The Indomitable Village holds a formal reception for Whosemoralsarelastix, a chieftain from a neighbouring village who has a reputation as a miser and is a known friend of the Romans. When the chieftain arrives, he brings with him a cauldron full of money, explaining that Caesar is levying heavier taxes to fund his military campaigns. He has gathered all the village's savings to prevent them from being seized by the Roman tax collectors. Asterix is entrusted to guard the cauldron, but when the money is stolen during the night, he is banished from the village until he can repay the debt and restore the village's honour.
This album takes a far more serious tone than any of the others to date. After Asterix is banished, Obelix goes into self-imposed exile as well, so he can travel with his friend, prompting them to share a teary embrace. It's probably one of the most heartwarming moments of the series. The overall story mostly consists of the numerous ways our friends try and raise money, but nothing really works for them. They try selling boars, but their poor understanding of commerce and lack of greed crashes the market. They try betting on chariot races, but they only lose money after taking bad advice. They even resort to bank robbery, only to find that the banks are also chafing under Caesar's taxes.
And that's not to say it isn't funny above the despair. There's one scene where our heroes join a theatre troupe led by Laurensolivius, who is putting on a play designed to shock audiences. When show-time arrives, and they are presenting to the Prefect and other important Roman officials, Obelix is due to take the stage and freezes up. While the play was made to be offensive as possible, the Prefect enjoys it until Obelix finally says his trademark catchphrase, "These Romans are crazy!", and orders the arrest of the whole troupe (which the rest of the audience assumes to all be part of the act).
The best moment is when they encounter a Roman tax collector, whose dialogue is presented like a tax form. For example, his speech bubble when they approach:
"Occupation: Are you:
a) Ordinary passers by?
b) Motivated by friendly intentions?
c) Bandits?"
Asterix demands he hands over his money in the next panel, and the speech bubble appears again, but this time answer C is checked. I've heard that this particular character was modelled after French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who at the time of writing was Minister of Finance. I guess Goscinny wasn't too keen on his policies. Speaking of which, Goscinny and Uderzo both make cameos in the theatre audience with the prefect. And they make fun of their success earlier in the story, when Asterix dismisses a suggestion from Obelix that they could make a fortune telling stories of their adventures.
In conclusion, this one is a much bleaker story, but it's a good change of tone within the formula.
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