Asterix the Legionary is the tenth Asterix

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...

 book in the Asterix comic book series by Rene 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 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:...

. It was first published as a serial in Pilote

Pilote

thumb|Cover of the first Pilote teaser issue, #0.Pilote was a French comics periodical published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major French or Belgian comics talents of its day the magazine introduced major series such as Astérix le Gaulois, Blueberry, Achille Talon, and Valérian et...

magazine, issues 368-389, in 1966.

Synopsis

The book begins with a now familiar scene of the indomitable Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

s' village. Asterix 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...

 are setting off for a wild boar hunt when they pass a beautiful blond young lady by the name of Panacea who has been picking mushrooms. She has returned to the village after studying in Condatum

Rennes

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...

. Obelix immediately falls in love. After a few scenes of Obelix embarrassing himself, Panacea receives word that her fiancé Tragicomix has been conscripted into the Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 army and shipped to North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

. Asterix and Obelix promise Panacea that they will return Tragicomix to her, even though it breaks Obelix's heart.

Asterix and Obelix head for Condatum where they learn that Tragicomix has already left for Massilia, the Mediterranean port from which the soldiers depart. They then decide to enlist in the Roman army and end up training with Hemispheric, a Goth

Goths

The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....

; Selectivemploymentax, a Briton; Gastronomix, a Belgian

Belgae

The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...

; Neveratalos, a Greek

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

; and Ptenisnet, an Egyptian

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

 tourist who spends the entire book believing himself to be in a holiday camp

Holiday camp

Holiday camp, in Britain, generally refers to a resort with a boundary that includes accommodation, entertainment and other facilities.As distinct from camping, accommodation typically consisted of chalets – small buildings arranged either individually or in blocks. Some had three or four storeys,...

.

After completing training (which is rather relaxing for the conscripts while very stressful for the Centurion

Centurion

A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...

s), the newly formed unit sets off as reinforcements to Caesar who is fighting a losing campaign against a rival Roman faction headed by Caecilius Metellus Scipio

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica , in modern scholarship often as Metellus Scipio, was a Roman consul and military commander in the Late Republic. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and the senatorial faction led by Pompeius Magnus , he remained a staunch optimate...

 in alliance with Afranius

Lucius Afranius (consul)

Lucius Afranius was an ancient Roman legatus and client of Pompey the Great. He served with Pompey during his Iberian campaigns against Sertorius in the late 70s BC, and remained in his service right through to the Civil War. He died after the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC.-Early career:Lucius...

 and King Juba I of Numidia

Juba I of Numidia

Juba I of Numidia was a King of Numidia. He was the son and successor to King of Numidia Hiempsal II.- Family :...

. Asterix and Obelix soon find out that Tragicomix has gone missing in action

Missing in action

Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...

 after a skirmish.

Asterix and Obelix desert and set out to search for him, raiding Scipio's camp and successfully rescuing the young man. However, due to their actions Caesar and Scipio each believes that the other is attacking and they both prepare for battle. In the confusion that follows, Caesar achieves a great victory (the historical Battle of Thapsus

Battle of Thapsus

The Battle of Thapsus took place on April 6, 46 BC near Thapsus . The Republican forces of the Optimates, led by Quintus Caecillius Metellus Scipio, clashed with the veteran forces loyal to Julius Caesar.-Prelude:...

, 6 February 46 BC). The Gauls are cornered by Caesar, but released and sent home for the service they provided.

Panacea is reunited with Tragicomix and everybody is overjoyed. In gratitude, Panacea kisses both Asterix and Obelix. Obelix faints, and Asterix spends the customary banquet sitting on a tree, hopelessly in love as well.

Stereotypes

The Roman legionaries in Asterix's unit are all comic stereotypes of various nations.

• the hair of the Belgian legionary resembles that of the Belgian comic character Tintin
  Tintin (character)
  Tintin is a fictional character in The Adventures of Tintin, the series of classic Belgian comic books written and illustrated by Hergé. Tintin is the protagonist of the series, a reporter and adventurer who travels around the world with his dog Snowy....
  
  ;
• the Egyptian speaks only in hieroglyphics, and when giving his appreciation for the accommodation (he thinks the barracks is a hotel), he says them in the style of Michelin Guide
  Michelin Guide
  The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
  
  -style icons, such as stars, houses, and forks-and-knives;
• the Goths speak in a Gothic script
  Blackletter
  Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
  
   typeface and the pictures representing Gothic swear words have a Teutonic twist, e.g. when the Gaulish curse represented by a skull and crossbones is translated into Gothic, the skull is shown wearing a Pickelhaube
  Pickelhaube
  The Pickelhaube , also "Pickelhelm," was a spiked helmet worn in the 19th and 20th centuries by German military, firefighters, and police...
  
  ;
• the Greek says "by Zeus" a lot and speaks in a Greek-style typeface;
• just as in Asterix in Britain
  Asterix in Britain
  Asterix in Britain is the eighth in the Asterix comic book series. It was published in serial form in Pilote magazine, issues 307-334, in 1965, and in album form in 1966...
  
  the notoriously terrible British cuisine
  British cuisine
  English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, largely due to the importation of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China, and India...
  
   is referenced, when the British recruit is the only one to appreciate the horrible food served at mealtime at the Roman garrison. This may also be a reference to the British stereotype of eating and enjoying almost ANY cuisine, and maybe a reference to 70's school dinners, which were known to be horrible in the UK thanks to things like spam, thought to be an acronym for Something Posing As Meat.

Cultural references

When the pirates are first sunk, the ship's remains parody the 19th century painting The Raft of the Medusa. In the English version

English translations of Asterix

All Asterix stories by Goscinny and Uderzo which have been officially translated into English were translated by Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge. Their first volume was published by Brockhampton Press in 1969. However there have been some additional translations, one in English prior to the...

, the pirate captain even bemoans, "We've been framed, by Jericho", a pun on the artist Géricault.

Throughout the story the Egyptian makes comments in hieroglyphics about hairy body parts — this is based on child's game in France that involves repeating back a rhyme of whatever was last said in the form of "old hairy (body part)."

Film adaptation

Elements of the plot of this story were blended with Asterix the Gladiator

Asterix the Gladiator

Asterix the Gladiator is the fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo . It was first serialized in the magazine Pilote, issues 126-168, in 1962.-Plot summary:...

for the animated movie Asterix Versus Caesar

Asterix Versus Caesar

Asterix Versus Caesar is the first of the 1980s Asterix films and the fourth film adaption based on the Asterix comic books...

.