Obelix and Co. (1976)

Obelix et compagnie

The village instigates a mass-stoning

Presenting a pretentious thematic undercurrent...

Notable Nomenclature...

• Scrofulus: Roman Centurion.
• Ignoramus: Roman Centurion.
• Caius Preposterous: Roman finacial whizzkid.
• Analgesix, Monosyllabix, Polysyllabix, Pacifix, Atlantix, Baltix, Adriatix: Hitherto unknown villagers.
• Woolix: Pedlar.
• Meretricious: Roman menhir maker.

Continuity; lack-thereof and other gaffes...

• Obelix takes on employees - both menhir manufacturers and caterers - for the first time (p16 on).
• Obelix renews his relationship with Mrs. Geriatrix (see Asterix and the Soothsayer). (pp23-24.)
• In this menhir-rich environment there is no need for fish as melee weapons (p42).

Cleverness and contemporaneity...

• Preposterous is a caricature of France's then Prime-Minister now President Jacques Chirac. (Kessler)
• Asterix, Getafix and the rest do not have to do anything to foil Preposterous beyond going along with his schemes. In the book's view capitalism is self-defeating. (Kessler)
• Self caricatures of the authors as litter-bearers to a sloshed Centurian (p2).
• Caesar's advisor's solutions to the Gaulish problem involve commissions, sub-commitees and working-lunches (p8).
• The upwardly mobile Obelix has no time for Dogmatix (p12 on).
• As Obelix becomes more prosperous he becomes accordingly less threatening to the Roman lookout (pp11, 13 and 15).
• Obelix consumes his substantial working lunch over the course of two frames (p20).
• Impedimenta insists on being dropped off at the shops (p21).
• Obelix acquires a delivery van (p23).
• Obelix parades his Mister Big Getup (p25).
• Laurel and Hardy have fallen for the army recruitment drive:
  "Join up them say. It heap big man's life them say."
• Asterix and Getafix hatch a plan to introduce a competitive market (p26).
• Preposterous makes a menhir sales strategy presentation to Julius Caesar (p 32).
• Menhirs are marketed in Rome as a luxury commodity (p33).
• Preposterous presents his sideline of menhir togas, sundials and do-it-yourself-menhir-kits (p34).
• Preposterous laments the menhir's built-in lack of obscelescence (p34).
• A competing Roman menhir hits the market: it is a usual menhir placed on a plinth (p34).
• Meretricious blocks the Appian way to protest that a monopoly of Gaulish menhirs will endanger the jobs of Roman slaves (p35).
• Preposterous floats the Gaulish menhir (p36).
• An Egyptian obelisk-shaped menhir hits the market (p36).
• The bottom falls out of the menhir market (p 37).
• A superflous menhir is put to bardic use at the feast (p44).

That dumbed-down sales jargon in full...

• If you can't incease the efficiency of your productivity infrastructure the market will fall. = 'If you not able make big heap menhirs, me not able pay big heap Sesertii. You savvy?' (p15).
• Production has increased, but you still have a delivery problem. You need to step up the efficiency of your production channels. = 'You not bring plenty menhirs all one time. You bring more menhirs quick quick!' (p20).
• Thus I make no rash promises when I say that we should succeed in obtaining positive results , saleswise, at no very distant date. = 'Me think you able sell heap big heap menhirs plenty quick.' (p32).
• I hear there's a grave finacial crisis in Rome though I don't know what caused it. Anyway, they've devalued the Sestertius.='Heap big menhir makers stony broke.' (p44).

Those Menhir sales pitches in full...

• Geriatrix: 'Specially Matured Menhirs.'
• Unhygienix: 'Fresh Menhirs.'
• Fulliautomatix: 'Today's Menhirs.'

Obelix has a tender side...

• Gets neurotic when people keep secrets about his birthday (p4).
• Deeply touched by the thoughtfullness of his birthday present (p6).

Classic Pegleg...

Chubby-cheeked bloke...

Good or what?

An extraordinarily concentrated attack on monetarism, more than compensates for this story's relative lack of actual laugh-out-loud humour.