Tuesday 24 July 2018

Asterix Marathon #19 - Asterix and the Soothsayer

Damn, that opening is atmospheric.

Getafix is attending a druids' conference, and the rest of the villagers are sheltering from a storm in the chief's hut when a mysterious visitor arrives. The stranger introduces himself as Prolix, and claims to be a soothsayer with the ability to read the future from the entrails of animals, predicting that the weather will clear when the storm passes (which is obvious), and that a fight will break out in the village (which happens regularly). Asterix remains unconvinced, but the rest of the villagers are entranced, giving Prolix food to "read". When he leaves, they believe that Asterix has driven him away, and he becomes a pariah. In truth, Prolix had been arrested by a Roman patrol, as soothsayers have been outlawed. However, he tries to keep his freedom by convincing the Gauls to leave The Indomitable Village.

As mentioned above, I like how creepy the opening is, if it's a little cliched. There's even a dialogue about the numerous Gaulish deities, which adds some comedy when it's made to look like the storm god Taranis hates the idea of Cacofonix singing.

Overall, the story is satirising the general gullibility of humanity, whether the stories come from entrails or the side of a bus. Prolix, like most soothsayers, is a con artist. His predictions tell the stories which people want to hear. But I love how he convinces the Gauls that he's a real soothsayer but has to convince the Romans that he isn't real, which repeatedly backfires. He's even successful in getting the Gauls to leave the village, so it feels like the Romans have finally achieved ultimate victory in Gaul.

When everything seems lost, Getafix returns, and he and Asterix devise a plan to drive the Romans out, discredit Prolix, and teach the other villagers a lesson in faith. I won't go into detail, but it's one of the funniest parts of the album.

Also, this introduces the running joke of Impedimenta referring to Vitalstatistix as "Piggywiggy".

No comments:

Post a Comment

Book Review: Hunter's Christmas and Other Stories

  Happy New Year. Christmas is over, but some places might still have their decorations up while the supermarkets already have Easter eggs o...