Asterix Marathon #37 - Asterix and the Chariot Race

I'm almost at the finish line. Which is rather appropriate, considering the story.

Lactus Bifidus is the senator responsible for maintaining the Roman roads, but he's not very good at his job. To hide this fact, he organises a multi-stage chariot race from Modica (Monza) to Neapolis (Naples), open to all peoples. Caesar agrees on the condition that the Romans must win. Meanwhile, Asterix and Obelix are taking Geriatrix to a dentist in Darioritum (Vannes), when Obelix has his fortune read and is told that he will become a fine auriga (charioteer). Fearing the collapse of the traditional menhir trade in favour of pumice ones, he buys a chariot and learns of the Trans-Italic race. He and Asterix sign up, competing with charioteers from all around the world while trying to best the Roman team, led by the masked charioteer Coronavirus.

I think this is the best story of the New Period so far. Similar to Asterix and the Banquet, it takes us on a tour of Italy, although it focuses on the city's landmarks rather than regional stereotypes. There's a lot of tension and intrigue as the race progresses, with our heroes initially being a cause of contention due to an early blunder, but Asterix is able to diffuse the situation by saying that the Romans are a common enemy. More successfully than Brian of Nazareth, this unites the other teams with the exception of the unscrupulous Cimbri charioteers, Zerogluten and Betakaroten.

I love the diverse array of characters Ferri has created for the race. There are too many to list, but I'd like to share my favourite examples:

• Kweenlatifer and Nefersaynefer are two princesses from Kush, a kingdom in southern Egypt which is now Sudan. Obelix thinks Kweenlatifer likes him from the looks she gives him, but her hieroglyphic dialogue reveals she thought Dogmatix was cute. Their chariot is pulled by zebras.
• Tekaloadov and Wotaloadov are a team of Sarmatians from the Eurasian Steppes, serving as the Asterix world's equivalent of Russians. The letters in their dialogue are reversed, they refer to the Roman war god Mars as "Marx", and the emblem on their chariot is a bear.
• Normans Skinnidecaf and Gamefralaf get homesick due to good weather and civilisation.
• There's a running gag in which the Lusitanians (Portuguese) Undaduress and Bitovamess are constantly falling behind due to chariot repairs.

In addition to the diversity of the contestants, there's also diversity with the Italians, rather than having just Romans. Like in history, Italy is inhabited by Umbrians, Etruscans, Ligurians, Samnites, Calabrians, and others, many of whom are not fans of Rome.

The action's great, the characters are great, the humour is great. I think this one was a great story to end on, and I look forward to seeing what these people turn out in the near future.

Also, I'm curious about that Garum stuff which is sponsoring the event.