I know that 'Asterix the Legionary' was one of my favourites from the series as a child, because I've still got a copy on the shelf and it's well-worn indeed. Reading afresh as an adult, it's got to count among my favourites still. It's certainly up there with 'Asterix and the Banquet' from the first ten and it may well be better. And it all goes down because Obelix is in love.

Looking at Panacea, we can understand why. She has long flowing golden hair that reaches to her knees and an impeccably slim figure that's accentuated by a glorious skirt that's tight most of the way down but erupts outward in all directions at the shins in a way that my fashion deprived sense doesn't remotely recognise. She's the daughter of Soporifix, who we haven't met yet, and she has been away studying in Condatum, or Rennes, for the past couple of years. She clearly blossomed in Condatum and Obelix is utterly smitten, to the degree that he can't function. It's obvious to every villager but Getafix wisely points out, "I don't have any magic potion for that!"

The catch, because there's always a catch, is that she's already engaged, to a young man she knew in Condatum called Tragicomix, and, with that news, Obelix's heart breaks. His salvation arrives in the mail, delivered by Postaldistrix the postman, because Tragicomix has been shanghaied into the legion by the Romans and they're setting sail for Africa. Immediately, Obelix volunteers to mount a rescue expedition with Asterix, after getting the lowdown from Vitalstatistix, who, as a chief, is well-informed on global matters. Julius Caesar is fighting Pompey in Tunisia and, to improve their numbers, has his recruiting officers grab everyone they can.

Eight of the forty-four pages are over by the time our intrepid pair leave for Condatum, but it's a very quick eight pages and things only speed up from there. There's no lean on the meat this time around and every detail moves the story along or, at least, adds another joke. There are plenty of those as Asterix struggles with the bureaucracy of the Roman army to obtain information about Tragicomix and, once they learn he's boarding a ship in Massilia en route to Africa, he decides with glorious irony, to sign up for the Roman army themselves to follow him. After that, the jokes are unceasing and the vast majority of them hit.

I should point out here that, while this is the Roman army, it's so ethnically diverse that we can't fail to recognise the setup as being like the French Foreign Legion. Hey, they're legionaries, right? Of course, the names all follow the traditional series naming conventions for the nationalities in play, so they sign up with a Greek called Neveratalos; a Brit named Selectivemploymentax, what!; a Belgian called Gastronomix; a couple of Goths, Hemispheric and Allegoric; and an Egyptian by the name of Ptenisnet, beautifully depicted in hieroglyphics, who thinks he's booking a room in a hotel.

Of course, this all leads to many of the jokes tying to translations, good or bad. The rest are tied to every one of these recruits frustrating their new centurion, Nefarius Purpus, who's a blubbering wreck before they even start training. Five minutes later, so's Dubius Status, the trainer. And so it goes, with Obelix and an increasing number of others wondering if they're all in love. The cook is another tough cookie that Obelix cracks by being polite (translation: a serious walloping), and the result of that is that they eat really well for their entire time in the army, because the cook goes with them.

Everything works here. The setup is glorious. The training is glorious. Even the journey is glorious, because every traditional opportunity for the officers to dominate backfires spectacularly. These recruits are so keen to get to Africa that they literally leave their superiors behind, struggling to catch up. Even the obvious jokes, like the inevitable encounter with pirates on the journey over to Africa, are spruced up, with a fantastic panel that mimics the painting 'The Raft of the Medusa', along with a pun on the artist's name: "We've been framed, by Jericho!"

Eventually, the 1st Legion, 3rd Cohort, 2nd Maniple, 1st Century arrives at camp in Thapsus, with only a dozen pages left, meaning that the story is balanced cleverly into four sections and each of them stands well on its own, with its own wonderful supporting characters. Of course, the first has Panacea; the second and third have the men of the legion, with new officers joining in the third; and the fourth has Julius Caesar himself, yet again, and a diminutive spy called Vitriolix who goes by H2SO4 and traipses around wrapped in a cloak like a pulp supervillain.

Of course, our heroes track down Tragicomix and bring him home. Of course, he's just as handsome as his fiancée is beautiful, a strapping young lad with blonde hair who could quite easily substitute for Prince Charming. Of course, they win the war for Caesar in the process, which makes him rather happy, even though he's so frequently infuriated by interlopers in his command tent, searching for beer or wondering if he's a redcloak in this holiday camp. Of course, they do so with a huge amount of violence, enough that, on their return, Caesar, who recognises them, asks if it was they who had started the battle? "Battle? What battle?" replies Asterix.

And, after another inevitable skirmish with the pirates on the way home, the happy couple become reunited. And, as Tragicomix talks up Obelix's bravery, calling him an irresistible force that nobody can stop, Panacea plants a kiss on his nose and down he goes in a heartbeat. She also kisses Asterix on the nose and that's why he, I believe for the first time, doesn't take part in the traditional final panel banquet. He's there, but he's up on the tree that usually contains Cacofonix, with a daisy in his mouth, just as smitten as Obelix was at the other end of the book.

Like I said, everything works here. It's as perfect an 'Asterix' story as they get, with every element working in harmony. The puns are great. The use of language is great. The action is great. The plot is great. The expanded cast of characters are all great. And, of course, the jokes are great, both in the original French when that translates across to English, and in the translation. I almost want to read it again right now. Next month's book has a lot to achieve to sit fairly in its company, so let's find out in February if 'Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield' will manage it. ~~ Hal C F Astell

For more titles by René Goscinny click here
For more titles by Albert Uderzo click here