Asterix the Legionary

One of the best Asterix books. Probably even funnier for those with first hand experience of life in the French army, which would mean most Frenchmen of my generation, who had to do their national service. The Roman legion is portrayed as a kind of Foreign Legion, with lots of room for jokes directed at Germans (Goths), Belgians, British, Greeks, etc. Goscinny is at his best when having fun with national stereotypes. The running gags work particularly well, especially the Egyptian who thinks he has joined a tour group.

Ovo je prva ali definitivno ne i posljednja knjiga Dana Simmonsa koju sam pročitala. Pad Hyperiona moram pročitati jer mi je malo sve ostalo nedovršeno ovom knjigom. Definitivno jedna od najboljih SF knjiga koje sam pročitala mada ja nisam baš neki stručnjak za taj žanr.
Najbolja mi je svećenikova priča jer je po mom mišljenju najbolje objedinila maštu, znanost, religiju. Bikure su narod bez premca sa svojom uvrnutom logikom.
Najviše me je dirnula znanstvenikova priča tako da sam u neko doba zaboravila da čitam SF knjigu već jednu obiteljsku dramu gdje je prikazana agonija i nemoć roditelja.

Od likova mi je najinteresantniji pjesnik. Ciničan, brbljiv, pun otrovnih opaski - pravi Zemljanjin. S nestrpljenjem sam očekivala show more njegovu priču koja me se nije baš posebno dojmila. Nije to loša priča samo u moru dobrih ona je najmanje dobra.
Sve u svemu bilo je pravo zadovoljstvo čitati ovu knjigu, maštati o dalekobacačima dok se truckam dvanaest sati u autobusu.

Svaka preporuka za pročitati i onima koji nisu ljubitelji SF jer zaista vrijedi. SF nije među mojih 4 naj žanra a knjiga me je oduševila. Mogu tek misliti kakva je knjiga SF fanovima. show less

Ovo je prva ali definitivno ne i posljednja knjiga Dana Simmonsa koju sam pročitala. Pad Hyperiona moram pročitati jer mi je malo sve ostalo nedovršeno ovom knjigom. Definitivno jedna od najboljih SF knjiga koje sam pročitala mada ja nisam baš neki stručnjak za taj žanr.
Najbolja mi je svećenikova priča jer je po mom mišljenju najbolje objedinila maštu, znanost, religiju. Bikure su narod bez premca sa svojom uvrnutom logikom.
Najviše me je dirnula znanstvenikova priča tako da sam u neko doba zaboravila da čitam SF knjigu već jednu obiteljsku dramu gdje je prikazana agonija i nemoć roditelja.

Od likova mi je najinteresantniji pjesnik. Ciničan, brbljiv, pun otrovnih opaski - pravi Zemljanjin. S nestrpljenjem sam očekivala show more njegovu priču koja me se nije baš posebno dojmila. Nije to loša priča samo u moru dobrih ona je najmanje dobra.
Sve u svemu bilo je pravo zadovoljstvo čitati ovu knjigu, maštati o dalekobacačima dok se truckam dvanaest sati u autobusu.

Svaka preporuka za pročitati i onima koji nisu ljubitelji SF jer zaista vrijedi. SF nije među mojih 4 naj žanra a knjiga me je oduševila. Mogu tek misliti kakva je knjiga SF fanovima. show less

Poor Obelix, he meets a girl with whom he falls in love only to discover that she has been engaged to somebody else and he has been drafted into the Roman Army to go and fight Ceaser's civil war against Pompey. Well, any love sick individual would probably sit back, wait until he is killed, and then make his move, but not Asterix and Obelix – they are too noble and honourable to do that, so they do what any good and noble person would do in such a situation – they join the Roman army to go off and rescue him.
Like the Asterix books before this one, I was in in stitches, particularly with the Egyptian, who, throughout the entire album, believed he was on some tour. Also, despite the strict discipline that is expected of those in the show more army, Asterix and Obelix managed to pummel their way through training and get off to North Africa, on their own terms, to rescue Tragicomix from the civil war and bring him back to his fiancée.
The civil war aspect is rather amusing because the whole idea of the Roman army fighting the Roman army is quite farcical, especially how they actually don't know who is fighting whom because they are all wearing the same uniform. I suspect that in reality (and this is not reality – this is Asterix) one could easily define who the enemy was, but then if they had done that it would not have been so amusing.
The other rather amusing aspect was how they had Obelix burst into tears when he discovered that the love of his life (or the latest one) was engaged to be married, and then from that point on whenever somebody burst into tears it had to be because their heart had been broken. Obviously there was no connection with the original one, though I do think it was because Asterix and Obelix first indicated that this was why they had burst into tears, and thus the other legionaries, who had the good chance of landing up in Asterix and Obelix's cohort, had picked up off of them.
So, another Asterix album finished, and one that is still up there with the others. There are still quite a few more to go, and at this stage I am still waiting for another two compendiums to arrive from the United States (and I do hope they get here because I am really stressing out about these latest Amazon orders), so I will hopefully manage to get through all of them sometime soon. show less

This is another lighthearted romp through Roman-occupied Gaul with our two favorite warriors, Asterix and his best friend Obelix. This time our heroes join the Roman army in order to locate a missing Gaulois, and Obelix learns how to be "polite", hahaha. Funny, clever, and recommended.

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Title: Asterix the Legionary
Series: Asterix #10
Authors: Goscinny & Uderzo
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars
Genre: Comics
Pages: 53
Words: 3K

Synopsis:

From Wikipedia.org

Asterix and Obelix are setting off for a wild boar hunt when they encounter Panacea, a former childhood resident of the village who has since moved to Condatum, and Obelix immediately falls in love with her. Some hours later, Panacea receives word that her fiancé Tragicomix has been conscripted into show more the Roman army and shipped to North Africa; and Obelix, although heartbroken, promises to bring him back.

Asterix and Obelix travel to Condatum, where they learn that Tragicomix has already left for Massilia, the Mediterranean port from which the soldiers depart, and themselves enlist in the army to follow him, alongside Hemispheric the Goth; Selectivemploymentax the Briton; Gastronomix the Belgian; Neveratalos the Greek; and Ptenisnet, an Egyptian tourist who spends the entire book believing himself to be in a holiday camp.

After completing basic training (and repeatedly and comically driving their instructors to the verge of tears), the newly formed unit sets off as reinforcements to Caesar against Scipio, Afranius, and King Juba I of Numidia. Asterix and Obelix soon find out that Tragicomix has gone missing in action after a skirmish, and raid Scipio's camp to recover him. This results in the Battle of Thapsus, in which the confusion over the Gauls' unorthodox assault and the similarity of both armies' uniforms cause a default victory for Caesar after the frustrated Scipio sounds the retreat. The Gauls are cornered by Caesar after the battle is over; but released and sent home for their assistance in his victory. Asterix and Obelix thereafter celebrate at home, while Panacea and Tragicomix return to Condatum to marry

My Thoughts:

Questions that popped into my head when reading this story:

Why aren't Asterix and Obelix married men? They seem old enough.

Upon thinking for about 30seconds, the answer is obvious. The authors know that if Asterix and Obelix settle down, their adventuring days are over. Both would take their responsibilities as husbands seriously and their wives and eventual kids would take precedent in their minds.

The Romans just can't catch a break can they? They try to hide from Obelix and end up trampling on the flowers he wants for Panacea.

This is one of the repeated gags that never gets old for me. Seeing fully armed and armored soldiers getting the stuffing knocked out of them by a midget and a fatman always makes me laugh!

Bureaucracy portrayed here, is it any different today? And if we could just biff and bam the parasites who give us the runaround now, would it change anything? Hint, yes!

Man, I had to cry. Bureaucrats are as unhelpful today as they obviously were when this was written. Something about a bureaucracy seems to attract a certain kind of person and personally, I think the world would be a much better place without those kinds of people. Give me a license to use a boxing glove on that jackass sitting behind the desk at the Department of Motor Vehicles, please!

What did you think of Asterix's insistence on going through the Legion training as quickly as possible?

I actually wondered why Asterix and Obelix went through all the trouble. Wandering around causing havoc and mayhem seems to be their trademark so it was almost out of character for them to “try” to abide by the rules. Of course, them selectively obeying the rules made for some really funny scenes.

Is Tragicomix a pansy? Why didn't he biff and bam his way out of the Legion like a good Gaul?

Tragicomix IS a pansy. Despite a chin that would make Bruce Campbell green with envy, Tragicomix doesn't lift a finger at any time to help himself. In many ways he reminds me of spoiled young kids of today with Asterix and Obelix as helicopter parents taking care of every single thing. Being in the army would have made a man out of him. Well, as the Princess Bride always says, Twue Wuv....

Julius Caesar is always doing favors for Asterix and Obelix. Should they get a loyalty rewards membership? Save Julius 3 times and get a free attack on a Roman Patrol kind of thing?

I realized after I wrote this question that the boys are already getting free attacks on Roman Patrols, so that idea was kind of pointless. However, a lifetime supply of free boar seems called for. Since Obelix seems to eat at least 3-9 boars a day, ol' Julius is going to need a hog farm!

Finally, just where DOES Tragicomic pin that clasp for his cape?

Dude doesn't even have any hair on his chest, so just what is that clasp clasping onto? I would have said he's pinned it into his own flesh, but since we've established he is a bona fida PANSY, that isn't possible. I'm going to go with superglue. Probably a magic super glue that will last for a whole year. And without any chest hair he doesn't even have to worry when he eventually pulls it off. Yeah, like I said, PANSY.

I did a buddy read with Alex, Fraggle and Sharon. Go check out their reviews and what they have to say about this story :-)

★★★★☆ show less

Note to self: stick to reading these in French or Dutch... The English translation sort of ruins most of the word puns, taking them from clever to downright silly.