Ode to Asterix & Obelix
Growing up during an era when WWW stood for ‘World War
Warplanes’, comics were our life line. Phantom, Flash Gordon, Archie and
Asterix were part of our lives from child hood days. Even today, I treasure my
collection of their fabled episodes and may have read them over and over again
– a zillion times, and will continue to do so in the
future.
So, when I saw ‘Asterix & Obleix’s Birthday’, which my
daughter had picked up recently, I was almost transported back in time and was
drooling to sit down with that book for a few hours immediately. However, with
priorities redefined over the passage of time, I set aside a couple of hours on
Sunday for the same.
I must admit, the few hours on Sunday were a letdown. Maybe
my expectations were too high, maybe the big gap between Goscinny’s death and
the recent launch by Uderzo, had worsened the critic in me, or simply, father
time, which had caught up with the great Asterix and Obelix in the first
chapter of this book, had etched out a stereotyped imaginative expectation,
from my heroes. Whatever it was, the zing or the thrill of an Asterix adventure
was all at bay.
Actually, I did not really find an adventure at all, leave
alone a plot or a story, which my heroes excel and thrive being in the midst
of. It was so Un-Asterix like. The great details of the frame like the
expression of even the insignificant characters like - the hen, flies and worms were
gone, the wonderful researched info about Gauls, woven intricately into a
portrayal of their customs, traditions were missing. Instead, the modern ideas,
like Obelix on the ramp in Outfits ranging from a Bronx guy to a Pony tailed
wimp were simply out of place. The guide pages, which occupies half the book
was pathetic to say the least and if it was aimed at being funny, it really was
the thought of putting the guide in, which eventually was.
As a die-hard fan of Asterix and Obelix I do think that
Uderzo is better off, living on his past glory than going down history as one
who started a great cult, but swamped it all in his final years without his
partner. I hope he will not write another Asterix book, on these lines again,
and if he does, the final nail in the coffin of a great set of characters would
have been driven.
There are a set of frames in the book on Page 8, which
actually sum up my feelings nicely. “Life loses its sparkle – as time goes by”
– mumbles Obelix in a down the dumps mood, when Getafix introduces the man
responsible for the 50 years of ageing – Uderzo, in a coat and suit, so out of
place in the story. The reaction of Obelix is what sums this up perfectly . . .
. THWACK !!!!! and Uderzo is history . . . .
