“The daughter of vercingetorix”: the new “asterix” is here
The defeat of alesia in the year 50 b.C. Has been the main taboo in the adventures of the comic hero asterix. "Alesia? I know no alesia! I don’t know where alesia is! No one knows where alesia lies" – that’s all the village chief majestix had to say about the gallic trauma so far.
In the new volume "the daughter of vercingetorix" we learn for the first time more about the legendary arvernian chieftain, who threw his weapons at caesar so harshly that the emperor howled in pain.
Vercingetorix, a historically verburgte figure, had to admit defeat to the roman commander at the battle in burgundy. But what no latin school student ever got to read in caesar’s ham "the gallic war": the arverner-furst is said to have had a daughter. In any case, the "asterix" creators jean-yves ferri (text) and didier conrad (drawings) have done a great job for the 38th issue. Adventures concocted. The issue has been on sale since thursday.
Adrenaline – visually a wild mix somewhere between climate activist greta thunberg, vampire hunter buffy and singer ariana grande – is as hubsch as it is defiant. Caesar wants to kidnap the red-haired teenage girl and have her retrained as a romancer. But the roman emperor made the calculation without the brave gallians.
Obelix, meanwhile, has to put up with criticism from the village youth, who are worried about the environment, especially the future of the overhunted wild boars. "Hinkelstein and zaubertrank are the prunings of the wild boar system," selfix, the son of the village blacksmith, plucks at him. And when the fishmonger’s son aspix hints at the possible connection between magic potion and obesity, the good-natured little fatso is finally done for.
Ferri and conrad took on the difficult legacy of "asterix" creator albert uderzo exactly six years ago with "asterix among the picts. And especially as far as the drawings are concerned, as a fan you simply have to pay deep respect. Didier conrad no longer shies away from rough group scenes. His trick of recycling unnamed minor characters from old asterix adventures into new roles is becoming increasingly fluent, making it easier for fans of the classics from the sixties and seventies to get used to the new look. The main figures correspond exactly to the spade style of albert uderzo.
The response to the new duo has so far been overwhelmingly positive. Skeptics, on the other hand, had recently taken aim at lyricist jean-yves ferri and accused him of weak storylines. This criticism is not really fair. "The daughter of vercingetorix", for example, can compete with some of the classics in the series.
But what is sorely missing is the ingenious anarchy for which the "asterix" lyricist rene goscinny, who died in 1977, was responsible. For example, in 1964 he invented the figure of the phonician epidemais. The sympathetic, greasy merchant calls the rowing slaves of his galley shareholders who have signed a contract without reading it through properly.
New such gags on eye level with franz kafka should not be expected anymore. Epidemais digs in a scene of the current adventure literally only from a distance. Nevertheless the new volume belongs in every decent asterix collection.
Jean-yves ferri (text) and didier conrad (drawings): asterix – the daughter of vercingetorix, 12.00 euro (hardcover) or 6.90 euro (softcover), ISBN 978-3770436385
