Asterix with the Belgians

Asterix with the Belgians (French original title: Astérix chez les Belges ) is the 24th volume of the comic series Asterix and appeared in 1979 in French and in German. This is the last Asterix volume, the text of which was written by René Goscinny . The drawings are by Albert Uderzo .

action

The plot is based on Julius Caesar's statement at the beginning of his work De bello Gallico about the Gallic tribes : "The bravest of all are the Belgians ..." When Majestix, the chief of the small Gallic village, hears of this judgment, he feels Offended in his honor and decided to prove in a competition with the Belgians that in truth he (“I will prove to all of you that I am the bravest Gaul tribe!”) and his people are the bravest of all. As a result, the Belgians as well as Majestix, Asterix and Obelix, who at Miraculix's behest went after their boss so that “the story doesn't end badly”, are systematically devastating Roman camps in Belgium. Finally Caesar found out about these events and appeared in Belgium himself. After a turbulent battle, when asked who was the winner in the competition, he loses his composure and breaks out into the unquotable words: “You are all crazy!” This leads to great amusement for both parties, so the adventure goes on as usual can end with the common feast.

Remarks

The two detectives Schulze and Schultze , known from Tintin and Struppi, have a guest appearance in the comic when they report that Julius Caesar has arrived in Belgium. Caricatures by Pierre Tchernia , Annie Cordy and Eddie Merckx also appear in the comic.

The country is cliché portrayed as flat and monotonous, whereby a quote from the song " Le plat pays " from 1962 by Jacques Brel is used. Also typical of the country are the dishes that are consumed and the Brussels or Bruges lace, which are ultimately intended to serve as a white flag, and of course the Manneken Pis , which Asterix and Obelix face in person. The fact that the two Belgian leaders are always at odds with each other alludes on the one hand to Caesar's historical dispute with Ambiorix and Catavolcus , and on the other hand to the division of the country into a Flemish and a Walloon part.

There is a festival in the Belgian village ...

Albert Uderzo , 1979

Volume Asterix with the Belgians , p. 47 Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

Some of the drawings in the comic cite well-known paintings, such as the title motif or the approaching Romans on page 39 (“Campagne de France” from 1864 by Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier ). The most obvious is the adaptation of Pieter Bruegel's “ Peasant Wedding ” on page 47.

If one looks at the arrangement of the stone balls fired by the Roman catapults, associations with the Atomium in Brussels arise . Incidentally, in the poem that comments on the battle pictures, numerous military ranks are mentioned that had been abolished since the military reform of Gaius Marius and thus represent an anachronism here.

The final picture of the celebratory meal contains a sad rabbit, an allusion to the nickname of Goscinny's wife and thus symbolizes the sadness of everyone who knew him, since he died on November 5th, 1977 while working on this album.

publication

René Goscinny died in 1977 when he had just finished the manuscript for Asterix with the Belgians . Albert Uderzo initially refused to complete the volume on his own, but was eventually forced to do so by the Dargaud publishing house by court order.

The story was published in France in 1979 as an album by Dargaud . In the German translation it was printed in advance in the television magazine Gong in the issues 38/1978 to 20/1979 each week and published in 1979 as the 24th volume of the Asterix series. In 2002 this volume was reissued and received a new cover picture.

The volume was published in English, Spanish and Turkish, among others.

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ http://www.gottwein.de/Lat/caes/bg1001.php#Caes.Gall.1,1
↑ Mary Beard: Cleopatra's Nose: New Encounters with Ancient History. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2017, ISBN 978-3-10-397217-7 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
↑ Asterix Review Special (24): Asterix at the Belgians , accessed on November 29, 2017