Customer Reviews

Asterix and the Great Divide (Asterix (Orion Paperback))

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The humorous depiction of the adventures of the inhabitants of one small village in Gaul, (modern day France) which defies roman occupation in 50 BC with the superhuman power of a magic potion. Its full of beautiful visuals and excellent pun, especially the play of words in conversation and names of characters. Its gentle satire pokes fun on modern life, art and politics with caricatures of Napoleon, Shakespeare, Zorro and even James Bond.

In Asterix and the Great Divide, a village divided by a ditch as well as their chiefs' opinions, with one side going to the Romans and having a hard time as Romans take them as slaves. The chief of the other side sends his son to the little Gaulish village for help. Codefix, a mean and sly Gaul, advices Romans to attack the Gaulish village. He steals a cauldron of magic potion for them and the fun begins with its strange and unexpected effect on Romans!

First published in French in 1980 as `Le Grand Fosse', this album was first published in English in 1981.

Chief Cleverdix sends his son Histrionix to the village by the sea, to call on the aid of Chief Vitalstatistix, to settle a dispute with his rival , Chief Majestix..
Asterix, Obelix and Getafix are as a result sent to the divided village.
This was the first book written by Uderzo alone, and is not one of the best. Much of the humour is recycled from earlier Astérix books, and the attempts at political satire are weak, unlike the superb political satire of `Asterix and Caesar's Gift' for example. Uderzo would later prove that he could however, write, good Asterix comics, with such gems as `Asterix and the Black Gold' and `Asterix and The Magic Carpet'.

This book , it must be noted, is one of the later asterix adventures and I would have to say it doesn't hold up to the earlier ones penned by Goscinny (This is written and illustrated by Uderzo). Somehow the plot lacks sharpness. But the rest of the stuff is there: the punch lines and the artwork. If you haven't checked out the earlier ones, it may be better to do that first. Its still a valuable addition to the collection though.

This is one of the best Asterix books. In it, Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, and Dogmatix set off to help out another village troubled by a terrible internal division and threatened by the Romans. The reader will be delighted as the heroes of the story work to drive off the Romans, bring the village together, make a romance come true, and teach the villain of the story a good lesson, by Toutatis!

This episode is one of those published after the death of longtime Asterix author extraordinaire Goscinny and as such the thought of opening the cover and turning to the first page filled me with trepidation. But I needn't have worried. This is easily the best of the post-Goscinny era stories, in fact I would even go so far as to say it sits quite comfortably alongside its Goscinny-penned brethren. Uderzo did a solid job on the story. Maybe it isn't the greatest Asterix adventure of all time--well, no maybe about it; it definitely isn't the greatest ever--but it's no dog either, as so many of the Uderzo-only episodes have proven to be. The social / political commentary is there, the translators are still in good form, the artwork though not as inviting as that of the stories drawn in the golden age (1972 - 1977) is still perfectly acceptable (and better than 99% of other comic art out there)... Reading this story makes me wonder why Uderzo hasn't been able to maintain in later episodes the standard of excellence he was able to attain here.

If you have not read any Asterix comic books, you need to stop whatever you are doing right now, go on amazon and buy one so that in a few days you are able to discover what you have been missing... well, it's not as urgent as that but these books were an integral part of my growing up and as I read and re-read them now (at 34) I still marvel at the wit and wisdom of the creators. The difference between the Tintin (which I love) and the Asterix series is that these are a lot more political which in turn makes them more attractive for adults, although kids have no trouble enjoying the humor and irony quite.

Arrived in timely fashion + new condition. Asterix is a family favorite since our boys (now men) were old enough to read to. This was a Xmas present to the "boys"... They still love their Asterix!

This album, who came out originally in 1980, was the first penned by Uderzo alone (his partner Goscinny, who did the scripts while Uderzo did the illustrations, has died in 1977). Clearly, the Goscinny-Uderzo albums are better than those done by Uderzo alone. Still, this is better than some of the other Uderzo albums. The story is about a village in Roman dominated Gaul divided into two camps. There is a Romeo and Juliet like situation with a young man from one of the camps falling for the girl of the opposite camp. Asterix and Obelix become involved to try to mediate the dispute and prevent the Romans from taking advantage of the situation. Good but not great Asterix.

Albert Uderzo, Asterix and the Great Divide (Dargaud, 1982)
Another village in Gaul (not that inhabited by our heroes) has elected two chieftains, who have dug a great trench through the center of town, separating it into the left side and the right side, which are at war with one another (except for one house right in the middle, whose inhabitants are, shall we say, not possessed of everything upstairs). Asterix and Co. to the rescue!
This was the first post-Goscinny Asterix adventure, and there has been a great deal of controversy over the years. Personally, I enjoyed it; yes, the politics are a bit closer to the surface than I'd like to see, but Uderzo is flinging brickbats at everyone, at least. Crossing Romeo and Juliet with the Lord of the Rings is wonderfully amusing, as well. Uderzo went back closer to the spirit of the original series after this, but I have to say, this was an interesting glimpse at what could have been. *** ½

Albert Uderzo, Asterix and the Great Divide (Dargaud, 1982)

Another village in Gaul (not that inhabited by our heroes) has elected two chieftains, who have dug a great trench through the center of town, separating it into the left side and the right side, which are at war with one another (except for one house right in the middle, whose inhabitants are, shall we say, not possessed of everything upstairs). Asterix and Co. to the rescue!

This was the first post-Goscinny Asterix adventure, and there has been a great deal of controversy over the years. Personally, I enjoyed it; yes, the politics are a bit closer to the surface than I'd like to see, but Uderzo is flinging brickbats at everyone, at least. Crossing Romeo and Juliet with the Lord of the Rings is wonderfully amusing, as well. Uderzo went back closer to the spirit of the original series after this, but I have to say, this was an interesting glimpse at what could have been. *** ½