Asterix and the Black Gold
Encyclopedia
Asterix and the Black Gold (original name: L'Odyssée d'Astérix) is the twenty-sixth volume of Asterix
comic book series, originally published in 1981. It is the second book to be published after the death of René Goscinny
and is thus both written and drawn by Albert Uderzo
.
The book describes Asterix's and Obelix
's voyage to the Middle East
. It is mainly inspired by two completely different things: James Bond
movies and biblical tales.
Back in Rome, Emperor Julius Caesar
hears of this, thinks the Gauls are training wild boars to find Roman patrols, and is humiliated. He orders M. Devius Surreptitius, the head of the Roman Secret Service, to send an agent to infiltrate the Gauls. This agent is a Gaulish-Roman druid known as Dubbelosix, who travels in a folding chariot
full of secret devices. Dubbelosix and Surreptitius communicate via a carrier fly
. However it is revealed Surreptitius is plotting to overthrow Caesar and sends a self-destructing letter to Dubbelosix telling him they will rule together, though Dubbelosix says he will rule Rome himself.
In the Gaulish village, Getafix is extremely frustrated and depressed, because he has run out of rock oil
. Without rock oil, he can't make any more magic potion and the village will soon fall against the Romans.
The next day, Ekonomikrisis the Phoenicia
n merchant arrives in Gaul. This cheers Getafix up, but he soon finds out that Ekonomikrisis forgot to bring any rock oil. This causes him to have a stroke
, and chief Vitalstatistix tells Asterix and Obelix to fetch another druid to treat him. This druid turns out to be Dubbelosix who successfully revives Getafix with an alcoholic tonic.
Asterix decides that the best thing to do would be for himself, Obelix and Dogmatix
to go to Mesopotamia
and bring back the rock oil. Dubbelosix insists on coming with them and they set off on Ekonomikrisis' ship. Along the way, they fight pirates and Roman warships, obviously winning each battle. But there's one thing that they don't know: Dubbelosix is sending covert messages to the Romans so they can prevent the Gauls from completing their quest.
The Phoenician ship is finally able to land at Judea
, where Asterix, Obelix, Dogmatix and Dubbelosix disembark and head for the city of Jerusalem. The Romans form a heavy presence in the city but some sympathising merchants help the Gauls to get in secretly in spite of an attempt by Dubbelosix to alert the city guards.
Leaving the treacherous druid behind, Asterix and Obelix make contact with Ekonomikrisis' friend, Samson Alius who advises them to go to Babylon
since all the rock oil in Jerusalem has been seized and destroyed by the Romans.
The way to Babylon is across a huge desert
, but in the middle of the desert, Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix find a source of rock oil in the ground so they fill a waterskin with it and head back home. Since Caesar has all ports sealed off to prevent their escape, the two Gauls simply capture Caesar's personal galley — along with Surreptitius and Dubbelosix who have been awaiting the developments on board. However a message is sent to the Romans that makes them decide to attack the village, thinking they cannot make magic potion.
Unfortunately, just before landing back in Gaul, Dubbelosix grabs hold of the waterskin of rock oil and, as he tries to force it open, Obelix, despite the objections of Asterix, leaps upon him, causing the waterskin to break open and send the oil into the sea; the first oil spill
in recorded history. Asterix has lost all hope, but when they come back to the village, they find the Gauls fighting Romans as merrily as ever. It turns out that Getafix has been able to substitute beetroot
juice for rock oil and thus produce more magic potion, it also tastes nicer. Asterix has a stroke when he realises that the journey has been for nothing.
All ends well for the Gauls; at their usual celebratory feast the crafty boars comment that the holidays are over. The Gauls send the bound and gagged Dubbelosix and Surreptitius back to Caesar in a gift-wrapped box. Caesar sends them to the Circus Maximus
as punishment for failure — with a new show added for a twist... they are covered in honey
and chased by bee
s
Asterix
Asterix or The Adventures of Asterix is a series of French comic books written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo . The series first appeared in French in the magazine Pilote on October 29, 1959...
comic book series, originally published in 1981. It is the second book to be published after the death of René Goscinny
René Goscinny
René Goscinny was a French comics editor and writer, who is best known for the comic book Astérix, which he created with illustrator Albert Uderzo, and for his work on the comic series Lucky Luke with Morris and Iznogoud with Jean Tabary.-Early life:Goscinny was born in Paris in 1926, to a family...
and is thus both written and drawn by Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo
Albert Uderzo is a French comic book artist, and scriptwriter. He is best known for his work on the Astérix series, but also drew other comics such as Oumpah-pah, also in collaboration with René Goscinny.-Early life:...
.
The book describes Asterix's and Obelix
Obelix
Obelix is a fictional character from the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his fatness, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength...
's voyage to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. It is mainly inspired by two completely different things: James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
movies and biblical tales.
Plot summary
The book begins with Asterix and Obelix hunting wild boar. One boar is worried, but the other tells him they will escape the Gauls. The Gauls start chasing the boars, but one boar, however, is crafty and leads them straight into a Roman patrol. As the boar predicted, the Gauls forget both the boars and beat up the patrol instead. In the midst of the battle, the boars escape with their lives. Later in the story Asterix ponders on their constantly finding Roman patrols whenever they go boar-hunting.Back in Rome, Emperor Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
hears of this, thinks the Gauls are training wild boars to find Roman patrols, and is humiliated. He orders M. Devius Surreptitius, the head of the Roman Secret Service, to send an agent to infiltrate the Gauls. This agent is a Gaulish-Roman druid known as Dubbelosix, who travels in a folding chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
full of secret devices. Dubbelosix and Surreptitius communicate via a carrier fly
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
. However it is revealed Surreptitius is plotting to overthrow Caesar and sends a self-destructing letter to Dubbelosix telling him they will rule together, though Dubbelosix says he will rule Rome himself.
In the Gaulish village, Getafix is extremely frustrated and depressed, because he has run out of rock oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
. Without rock oil, he can't make any more magic potion and the village will soon fall against the Romans.
The next day, Ekonomikrisis the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n merchant arrives in Gaul. This cheers Getafix up, but he soon finds out that Ekonomikrisis forgot to bring any rock oil. This causes him to have a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, and chief Vitalstatistix tells Asterix and Obelix to fetch another druid to treat him. This druid turns out to be Dubbelosix who successfully revives Getafix with an alcoholic tonic.
Asterix decides that the best thing to do would be for himself, Obelix and Dogmatix
Dogmatix
Dogmatix is a fictional character, a tiny white dog who belongs to Obelix in the Asterix comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French his name is Idéfix, itself a pun on the French expression idée fixe meaning an obsession...
to go to Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
and bring back the rock oil. Dubbelosix insists on coming with them and they set off on Ekonomikrisis' ship. Along the way, they fight pirates and Roman warships, obviously winning each battle. But there's one thing that they don't know: Dubbelosix is sending covert messages to the Romans so they can prevent the Gauls from completing their quest.
The Phoenician ship is finally able to land at Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
, where Asterix, Obelix, Dogmatix and Dubbelosix disembark and head for the city of Jerusalem. The Romans form a heavy presence in the city but some sympathising merchants help the Gauls to get in secretly in spite of an attempt by Dubbelosix to alert the city guards.
Leaving the treacherous druid behind, Asterix and Obelix make contact with Ekonomikrisis' friend, Samson Alius who advises them to go to Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
since all the rock oil in Jerusalem has been seized and destroyed by the Romans.
The way to Babylon is across a huge desert
Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert , also known as the Syro-Arabian desert is a combination of steppe and true desert that is located in the northern Arabian Peninsula covering 200,000 square miles . also the desert is very rocky and flat...
, but in the middle of the desert, Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix find a source of rock oil in the ground so they fill a waterskin with it and head back home. Since Caesar has all ports sealed off to prevent their escape, the two Gauls simply capture Caesar's personal galley — along with Surreptitius and Dubbelosix who have been awaiting the developments on board. However a message is sent to the Romans that makes them decide to attack the village, thinking they cannot make magic potion.
Unfortunately, just before landing back in Gaul, Dubbelosix grabs hold of the waterskin of rock oil and, as he tries to force it open, Obelix, despite the objections of Asterix, leaps upon him, causing the waterskin to break open and send the oil into the sea; the first oil spill
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
in recorded history. Asterix has lost all hope, but when they come back to the village, they find the Gauls fighting Romans as merrily as ever. It turns out that Getafix has been able to substitute beetroot
Beetroot
The beetroot, also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet or informally simply as beet, is one of the many cultivated varieties of beets and arguably the most commonly encountered variety in North America, Central America and Britain.-Consumption:The usually deep-red roots of beetroot are...
juice for rock oil and thus produce more magic potion, it also tastes nicer. Asterix has a stroke when he realises that the journey has been for nothing.
All ends well for the Gauls; at their usual celebratory feast the crafty boars comment that the holidays are over. The Gauls send the bound and gagged Dubbelosix and Surreptitius back to Caesar in a gift-wrapped box. Caesar sends them to the Circus Maximus
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire...
as punishment for failure — with a new show added for a twist... they are covered in honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
and chased by bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
s
In other languages
- Catalan: L'odissea d'Astèrix
- Czech: Asterixova odysea
- Dutch: De odyssee van Asterix
- Finnish: Asterixin harharetket
- German: Die Odysee
- Greek: Η οδύσσεια του Αστερίξ
- Hebrew: אסטריקס וירושלים של זהב שחור
- Italian: L'Odissea di Asterix
- Norwegian: Asterix' Odysse
- Portuguese: A odisseia de Astérix
- Polish: Odyseja Asteriksa
- Serbian: Пустињска одисеја
- Spanish: La odisea de Astérix
- Turkish: Asteriks ve Kara Altın
- Swedish: Asterix på irrvägar