This is the fourth book in the long running 'Asterix' series, which got off on a good foot in 'Asterix the Gaul', but it's also the first to truly feel like a regular entry. That's partly because my copy has the traditional opening couple of pages—one to highlight the location of the Gaulish Village right in the corner of the country, surrounded by four Roman camps, and the other to detail the core of the series' cast members—but also partly because many of the running jokes on which the series thrives were introduced in this volume, so it feels like one of them rather than another precursor.

One of those new regulars—Obelix's catchphrase, "These Romans are crazy!"—fits perfectly with the inescapable underlying theme of the entire book, namely that these indomitable Gauls think so little of the all-powerful Roman Empire that's occupying their nation, along with a majority of the known world at the time, that they can send just two of their own into the heart of Rome on a crucial mission. No disguises needed this time, they just wallop anyone who gets in their way and go about their business, all the way to Julius Caesar himself. When their fellow gladiators present arms and cry "Ave Caesar! Morituri te salutant!" or "Hail Caesar! We, who are about to die, salute you", they stand behind them, chiming in with "Hi, Julius, old boy!"

But what are Asterix and Obelix doing in Rome, you might ask, because I'm getting notably ahead of myself. Well, the Prefect of Gaul is Odius Asparagus, quite likely my favourite Roman name in a morass of them in this book. Odius Asparagus is heading back home on leave and wants to take an unusual and valuable gift with him to present to Caesar himself. He's decided that it should be an invincible Gaul—the overt snag being that they're invincible—and so tasks one of his centurions,  Gracchus Armisurplus, with capturing one for him.

His target is Cacofonix, the bard who traditionally appears bound and gagged during the feast on the final page of almost every Asterix book because none of his fellow villagers can stand to hear him sing; another scene that shows up here for the first time. It seems that Cacofonix has a habit of wandering into the forest on his own to seek inspiration and sing somewhere where nobody can complain about him, and he doesn't drink any of the magic potion before leaving the village.

That means that he's an easy target, but the legionaries sent to grab him have to stuff their ears full of parsley before they can get close enough, because they deem the bard's singing to be such a crime against humanity that it ought to be banned by the Helvetia Convention. I love these little anachronisms that refer, in 50 BC, to something either contemporary to us or which we know from history.

Vitalstatistix, Gaulish village leader, starts a speech with "Friends, Gauls, Countrymen!", a nod to Julius Caesar's famous "Friends, Romans, Countrymen! Lend me your ears." A salesman outside the Colosseum sells "canes calidi", which is Latin for "hot dogs". A Gaulish restauranteur in Rome even lives in an insula or apartment complex. It's an example of GLC flats, here meaning Greater Latin Council not the expected Greater London Council. Best of all, everyone applauds Caesar at the Grand Circus Games except the one man sat next to him in his box, so he commands him to do likewise: "Et tu, Brute!"

Of course, with Cacofonix such a crucial part of this story, even if he's a sort of MacGuffin, there's plenty of opportunity to have him sing, for everyone in earshot to complain about it and for those songs to be nods to music of the day; this book having been first published in 1962. I've missed the digs at Cacofonix's singing in early books and thoroughly enjoyed how much of it this volume has to offer, even if those songs are often suitably cringeworthy. Never mind, "Farewell and adieu to you fair Celtic ladies, farewell and adieu to you ladies of Gaul", try "Roman in the gloamin'" and "Love is a menhir splendid thing". Ouch! No wonder the slaves say they prefer the whip!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, a young Gaulish lad sees him being carried away and so brings news back to the village. His name is Picanmix, a neat nod to the British practice of buying mixed sweets in a confectioners by weight. I remember "pick and mix"! So, after a couple of pages of the Gauls invading in the Roman camp of Compendium and walloping everyone in sight, only to find that the bard they seek is on a galley headed for Rome, Asterix and Obelix set forth to retrieve him. That's the entire plot: the Romans steal Cacofonix and take him to Rome, so Asterix and Obelix go there, too, to bring him back. Of course, there's much walloping on the way, by Toutatis!

As they set out, a whole bunch of series regulars show up, because they hitch a ride on a ship (with the ancient Gaulish sign you expect of sticking out their thumbs). The ship they find is Phoenician, the vessel of Ekonomikrisis—I adore that name too—who's a quintessentially sharp merchant, so much so that his "business partners" row the ship because they didn't read their contracts. As the journey begins, they also encounter pirates, whom they promptly board and beat up, the first such beating of many, because it's a rare Asterix book that doesn't feature them beating up these very same pirates. In fact, they get to do it again on the return trip, that battle being condensed into a single panel. Ekonomikrisis doesn't return that often but he does return in future books.

The best scenes take place in Rome, of course, my favourite probably being sparked by a gladiator trainer, Caius Fatuous by name, wanting these two indomitable Gauls to fight in the Circus Games so badly that he puts out a 10,000 sestertii reward for anyone who can bring them in. Instead, they come to him because that's exactly what they want to, beating up everyone who attacks them on the way. It's delightful irony. The most quintessential panel in the entire series shows up in Rome too, that of Asterix giving a gladiator trainer named Insalubrius an upper cut so powerful that he flies out of the panel, leaving only his sandals and a pair of teeth behind, all floating in the air as if the law of gravity hasn't reapplied yet. This reappears a lot in the series, of course, with only the victim changed.

There are other noteworthy moments in Rome too. A couple of legionaries show up by the names of Sendervictorius and Appianglorius, both nods to the British national anthem, of course. Obelix continues to collect helmets as he beats up whole cohorts of Romans, this being part of a bet that he's having with Asterix as to who can wallop the most, a bet that Asterix either isn't aware of or has no interest keeping; he just enjoys the fighting! That's another regular gag that debuts here. And there's a scene where Caius Fatuous eats exotic delicacies from distant lands, like sturgeons' eggs, nightingales' tongues and cockroaches' gums, presaging a similar scene in the arena in 'Life of Brian': "Wolf nipple chips, get 'em while they're hot!"

And Goscinny and Uderzo have particular fun with Julius Caesar himself, who shows up to enjoy the Circus Games, only for them to send him into apoplexy. In one panel, he jumps up and down on his cushioned seat in rage. In another, he literally turns purple with anger. In a third, he rubs his hands in glee at the thought of a cohort of legionaries flattening the Gauls, only to be shocked when the Gauls flatten the cohort of legionaries instead. At least he has the decorum to free Cacofonix, who has been thrown to the lions, who inevitably ran from his singing; when the huge audience shows a great appreciation for the Gaulish warriors.

It's been long enough since I read this series that I can't remember favourite books, but this feels like it ought to be up there. It doesn't provide a lot of surprises for a regular reader, but it hits all the series beats, not to forget that it introduces a whole bunch of them, and every one of them is fresh and funny. In short, it's a forty-eight page delight and I can't wait for next month's follow-up, 'Asterix and the Banquet'. ~~ Hal C F Astell

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