Asterix v14: “Asterix in Spain”
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: There’s one village in a country that Caesar conquered that refuses to surrender. Caesar pays them a visit to change their mind. Asterix comes to their defense.
Rene Goscinny hangs a bright lantern on this one:
Asterix, Olé!
Artist: Albert Uderzo
Translator: Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
Published by: Orion (Hachette)
Number of Pages: 48
Original Publication: 1968
Original Title: “Astérix en Hispanie”
A Common Beginning, a Very Different Story
The country, in this case, is Spain. Caesar can’t convince the village led by bullfighting flamenco dancers to surrender, so he kidnaps their chief’s very annoying son, Pepe.
They take him to a far off village where he won’t be found, just outside of Asterix’s. And, of course, Asterix and Obelix chance across the kid and steal him back. Eventually, they make the trek to Spain to return the son to his father and maybe, just maybe, help that Spanish village in its fight against the Romans.
The kid is the star of the book. He introduces himself as “Huevos y Bacon” (eggs and bacon), but then says everyone calls him Pepe for short, from his real name, Pericles. So I guess Pericles Huevos y Bacon is full name? Poor kid. That is not going to be the name of the week here…
He’s annoying to the extreme. He makes friends with nobody, save Cacofonix, which is sure to make him Public Enemy #1 in the village. He’s a brat you don’t want to root for. (Think of Damian in the Batman books, for a similar example.)
He’s practically the villain of the book. Everyone is annoyed by him at one point or another. He’s an element of chaos in the village that creates drama and comedy, so that works well.
This is another recurring thing in Asterix — the new kid who visits the Village and disrupts everything. See “Asterix and the Normans“, “Asterix and Son“, or “Asterix and the Chieftain’s Daughter,” for starters.
The mirror Village concept also happened in “Asterix in Britain.”
What It’s All About
You don’t have to root for Pepe, though. This book isn’t about him, necessarily. It’s about Asterix and Obelix returning him to his father. He is just the plot device necessary to get the story to head for Spain. There is no character arc for Pepe, which I think is a good thing. He doesn’t suddenly see the error of his ways and apologize to everyone and turn into a sweet kid. He’s a brat from beginning to end. It’s his effect on everyone else that’s so entertaining.
The book combines all of the Asterix elements into one volume. There’s a lot of time spent inside Asterix’s village, where we get to see the known characters acting up amongst themselves. We get a fight against the Romans, including an appearance from Caesar, himself, early on. The pirates make their usual cameo appearance. We also have a new country for Asterix to explore. This time, he’s off to Spain.
Honestly, he doesn’t spend that much time there. They don’t get to Spain until page 27 of a 48 page book. Goscinny squeezes in a bunch of cultural jokes, many of which I had to look up. Thank you, Asterix Open Scroll.
The centerpiece of this issue is not paella jokes, though.
Nope, for me, the most memorable and most fun part is a new character who gets introduced to Asterix’s village in this book.
The Village Continues to Grow: A Fishmonger Arrives!
It’s the moment many of you in the comments section have been waiting weeks for. This is the book where we meet Unhygienix, the fishmonger whose name I constantly now misspell.
Scott Shaw!, cartoonist and comic book historian of sorts, loves the whole fish-in-the-face trope in comics. It’s a part of his slideshow of silly comics covers, Oddball Comics. It was a not-uncommon gag in the 1950s or 1960s, I guess, because it kept popping up.
Goscinny and Uderzo take that one silly visual and turn it into a running gag. It’s part of this volume’s schtick that there’s fish flying left and right. At one point, it leads to a Village-wide brawl.
Their timing in delivering this fishy humor is really what impressed me. There’s a pace to these panels that times the jokes out perfectly. It’s the short bits of dialogue and constant back-and-forth of the fish and the people fighting over the fish that sell this so well. It’s pure Vaudevillian physical comedy and I loved every minute of it.
So, yes, the wait for this character was worth it. Unhygienix steals the book. He’s hilarious in every panel he’s in. Every thrown fish is a punchline worthy of a laugh.
Misdirections, Redirections, or Just Plain Reversals
One of the things I saw happen a few times in this volume is that Goscinny set up familiar situations and then gave us completely unexpected pay-offs.
Asterix lands in jail again, but it’s not a complete farce. He doesn’t have his Magic Potion with him and Obelix doesn’t know where he is. Suddenly, there’s a real sense of drama and the serious question of, “How will he get out of this?” Spoiler: He invents bullfighting.
Asterix and Obelix travel to Spain merely to return the book to the Chief of the embattled village. In doing so, they accidentally beat up on all the surrounding Romans and help the Spanish village keep their freedom. This isn’t a book about defeating the Romans directly. It’s just about returning a kidnapped kid. The rest is just gravy.
The kid is serenaded by Cacofonix and, as it turns out, really likes it. That’s not a surprise, as we learn earlier in the book that the kid can’t carry a tune yet. Those two are birds of a feather. The village is grateful that the kid is sleeping and not asking annoying questions for ahile , but it’s at the greatest cost of putting up with Cacofonix’s singing.
Time Flies
For the first time in Asterix history, we get a specific date a story takes place on. Not just a year, but an actual date!
Yes, we get the date because it leads to a silly name with “St. Patrix.” It also fits neatly into Roman history and Caesar’s battles.
I tried to figure out when these stories were taking place a couple volumes ago and used the real historical battle from “Asterix and the Legionary” to guess we had moved to 48 BC already. So this book is three years later already. Time sure does fly.
This was the end of Caesar’s military victories. After this, he returned to Rome and declared himself the emperor and got stabbed a whole bunch of times and died and left Rome to his son, who had the awesome name of Augie. Well, Augustus. Actually, it was Octavius, but he changed it.
End of digression….
Albert Uderzo is Not Infallible
Just look at that panel layout.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?!?
I mean, sure, you can follow the word balloons straight across, but then you have no idea where the first balloon you’re reading it coming from. If you follow that balloon tail, then you’re dropping down and reading right to left and — wait, that’s what you’re supposed to do. That’s even more baffling.
No. I do not like this layout. I do not like this layout one bit. It feels like you’re backing up in time to read what’s next.
Print Quality
I know I said a few volumes back that I was done talking about print quality issues in these books, but I’ve changed my mind.
This book looks great in print. Some fine lines in the background fade out and the colors bleed outside the lines a lot, but that’s not a modern problem. That’s how things were colored originally. In the 2004 edition, there’s some bold choices for colors in Spain, in particular, for the skies and a couple solid background colors.
I also like the 2010 remastered colors, though it took my eyes a minute to adjust. At first, some of the colors just looked oversaturated to me. The colors were too colorful. But they fit inside the lines more often, and the gradients were more refined. Photoshop just does things so much better these days….
I think I’d give a potential new reader the remastered editions, just to eliminate any problems they might have with reproduction qualities, but I’m not always 100% sure which edition I like better in the case of a book that didn’t have poor reproductions in 2004, in the first place.
And Everything Else…
We learn the secret origin of Stonehenge in here. Don Quixote makes an appearance. Obelix dances. The Tenth Legion gets a shout out.
This wonderful turn of phrase sounds so British in its humor that it has to be an Anthea Bell special:
“A skillful withdrawal towards previously prepared positions” made me laugh out loud. It’s almost Monty Python or Douglas Adams-esque, really.
We get another joke about the roads being in bad shape. Goscinny loved to make those about every country with a big city in it, it seems.
Punniest Name of the Month
I admit it: I had to look up the list of new names in this book after I had read it, because none of them really stuck with me. There aren’t too many new ones in here, but there’s one, in particular, that I like. It includes an adjective. It’s long-winded. It’s silly.
I give you: Raucus Hallelujachorus! (He’s the one on the left.)
I almost gave it to Unhygienix, just because he cracks me up so much and because you should always wash your hands after touching a fish.
The next runner up would have to be Obsequius, which is a word we should use more often in casual conversations, anyway.
Recommended?
Yup! In fact, it’s enthusiastically recommended. The physical comedy in the Village in the first half of the book makes the entire thing worth it. Thankfully, it doesn’t stop there.
The previous volume, “Asterix and the Cauldron“, was almost overloaded with gags and intense art. I loved that. I think this one relaxes just a bit, and it feels like a welcome relief. There’s more of the slapstick pacing early on in the village, over the density of wordplay in “Cauldron.” There’s still lots of everything in here, but it balances out nicely. It’s a great book and a well-timed one.
— 2018.040 —
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Asterix’s Village is a shallow and often vain place. The characters get along, but barely. The all-village fight trick is one that will be repeated in numerous books.
It just doesn’t take much to rally the Village into a self-destructive furor.
The next book, “Asterix and the Roman Agent,” shows us that in spades. Caesar sends an agent into the Village, who is able to sow dissent with a few whispered words in the right ears. Chaos ensues.
It’s the kind of story that Goscinny and Uderzo could never to — until “Asterix and the Soothsayer” a few volumes later…
The fish-slapping tradition is straight out of the Monty Python’s Flying Circus (a classic John Cleese bit, I’m sure you can find it on youtube).
Aaaaaaand… Dare I say it? There are a lot of Bad Hombres in this book.
Also: That wonderful turn of phrase that you mention is pure Goscinny; that is the literal translation of the french text: “La bataille a été de courte durée, les légionnaires ayant exécuté une savante manoeuvre de repli vers des positions préparées à l’avance…”. Credit where credit is due.
Ah, thanks for the original French sample. The way it’s phrased just sounds so perfectly British to me. I’m impressed by Goscinny’s turn of phrase all the more now….
There were flying fish in comics before Monty Python, but probably just a coincidence. Fish are FUNNY, after all. 😉
I would even say that the “previously” is not as funny as “à l’avance” as it doesn’t fully convey the fact that the Romans were expecting to lose and had planned accordingly.
To people who live in Spain, like me, this one captures the country perfectly. The jokes about the roads aren’t just a continuation of the traffic jams in Lutetia etc. They really are full of road works, then as now, and the roads from France to Spain in midsummer are completely packed so traffic does move at a standstill and people start getting heated.
This one also shows how good Goscinny is at characterisation. Compare Huevos y Bacon with a similarly aged kid in Asterix and the Picts: Macmini. The latter is a dull trope, where Huevos y Bacon is an appalling spoilt brat, and superbly memorable for it.
This is a decent one – not one of my favourites, but the fish scene is a classic. 4/5 for me.
I can’t believe I’ve been spelling Unhygienix wrong all these years. What is that ‘i’ doing in the middle of it?
Thanks Augie for explaining the pun in “Huevos y Bacon”. It didn’t occur to me to look in another language. I always thought it was supposed to sound like “how was your bacon?”, but was beginning to doubt that.
There were quite a lot of pun names in this book that I didn’t get, so as you said it was slim pickings. Raucus Hallelujachorus is the best, but I also quite liked Spurius Brontosaurus.
One thing I do love in this book is the way the spaniards from Pepe’s village stand. No matter what happens, they just stand there with their chests stuck out and then say “Ole”. Very cool.
Asterix and the Roman Agent next!!! That has always been my number one favourite Asterix book, and I doubt that’s going to change. (The only books that have a chance of toppling it are Mansions of the Gods, Obelix & Co and Asterix and Ceasar’s Gift)
Yeah Roman Agent next, love that one, then Switizerland, Mansion of the Gods, Laurel Wreath and my favourite (In my mind at this point) Soothsayer… and on. Man its been so good so far, but its about to find new ways to get even better!
Agreed. Looking at the list, from here to Obelix and Co is the real golden period for Asterix.
I remember really liking “Mansion of the Gods” and “Obelix & Co.” from when I first read them a long time back. I don’t remember much about them, though, so I’m looking forward to the coming weeks where I’ll find out if my memory’s opinions of the books hold up.
I read “Roman Agent” over the weekend and liked it. More on that in a couple of days….
I struggle judging ‘In Spain’ , it does soooo much right and it adds such important pieces to the jigsaw, its so very nearly complete. We get our first full on village brawl, man I love those full on village brawls. We get that because we get Unhygienix and his fish, but I don’t think I can add anything to what’s already been said so I’ll just note my absolute love of his introduction here and the flying fish. Glorious.
There is one small, nah tiny thing missing from my minds eyes perfect vision of Asterix, I’ll mention it when it comes and you’ll see just how insignificent it is, but its just another weeny thing that perfects Asterix for me.
No this one is so there. It just makes a few missteps for me and that means I don’t rate it quite as highly as I might otherwise.
The story reminds me of a Simpsons episode. It spends a very long time setting up the main plot. It just luxuriates in that fantastic sequence set in the villiage.The problem is this means when it gets to the journey, they don’t actually get to Spain until p. 30 as they have that great bit crossing the Pyrenees. It just means the bit in Spain feels a little rushed to me. Its all great stuff, but it drops the ball in two main ways… well I say main but again context is all, this is dropping the ball in terms of Asterix books, most comics don’t only not pick up the ball in the first place, they’ve not even been to the ball shop as they haven’t even saved enough of their pocket money to buy the ball yet….
… anyway…
…two main ways. First THE ROMAN’S GET THE POTION. They actually get the potion… but we don’t have time to have much fun with that. I mean we have a bit of fun with that, but it doesn’t got anywhere which is such a shame!
Second, where as folks felt the end of Olympics was rushed and I didn’t mind, I think the end here is really rushed and just doesn’t work for me. It feels tacked on, an afterthought after the real wonderful climax of the bull fight.
So yeah a couple of mistakes, thought there is so much to admire. I love that Goscinny continues to develop the idea that Asterix is more fun when the potion isn’t the solution, or they take the potion out the picture. Its done really well here and this idea will crop up a few times in the next few volumes as I recall. Its a bit like Superman stories, you have to create interesting ways for being super strong and invulnerable to not really matter, or not be available to your hero.
And yeah those first 20 odd pages in the village are just perfection. And again its so very funny. It is brilliant.
So after much flip flapping I’ve gone withe a score of
9.5 out of 10
Anyway best pun names I’ll buck the trend and say while Obsequius, Spurius Brontosaurus and Raucus Hallelujachorus are all superb I just can’t not give it to Unhygienix, its just so great on so many levels. Love it.
Oh as well as my ‘regular’ copy I own a version of this in Spanish as well, having bought it while on holiday there a good few years ago. Alas my Spanish means this is little more than a curio to me but one day I will improve that and be able to review the story in Spanish too!
Now I want to guess the missing element.
If it’s a cast member, then all we’re missing who I can think of are Vitalstatistix’s mismatched shield bearers and Fulliautomatix and Geriatrix’s wives.
Or it could be the general dynamic between the various villagers which gets fully cemented in the next book.
Its not the mis-matched shield bearers, as in my head they appear pretty late in affairs. Its not a character. It really is tiny and I’d be amazed if anyone guessed it. I had a nosey last night and it first appears in Switzerland.
Is that when they first started colouring in Cacofonix’s arms on the “A few of the Gauls” page?
(Yeah, I’m grasping at straws now)
I wish I hadn’t built this up now, its only going to disappoint when I tell you. A clue, its not the shield bearers, but it is how something is carried…
I wonder if Goscinny just didn’t think he had enough material for Spain to go completely crazy with the Spanish references in this book. That would be why he didn’t spend much time there. Or maybe that’s just the way this story came to him. It does feel like the least amount we’ve been inside another country in the series so far, though. I think that it mixes up the series to keep it from becoming a complete formula, but I can understand if some people felt slighted that there just wasn’t MORE of Spain in here.
That all said: Ole!
I agree with most of what everyone else says: this is a great book full of brilliant comedy and satisfying characters, on the foundation of a decent story. And finding ways to create challenges for Asterix despite the existence of the potion.
In some of the later books, the fish fight is a tired cliche to be shoehorned in and thrown away. But here it’s wonderful: two pages of properly constructed comedy with a logical starting point.
The book has a few weak points. I agree with those pointed out by Colin Taylor, especially the fact that the Roman commander gets hold of the magic potion but does nothing with it except beat up his deputy for no reason.
The other weakness for me is the fact that Caesar chooses to send his hostage to one of the camps around Asterix’s village. Surely in reality the Romans would choose some safely subdued province rather than a camp next to the empire’s most unconquerable rebels. But of course then we’d have no plot device to bring Asterix & co into the story…
Good point. That’s a classic case of a plot being served at the expense of logic. Certainly there’s a section over on the German side that’s even further from Spain and less dangerous to Caesar. but, you’re also right that we’ll gladly overlook it because it’s a comedy and it makes it funny. =)
I do recall the Spanish scenes from the books rather than what happens in the village so I was surprised when you told how late they get there. It’s nice every time there is some tension when Asterix is without the potion and Obelix. Interesting it 45BC already. But my theory is that from Asterix and Son onwards the series moves to a new alternative history timeline anyway.
History aside: Caesar did not declare himself an emperor. That word evolved over centuries from the name imperator which was the highest military commander title given to most successful commanders, Caesar became even before his first consulship but Pompey was also an imperator for example. Ocatavian later became one and added it even to his name. Caesar was a name that evolved to a title so it and emperor eventually became practically synonymous. Caesar was rumored to wish to become king when he died but it was not something he actually did, his title was dictator when he died. Octavian later got tribunal powers and titles of Princips (first citizen which evolved to Prince) and Augustus (venerable). Those were his main titles when he lived and Augustus always the main title of the emperors.
The “Skillful withdrawal” bit reminds me of a scene in the film “Closely Watched Trains”, in which a Nazi Party official in late 1944 explains away the German Army’s latest series of retreats as “masterful tactical withdrawals”.
I like soooooo much Astérix, but that comic was a little disappointing. These folks depicted in the early Hispania are not celtiberians. They’re more like mexican toreadores. I mean, maybe one of those “spanish” could be just one, named “Rejoneador” or “Trajedeluces” so folkoric and mexican-alike cliché with both dark skin and hair, being an exagerated character, with very hilarious punchlines and interventions. I think Uderzo and Goscinny didn’t know anything from the ancient culture and clear skin and diversity of hair of their neighbours (like the gauls were), and they’d never saw a single spanish. They two just figured some of the roads so bad that they need a lot of “obras” (works over the terrain in order to build walls, concrete ways, etc…) which it’s true even in France, and made the jokes.
With all said that, I loved that book when the gauls come to Britain. They were nice depicted.
For the first half of the twenty first century, France had its first big wave of immigrants from neighbouring european countries. Italians, Poles, etc and of course Spaniards. So I believe that the depiction here is not from ignorance on Goscinny’s part. It’s due to the fact that most people in Asterix are caricatures based on the most commonly known stereotypes, in order to produce humour. All the Gauls from the village and beyond are caricatures of French people in one way or another. Heck, Uderzo himself is the son of italian immigrants from that period so I don’t think there is anything racist or even ignorant in the depiction of hispanics, it’s just a funny caricature, by 1960s standards.The Asterix books, to be perfectly honest, are only superficially interested in pure historical rendering, to the level of what I would have learned in elementary school at the time, the latin quotes included; nothing deeper here.
You enjoy the british jokes like I did, because that’s how humour works, you always find it funnier when it’s directed towards others 😉 Cf Augie’s remarks when he reviewed the Great Crossing, or Lucky Luke books, or the Bluecoats… Closer to home, that’s it.