''Asterix the Legionary'' is the tenth

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

book in the Asterix comic book series by Rene Goscinny and

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with R ...

. It was first published as a serial in ''

Pilote Cover of the first ''Pilote'' issue #0 ''Pilote'' () was a French comic magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as ''Astérix'', '' ...

'' magazine, issues 368–389, in 1966.

Synopsis

Asterix and Obelix are setting off for a wild boar hunt when they encounter

Panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of univers ...

, a former childhood resident of the village who has since moved to Condatum, and Obelix immediately falls in love with her. Some hours later, Panacea receives word that her fiancé Tragicomix has been conscripted into the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

army and shipped to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

; and Obelix, although heartbroken, promises to bring him back. Asterix and Obelix travel to Condatum, where they learn that Tragicomix has already left for Massilia, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

port from which the soldiers depart, and themselves enlist in the army to follow him, alongside Hemispheric the Goth; Selectivemploymentax the

Briton British people or Britons, also known colloquially as Brits, are the citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Overseas Territories, and the Crown dependencies.: British nationality law governs mod ...

; Gastronomix the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

; Neveratalos the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

; and Ptenisnet, an Egyptian tourist who spends the entire book believing himself to be in a

holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...

. After completing

basic training Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...

(and repeatedly and comically driving their instructors to the verge of tears), the newly formed unit sets off as reinforcements to

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

against Scipio,

Afranius The gens Afrania was a plebeian family at Rome, which is first mentioned in the second century BC. The first member of this gens to achieve prominence was Gaius Afranius Stellio, who became praetor in 185 BC.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biograp ...

, and King

Juba I of Numidia Juba I of Numidia ( lat, IVBA, xpu, ywbʿy; –46BC) was a king of Numidia (reigned 60–46 BC). He was the son and successor to Hiempsal II. Biography In 81 BC Hiempsal had been driven from his throne; soon afterwards, Pompey was sent to Af ...

. Asterix and Obelix soon find out that Tragicomix has gone

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...

after a skirmish, and raid Scipio's camp to recover him. This results in the

Battle of Thapsus A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...

, in which the confusion over the Gauls' unorthodox assault and the similarity of both armies' uniforms cause a default victory for Caesar after the frustrated Scipio sounds the retreat. The Gauls are cornered by Caesar after the battle is over; but released and sent home for their assistance in his victory. Asterix and Obelix thereafter celebrate at home, while Panacea and Tragicomix return to Condatum to marry.

Film adaptations

*Elements of the plot of this album were combined with '' Asterix the Gladiator'' for the 1985 animated film '' Asterix Versus Caesar''. *The '' Raft of the Medusa'' sequence (see below) was incorporated into the 2002 live-action film '' Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra''.

Notes

* This is the first time Asterix does not join the usual ending banquet (he is still visible in the final panel, albeit not at the banquet tables), an absence not repeated until '' Asterix and the Magic Carpet''. * When the

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

are first sunk, the ship's wreckage is a parody of the 19th century painting '' The Raft of the Medusa''. In the English version, the pirate captain even bemoans, "We've been framed, by Jericho", a pun on the artist Géricault. In the French original, he says, "Je suis médusé" ("I am dumbfounded", or, most literally, "I am Medused"). * The legionaries in Asterix's unit are comic stereotypes of various nationalities, which parodies the

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army ...

's recruitment of foreigners. * The hair of the

legionary resembles that of the Belgian comic character

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

. * In the later part of the story, the Egyptian makes comments in hieroglyphics about hairy body parts — this is based on a child's game in France that involves repeating back a rhyme of whatever was last said in the form of "old hairy (body part)". * The plot is partly inspired by a 1939

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...

film, '' The Flying Deuces'' (''Les Conscrits''), in which the pair join the French Foreign Legion after Hardy falls in love with a woman who turns out to have a husband in the legion. Laurel and Hardy later appeared as legionaries in '' Obelix & Co.''. *The line "

timeo Danaos et dona ferentes ''Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes'', paraphrased in English as "I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts", is a Latin phrase from ''Aeneid,'' a Latin epic poem written by Virgil. The phrase is spoken by Trojan priest Laocoön referring to the Trojan ...

" ("I fear the

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...

, even those bearing gifts") is used as a standard

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and image ...

reference to Tragicomix's name.

In other 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 *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

Reception

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and readi ...

, it had a score of 4.29 out of 5.

References

External links

Official Website
{{Asterix, Legionary, Asterix the, type=book Legionary, Asterix the 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