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Loading... Asterix and The Missing Scroll (2015)by Jean-Yves Ferri, Didier Conrad (Illustrator)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. The second outing for the Ferri/Conrad partnership sees Julius Caeser write his famous book about the Gallic Wars! However, he's told to edit out the part about the Village of Indomitable Gauls and instead claim he conquered all of Gaul...certain parties are keen to preserve the real story. Typical shennanigans ensue, complete with long-suffering legionaries, arguments between villagers, pirates, violence, puns, irony and irreverence. The whimsy is dialled down compared even to its immediate predecessor, let alone the extravagances of Uderzo's authorial efforts but for me the best Asterix books take our heroes to a foreign country and take the mick out of the cultural stereo-types. Here the Gauls never leave, well, Gaul. Still, it's an at least averagely good entry in the series and that average is pretty high quality! A charming Asterix adventure, this new album is a worthy addition to the long-running French comic series. It addresses a question which is crucial for the authenticity of the series: why did Julius Caesar never mention in his histories his failure to defeat the Gauls of Asterix's village? Asterix and the Missing Scroll answers that he chose to cover it up in a whitewash of history – not so much history being written by the victors as a case of history being written by those who can write. The authors, writer Jean-Yves Ferri and illustrator Didier Conrad, spruce up this compelling theme with clear contemporary references to Julian Assange and the Wikileaks scandal that might go over the heads of young readers, but will be recognisable to older children (and nostalgic adults picking up the new Asterix out of curiosity – guilty as charged). I wasn't quite sure where Ferri and Conrad wanted to take this theme – the plot loses its way in the shouting match at the end, with the message rather muddled – but the attempt to provide more than just a nuts-and-bolts story like their previous offering, the limited Asterix and the Picts, is very welcome. This is a bona fide, intelligent Asterix adventure that does the legacy of Goscinny and Uderzo proud (the two creators are even referenced in a nice little homage at the very end of the book). Whilst the odd joke does fall flat (there's a running joke about grass that I don't get, though it's probably staring me in the face), I was very impressed by Asterix and the Missing Scroll. Contrary to how I felt after reading Picts, I'm now looking forward to the next Ferri/Conrad addition to this eternal series. no reviews | add a review
Asterix and the Missing Scroll is the brand new book featuring the further adventures of the ever-popular Asterix and Obelix. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)741.5The arts Graphic arts and decorative arts Drawing & drawings Cartoons, Caricatures, ComicsLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Ferri and Conrad have now entrenched themselves as successors to Goscinny and Uderzo in chronicling the exploits of Asterix and his pals. Asterix and the Missing Scroll is a satire on media and publishing. Caesar's advisor counsels him to cut the chapter on his losses to the indomitable Gauls from his memoirs so that the world will believe that he conquered all Gaul. Caesar does so, but the excised scroll is stolen and finds its way to the Gaulish village.
One of the hallmarks of the Asterix series is the clever puns in the names, and Ferri does well here. He also updates the series a bit with names like Bigdhata, Ipsos and Wifix. Names like Pridanprejudis and Confoundtheirpolitix are less successful, seeming a bit forced and struggling for relevance.
The book has a very neat coda with a tribute to the original authors, which I really liked. ( )