Customer Reviews

Asterix and the Actress

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Uderzo should really just call it a day and retire. The vast majority of Asterix books are pure genius, but this latest offering lets him down badly. The illustrations, of course, are delightful, although the frames look strangely empty, but there is more plot in a couple of pages of "Asterix and the Banquet" than in this entire volume.
As Brutus was dispatched at the end of "Asterix and Son" to Upper Germania or somewhere, Pompey is cast as the villain, although he only appears about twice. However, the idea of employing such an elaborate device as to hire an impersonator (or impersonatrix, I beg her pardon) just to recover a mere sword and helmet is frankly ridiculous. I think Uderzo just extracted a load of enjoyment from drawing a book's worth of well-favoured women such as Panacea, and thought he could get away with publishing the result as an Asterix book. The dialogue, too, doen't come close to the sublime heights of the earlier adventures, with many of the puns, for example those concerning fish, being recycled from previous books, and the new ones being of the feeble standard of "HGV - Heavy Gaulish Vehicle".
"Asterix and Obelix All At Sea", the preceding offering, was bad enough, but if this kind of downward trend is the future of Asterix, I must say I hope the Romans take over the village as soon as possible and put an end to the whole thing before it gets any worse.

We are not amused.

This Asterix comic is an excellent story, bringing together many familiar characters from previous stories. The storyline is very funny, from trying to get Asterix and Obelix married off (not to each other), to the nagging wives, to the references to fish, to the appearances of old favourites like Tragicomix and Tremensdelirious.

This particular version is trnaslated in the original style - with druid being named Getafix. In my humble opinion, the original translation style is the better. A highly recommend this to anyone who liked the original Asterix comics.

This book was written by the illustrator of the Asterix books and not the original author (who died).

He draws beautifully but his writing skills are mediocre.

I think this is as LOW as Asterix has ever gotten. Come on, Uderzo has simply lost his touch and does not have the same magic as Goscinny. The previous Asterix books were just amazing, but this is just a PATHETIC excuse for an Asterix book. The storyline is weak(ever hear of using an impersonator just to get a helmet and sword? -ridiculous), and the flavor of humor is simply missing, although the old magic is displayed in some instances in the book. However, the drawings are still as good as the old ones, but that cannot save this Asterix from being a flop. I just hope that Uderzo can leave asterix in peace and finish the Great series before damaging its reputation any further.

Uderzo is a master artist but a horrible author. The humor of the originals is completely absent, and the plot reads like it was thought up by a four year old. I never thought I'd give a bad review to an Asterix, but this is just disappointing. Save your money for the originals.

Albert Uderzo, Asterix and the Actress (Dargaud, 2001)

Caesar's newest plan to conquer the indomitable Gaulish village: get an actress to impersonate Panacea, with whom Obelix is in love. It doesn't help matters that the boys' mothers are in town and trying to convince the two of them to get married (to women, not to each other). The fact that Panacea is already married doesn't seem to cross anyone's mind (except that of Tragicomix, her husband). This one was definitely a breath of fresh air after Asterix and the Secret Weapon and Asterix and the Falling Sky (yes, I'm reading them out of order). ***

Missed "Asterix and the Actress" when it came out. Pretty surprised reading it. Enjoyed it for the humour, the introduction of new characters & the exploration of Goscinny-era ones.

Asterix #31 (2001)

Asterix and Obelix are after the village folk, they've gone missing. Pompey is after Obelix, he's got Pompey's helmet. Julius Caesar is after Pompey, he can't stand rebellion in his empire. No girls are after Asterix and Obelix, though their Mums preferred if there were.

Midst of this comes Panacea. She's got memory loss & only can remember Obelix...

Gotten a low ranking so far. Sort of see why. Seems to work best as a stand alone story, set aside from the series, but knowledge of the past of the series is needed for gags & such. That's the trouble, I think. Fans who love Goscinny's humour from the 1960-70s seem to be the one's it's aimed at, seems so from the references, yet the humour is sparser & not quite the sort Goscinny fans enjoy. Reminds me more of Beano & of the movie "Asterix & Obelix Versus Caesar" (1999)

it wasn't that bad, u ppl sound like lawyers sent by Goscinny's daughter. i still like asterix and yes it is harder for Underzo
to draw the pictures AND write the dialogue, so cut him some slack and show some support instead of ripping him to shreds during this "crisis."

I have been an avid Asterix fan almost ALL my life, I have collected pretty much all the Asterix adventures and still love and read them ALL. I think they are ALL brilliant, this is simply NOT Asterix. When I found out there was a new Asterix out there I was very excited, I was reading the other reviews and thought well just how bad can it be, this is Asterix after all... let me tell you, if you are a big fan and familiar with earlier Asterix books, do NOT buy this! It IS THAT bad! I do NOT know what these people who gave it good reviews are on about, Uderzo died a while back and Goscinny has produced some excellent Asterix since, it is not a sudden transition! Call a spade a spade, if you are over ten years old, this is just not worth it, TRUST ME!