Asterix the Gladiator

Asterix the Gladiator (Astérix Gladiateur)
Cover of the English edition
Date	1969
Main characters	Asterix and Obelix
Series	Asterix
Publisher	Dargaud
Creative team
Writers	René Goscinny
Artists	Albert Uderzo
Original publication
Published in	Pilote magazine
Issues	126–168
Date of publication	1961–1962
Language	French
Translation
Publisher	Brockhampton Press
Translator	Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge
Chronology
Preceded by	Asterix and the Goths
Followed by	Asterix and the Banquet

Asterix the Gladiator (French: Astérix Gladiateur) is a French comic book story, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo, and published by Dargaud. It is the fourth story in the Asterix comic book series, and was originally published as a serial for Pilote magazine in 1962. The story focuses on Asterix and Obelix heading to Rome to rescue their village's bard, culminating in them infiltrating the gladiatorial games to do so.

The comic book received positive reviews, with many of the elements of the plot being used, in conjunction with elements from a later novel, Asterix the Legionary, for the 1985 animtated film Asterix Versus Caesar.

Plot summary

Prefect Odius Asparagus, while travelling around Gaul, makes a stop at the camp of Compendium in Armorica, whereupon he reveals he intends to gift Julius Caesar with one of the Gauls from the village that continues to resist Roman rule. Relunctantly, the camp's commander, Centurion Gracchus Armisurplus, agrees to aid him, and has his men kidnap Cacofonix the bard, who is deemed the easiest of the villagers to abduct, despite his bad singing. When the village is alerted to this by one of its young boys, the Gauls attack Compendium, only to learn from Armisurplus that the Prefect left for Rome in his galley before their assault.

Asterix and Obelix decide to go after them, and secure passage onboard a ship owned by Ekonomikrisis, a Phoenician merchant. Although he admits to them during the voyage he planned to sell them as slaves, he reveals he had a change of heart after the pair defeat a group of pirates from boarding them. In Rome, the pair meet a Gaulish chef named Instantmix, who invites them to his home later that day to discuss about Cacofonix. Spending time visiting the public baths of the city before the meeting, Asterix and Obelix unknowingly catch the interest of Caius Fatuous, trainer of the gladiators, who considers them perfect candidates for the upcoming games at the Circus Maximus and decides to have them captured. That night, Instantmix reveals to the pair that Cacofonix was presented to Caesar by Asparagus, only to wind up being imprisoned in the Circus to await being fed to the lions during the games.

The next day, the Gauls attempt to rescue Cacofonix but discover he was moved to a secure cell, mainly due to his singing proving problematic for the Romans. Deciding they need to enter the games in order to save him, Asterix and Obelix attempt to seek out Fatuous, and after unwittingly thwarting the trainer's men, present themselves to his gladiator school. Upon being sent for training, the pair irritate Fatouos by having the other gladiators take part in a guessing-game rather than in combat, before later forcing him to give them a guided tour of Rome. On the eve of the games, Asterix and Obelix visit Cacofonix in his cell, informing him they plan to free both him and the gladiators they met.

On the day of the games, Asterix and Obelix substitute themselves into a chariot race and win it with ease, while Cacofonix manages to frighten the lions when he makes his appearance through his singing. When Caesar, angered by this, orders the gladiators to begin their fight, he becomes infuriated when they instead perform the guessing-game the Gauls taught them. At Asterix's insistence, a cohort of Caesar's own guard fights them, only for Asterix and Obelix to defeat them, much to the delight of the audience. Surprised by their reaction, Caesar releases the Gauls and hands them Fatuous to be their prisoner. Journeying back to their village with Ekonomikrisis, Asterix makes the merchant promise to return Fatuous to Rome despite single-handly rowing his galley on the journey. Safely home, the villagers throw a banquet in honour of their latest adventure, though with Cacofonix bound and gagged as usual before he can sing a song for them.

Characters

• Asterix – Gaulish warrior, and the main protagonist of the story.
• Obelix – Gaulish menhir delivery man and warrior, and a close friend of Asterix.
• Getafix – Gaulish druid of the village, responsible for the superhuman magic potion they use.
• Vitalstatistix – Chief of the Gaulish village.
• Cacofonix – Gaulish bard of the village.
• Geriatrix – An elderly resident of the Gaulish village. In the story, he was mainly a minor character who was unnamed, but Goscinny and Uderzo later decided to flesh out the character for future novels regarding his life and his personality.
• Julius Caesar – Leader of the Roman Empire (based upon the historical version of the real-life Roman figure).
• Caius Fatuous – Trainer of gladiators for the arena, based in Rome.
• Odius Asparagus – A prefect sent by Rome to inspect Gaul.
• Gracchus Armisurplus – Current camp commander of Compendium.
• Ekonomikrisis – A Phoenician merchant, whom Asterix befriends on their journey to Rome.
• The Pirates – A group of pirates led by Captain Redbeard. The characters were designed as parodies of the characters from the French comic "Barbe-Rouge" which was also serialized in Pilote at the time. Goscinny and Uderzo later decided to include them in future novels, often being humilated by the Gauls directly or indirectly.

Reception

On Goodreads, Asterix the Gladiator has a score of 4.19 out of 5.

Adaptations

In 1985, Darguad produced an original animated film for the Asterix series, titled Asterix Versus Caesar. The film borrowed several key elements from Asterix the Gladiator, combining them with plot elements taken from Asterix the Legionary.

An English audiobook adaptation of the story was also published in 1988. The adaptation was done by Anthea Bell, with narration from Willie Rushton. The audibook was distributed by EMI Records under their Listen for Pleasure label.

External links

• Official English Website