Asterix the Legionary
| Industry | Comic books |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1966 |
| Founder | René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo |
| Products | Comic book |
| Website | www |
Asterix the Legionary represents the tenth installment in the Asterix series of comic books created by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Its initial release occurred through serialization in Pilote magazine, spanning issues 368 to 389 during the year 1966.
Synopsis
During a wild boar hunting excursion, Asterix and Obelix encounter Panacea, who has moved away from their village to reside in Condatum. Obelix quickly develops romantic feelings for her. Panacea reveals that her fiancé, Tragicomix, has been forcibly drafted into the Roman army and dispatched to North Africa. Despite his disappointment, Obelix commits to rescuing him.
Their journey leads them to Condatum, where they learn Tragicomix has already set off for Massilia, the Mediterranean port used for troop embarkation. To pursue him, Asterix and Obelix enlist in the Roman legion alongside soldiers from diverse backgrounds: Hemispheric the Goth, Selectivemploymentax the Briton, Gastronomix the Belgian, Neveratalos the Greek, and Ptenisnet, an Egyptian tourist who mistakenly believes he is on vacation.
Following their basic military training—which frequently exasperates their instructors—the group is deployed as reinforcements to assist Caesar in his campaign against Scipio, Afranius, and King Juba I of Numidia. After a clash results in Tragicomix’s disappearance, Asterix and Obelix infiltrate Scipio’s camp to recover him. This action precipitates the Battle of Thapsus, during which Caesar’s troops claim victory after Scipio withdraws, partly due to confusion caused by the Gauls’ unconventional tactics and their similar attire. The Gauls are captured by Caesar but subsequently freed in recognition of their contribution to his triumph. Upon returning home, Asterix and Obelix celebrate while Panacea and Tragicomix wed.
Film adaptations
- This volume’s storyline was partially integrated with that of Asterix the Gladiator for the 1985 animated feature Asterix Versus Caesar.
- The sequence parodying The Raft of the Medusa was adapted into the 2002 live-action movie Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.
Commentary
- Notably, this is the first album in which Asterix does not participate in the customary concluding banquet (although he appears in the last panel, he is absent from the banquet tables), a deviation not repeated until Asterix and the Magic Carpet approximately twenty years later.
- When the pirates are initially sunk, their shipwreck humorously references the 19th-century artwork The Raft of the Medusa. In English translations, the pirate captain quips, "We've been framed, by Jericho," a pun on painter Géricault. In French, his line is "Je suis médusé" ("I am dumbfounded," literally "I am Medused").
- The legionnaires accompanying Asterix represent exaggerated caricatures of various nationalities, satirizing the diverse recruitment practices of the French Foreign Legion.
- The Belgian soldier’s hairstyle is reminiscent of that belonging to the Belgian comic figure Tintin.
- Later in the narrative, an Egyptian character makes remarks in hieroglyphics concerning hairy body parts—a reference to a French children’s rhyme game involving phrases about “old hairy (body part).”
- The storyline draws inspiration partly from the 1939 film featuring Laurel and Hardy, The Flying Deuces (known as Les Conscrits), where the pair join the French Foreign Legion after Hardy falls for a woman whose husband is a legionnaire. Laurel and Hardy themselves appear later as legionnaires in Obelix & Co..
- The phrase "timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" ("I fear the Greeks, even those bearing gifts") functions as a mnemonic device linked to Tragicomix’s name.
Translations in Various Languages
- French – Astérix légionnaire
- German – Asterix als Legionär
- Croatian – Asterix legionar
- Spanish – Asterix legionario
- Catalan – Astèrix legionari
- Portuguese – Astérix Legionário
- Dutch – Asterix en het 1e Legioen
- Greek – Ο Αστερίξ λεγεωνάριος
- Finnish – Asterix legioonalaisena
- Irish – Asterix ar Pháirc an Chatha
- Scottish Gaelic – Asterix an Saighdear Ròmanach
- Italian – Asterix legionario
- Latin – Asterix Legionarius
- Korean – 로마군이 아스테릭스
- Danish – Asterix i trøjen
- Swedish – Asterix drar i fält
- Serbian – Астерикс, легионар/Asteriks, legionar
- Turkish – Asteriks Lejyoner
- Brazilian Portuguese – Asterix legionário
- Bengali – অ্যাস্টেরিক্স রোমান সৈনিক
Related Links
- Articles with short description
- Asterix books
- Works originally published in Pilote
- Comics set in ancient Egypt
- Comics set in ancient Rome
- Comics set in deserts
- Military humor
- Military comics
- Ethnic humour
- Literature first published in serial form
- 1967 graphic novels
- Works by René Goscinny
- Comics by Albert Uderzo
- Depictions of Julius Caesar in comics