Admiral Crustacius has managed to lose possession of Julius Caesar's personal galley, after the slaves manning the oars staged a mutiny. Under the leadership of the impressively-dimpled Spartakis the Greek, the mutineers travel to Armorica to seek asylum in The Indomitable Village. Meanwhile, Obelix gives in to his curiosity and drinks a second cauldron of magic potion, which turns him to stone. Getafix's attempts to counteract the effects successfully revive him, but also turn him into a child. Unable to adjust, the young Obelix is captured by the Romans, who seek to use him as a bargaining chip in a bid to hand over Caesar's galley. Asterix and Getafix set out after Crustacius with the mutineers and rescue their friend. In a bid to restore him to normal, they sail on to Atlantis, the people of which inhabit what is believed to be the Canary Islands.
Personally, I love this story. It explores one of the biggest what-ifs of the series. It's established that Obelix fell into the cauldron of magic potion when he was a baby, and as a result is has a permanent effect on him. This also means Getafix refuses to give him any more whenever he doles out the potion, as he fears the side effects. It's when they have a fight with the Romans and notice that Obelix isn't with them that they realise something's amiss.
This surpasses Asterix and the Cauldron as one of the most serious stories in the series. We're treated to panels of Asterix maintaining an all-night vigil at Obelix's side while Getafix tries to brew an antidote, and he starts expressing self-doubt. Even after Obelix is revived, it doesn't let up. He can only manage a single boar in one sitting, and he can't lift menhirs or bash the Romans like he's used to. He's lost the ability to indulge in his greatest pleasures, and his failure to accept this results in his capture.
Meanwhile, the pirates get a bigger role in this story, rather than a throwaway gag. They get sunk by our heroes when they go after Crustacius, but then there's a ship swap after Obelix is rescued. Our heroes take over the admiral's galley, while the pirates take Caesar's galley back to Rome to hold for a ransom, along with Crustacius and his vice-admiral Nautilus. And because our heroes left their barrel of magic potion on the galley, there's a great pay-off to that subplot.
So, it's a good story, but it lacks the humour of the series and is also quite depressing.
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