y Galiad"

ources

*fr icon cite web | title=BDoubliées | work=Le journal Pilote par année | url=http://www.bdoubliees.com/journalpilote/annees/index.html | accessdate=2006-06-09