It's Asterix and Obelix's joint birthday, and they both receive surprise visits from their mothers, Sarsaparilla and Vanilla. Our heroes are presented with an ornate golden sword and helmet which belonged to Caesar's rival, Pompey. Their mothers then try and persuade them to find wives, and try to arrange dates. Meanwhile, their fathers are arrested in Condatum (Rennes) for taking the sword and helmet from Tremensdelirius, the perpetually inebriated ex-legionary from Asterix and Caesar's Gift. Pompey then sends the actress Latraviata to recover the treasure, having her pose as Obelix's old flame Panacea. It's only a matter of time before Panacea and Tragicomix learn of the arrest and race to The Indomitable Village to inform them of what's going on.
The only trouble is that it takes a while to get there. The wife-hunt plot thread doesn't really go anywhere, and there's a scene in which Asterix gets concussed after calling Obelix fat during one of their once-per-episode quarrels. He's given the magic potion, and then starts leaping around like a drugged-up Super Mario. It's a bizarre sight, but it feels like padding. Our heroes don't learn of their fathers' imprisonment until about three quarters of the way into the story.
There are a lot of callbacks to Asterix the Legionary as well, such as the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, the return of Panacea and Tragicomix, and the fact that Obelix thinks "being polite" is a euphemism for violence. It was originally from a joke where Asterix wanted to ask a patrol for directions to the recruiting office, and chides Obelix for clobbering them. Later, Asterix is forced to uppercut an uncooperative guard, prompting Obelix to remark that he doesn't see the difference between his and his friend's "politeness". This time around, Obelix asks if he should be polite to a guard, and Asterix gives him the go-ahead.
OK, so it's a recycled joke, but I still enjoyed it. I also like a line in which Asterix explains the collapse of the Triumvirate which led to Caesar's civil war. His explanation takes up a whole panel, and Obelix doesn't understand it. Except for the simple fact that (altogether now) "These Romans are Crazy!"
Speaking of catchphrases, I found out that in the Italian translations of the comics, they altered Obelix's catchphrase so he says "They're crazy, these Romans!", which is translated as "Sono pazzi questi Romani!" Which has the acronym SPQR (Senātus Populusque Rōmānus - The Senate and People of Rome). That's the motto of Rome, which is still in use today.
While I do quite like to see our heroes interact with their families, I think this was one of the weaker ones.
Oh, and Dogmatix finds a mate and raises a litter.
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