Asterix and the Goths

I think the Asterix comics were all stand-alone stories. At least I never thought there was any sort of continuity in the series. But as things kick off here we have Panoramix heading into the Forest of the Carnutes for the annual druid convention, which is an event that had been foreshadowed in the previous volume, Asterix and the Golden Sickle. What set the ball rolling in that story was that Panoramix had broken his sickle just before the meeting of druids in the Forest of Carnutes. So it does feel like there’s a shared timeline in place.

There’s a lot of plot stuff here that already had become established. Like Asterix and Obelix letting themselves get captured and then turning the tables on their captors. What I found most interesting though was the way the Goths (broadly: Germans) are among the few non-Romans in the series to be presented in an almost entirely negative light. I’m guessing there’s some political-historical stuff going on there, especially when they’re wearing Pickelhaube and their standards have a Nazi colour to them. Gauls vs. Goths is French vs. Germans, and this time the French get to win.

Graphicalex