Customer Reviews

Obelix and Company (Asterix (Darguard))

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

 

 

Yet another brilliant installment of the wonderful Asterix series. This book is a lovely satire of capitalism and the corruption of power. When Caesar realizes he can not defeat the Gauls by sword, he turns to gold to do his dirty work. He theorizes that if the Gauls become so concerned with monetary pursuits they will no longer care to hold out against the Roman Invaders.

So the Gauls are paid to make menhirs. I love how these books often refer to menhirs and never attribute a practical purpose to them. After all, who knows what those solitary standing stones were used for 5,000 years ago? A link to the past is formulated within this book as people are swayed by constant advertisement and feel compelled to buy the menhirs. After all, isn't this very true today, as society feels a great need to accumulate junk?

First published in French in 1976 as Obélix et Compagnie , Obelix and Co was first published in English in 1978. Julius Caesar launches his latest plot to destroy the resistance of the Gaullish village , through the skills of business whiz kid , Caius Preposterus. He will simply infect them with greed for money and therefore in effect buy them off .
Preposterus targets Menhir man Obelix with astonishing effects . It is left up to the cunning of Asterix and Druid Getafix to once again save the day.

A delightful comic full of fun and humour but also brilliant satire of how political freedom can be compromised by economic considerations , in this post Cold War age when we are often told how good economics is the antidote to bad politics : Witness how everyone is clambering to do business with the greatest tyranny on earth - Red China - because of it's economic muscle and how dictatorships often get away with lack of political freedom through liberalizing the economy but not the polity.
Fundamentally we need to be reminded that it is freedom of spirit and not economics-whether socialist or capitalist- that sustains mankind.

One of Asterix more political albums (and one of the last Goscinny did before dying), this book written originally in 1976 is a biting satire of capitalism. Not knowing how to subdue the indomitable Gauls, Caesar is advised by a young Roman knew it all (a caricature of Jacques Chirac, then a fresh face in French politics) to integrate the rebel village into capitalism, by turning them into producers of menhirs. A lot of the Gauls for the trap, including Obelix, who becomes a large producer, weakening the social bonds that had held the village together in the face of the Romans. Only before is too late the Gauls will realize their mistake. A great book that makes you laugh but also to think.

I have been reading the Asterix series for around 15 years, and I recently started collecting them. This one, even though not my favorite, is no doubt a good comic. Without giving away the story, obliex has some trouble with his Meniar company and has to seek asterix's help.