Asterix and Obelix are familiar with brawling Romans, but they are much less familiar with flowery phrasemongers: in the new volume, which appears on Thursday, their enemy is called Visusversus. It is the army doctor of the Roman Emperor Caesar who is supposed to use a new method to inspire fighting spirit among his unmotivated soldiers. The 40th volume of the successful comic is the first by the new copywriter Fabrice Caro (Fabcaro) and the sixth by the illustrator Didier Conrad.
Visusversus, inspired by the French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy and his flowing hair, wants to win over Romans and Gauls for his mindfulness school “White Iris”. “Only a happy Legionnaire is a combative Legionnaire! This requires positive thinking and a healthy diet,” he explains.
Instead of roast wild boar, fresh fish is the order of the day – which really confuses the Gallic fishmonger Verleihnix, who is known for his smelly ware: “I find it worrying that the flies have disappeared around it,” he says. Asterix and Obelix are uncomfortable with the new guru’s flat wisdom. And Majestix can’t believe his eyes: “One half is running around, and the others are munching on grains and fish.”
When Visusversus lures the chief’s wife Gutemine to Lutetia (Paris), the two friends also have to go to the capital. To do this, they take the “Thalix Express Cart”, which is several hourglasses late due to “wild boars on the route”. When we arrive in Lutetia it says: “Dear passengers, due to a damaged horseshoe the return journey will not take place until tomorrow”.
The residents of Lutetia spend a lot of time in traffic jams: “Someone got stuck up there. Against the deforestation of the Karnutenwald,” one complains. Because time is running out, Asterix and Obelix switch to rental scooters, which, however, cause a few accidents on the cobblestones.
In this volume, the bard Troubadix makes his first appearance in front of a friendly audience – under the influence of the new guru – to whom he wants to present his greatest successes, such as “Tote Hosen nach Athens”. But in the end it happens as it has to happen: with the bard on the tree, many beaten Romans and an uninhibited feast of wild boar.
A previously published page in which Obelix actually seemed to lose his appetite for wild boar cannot be found in the now published volume. The publisher said it was only created as an “announcement”. Perhaps Obelix’s journey to becoming a vegetarian would have gone a bit too far for some fans.
So the volume offers another portion of the good old magic potion: a simple plot, numerous gags and puns – and the certainty that the small Gallic village will not fall to the Roman emperor with his laurel crown even on the 40th attempt.
“The White Iris” is published simultaneously in 20 languages ??and has a circulation of five million copies. The actual fathers of the Gallic heroes are the late René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The new copywriter Fabcaro, known in France for his comic “Zaï zaï zaï zaï”, had promised fans that he would remain faithful to the characters.
