The fourth Asterix adventure is Asterix the Gladiator. Odius Asparagus, the Prefect of Gaul, is going on leave to Rome and wants to take a present for Caesar. "I have a brilliant idea! Why not take Caesar one of the invincible Gauls?"
The least intimidating of the indomitable Gauls is Cacofonix the bard so he is the one kidnapped and taken to Rome. Asterix and Obelix are hot on their heels though to tryand get their bard back. While in Rome they find out that Caesar wants to throw him to the lions at the next games in Circus Maximus, and "only condemned men, lions and gladiators get into the circus," so they train to be gladiators.
The book features fights galore, at which Obelix collects helmets of the people (mainly Romans) he beats as part of a competition wqace with the liberating Roman Army, except this one little village of dissidents."
After he fails to battle them into submission he has another idea. "We shall isolate the Gaulish village from the outside world. You'll have to be self-sufficient and live on the produce of your own village! The outside world will forget you."
Asterix has other ideas though and makes a bet that he and Obelix will be able to escape, go on a tour of Gaul and return with all the local food specialties from all over Gaul as proof, serving them in a big banquet.
"And this is the start of the famous tour of Gaul."
The plot is a bit busy, I feel, and it would be most appreciated if you knew France and the stereotypes of its people. However there are still some good jokes in here, mainly relating to Obelix's weight and some of the character names, such as a guy they meet who betrays them called Unpatriotix, and two highwaymen they encounter, Villanus and Unscrupulus. The pirates feature again, and Dogmatix is introduced, although not by name.
Overall maybe not the best Asterix but that is because of the high standards of the other ones, including the next one: Asterix and Cleopatra which is one of the best.
Cleopatra makes a bet with Caesar to prove that Egypt is a great nation. “In three months’ time I’ll have a magnificent palace built for you in Alexandria!”
Cleopatra gets local architect Edifis to build it but three months is not enough time, although he has an idea. He can use the magic powers of his friend the druid Getafix.
So Asterix, Obelix and Getafix, or as Caesar describes them, “an old druid with a white beard, a cunning little one and a stupid great oaf” go to Egypt to help build the temple.
Of course things aren’t plain sailing with Edifis’s rival architect Artifis doing his best to scupper their efforts, and Caesar himself interfering, but in the end the job is done.
There are lots of jokes in this one with clever use of hieroglyphics in speech bubbles for example. All-in-all this is one of the best Asterix stories. Trouble now is you'll want to read the others.
Amazon UK link: Asterix Omnibus 2
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