Hari's Reviews
Asterix and the Goths
Created: Sat Mar 20 16:59:40 2010 | Last modified: Sat Mar 20 17:00:06 2010
Rating: 
Without doubt, this is one of the best "old-style" Asterix comics - the era when Goscinny and Uderzo were still developing their craft but had reached a stage when the characters were clearly etched out and the adventure element of the stories were given importance. Somehow I like these stories where Obelix is not as developed (both physically and character-wise) as we find him in the later albums - he exudes the benign rustic charm of the village idiot without actually coming across as dumb or stupid. This character is best exhibited where he takes time to "get" a joke and then goes on laughing for ages over Asterix's clever punning on words. In later albums, Obelix loses some of this early innocence and is more inclined to fight with Asterix over petty issues.
Asterix and the Goths is primarily about druid Getafix attending the Conference of Druids at the Forest of the Carnutes and getting kidnapping by a horde of Goths with ambitious ideas of conquering Gaul and Rome. The situational comedy is exceptional in this storyline. The bungling of the Romans who fail to arrest the progress of the intruding Goths and then mistake Asterix and Obelix for a horde of Goths is one of the best examples of situational comedy found in the earlier Asterix books. The second half of the book which deals with how Asterix and Obelix rescue Getafix from the hands of the Goths is the highlight, though - especially the part where Getafix decides to turn Germania into a cauldron of internal conflict and Gothic chiefs start fighting among themselves as a result of Getafix's magic potion.
All in all, a classic Asterix album that deserves a place in every collector's library. I rate it 4.5/5.