{"id":28963,"date":"2023-11-27T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=28963"},"modified":"2023-11-24T18:14:43","modified_gmt":"2023-11-24T18:14:43","slug":"asterix-and-the-griffin-volume-39","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/11\/27\/asterix-and-the-griffin-volume-39\/","title":{"rendered":"Asterix and the Griffin (volume 39)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Jean-Yves<\/strong> Ferri <\/strong>& Didier Conrad<\/strong>, coloured by Thierry M<\/strong>\u00e9<\/strong>barki<\/strong>, translated by Adriana Hunter <\/strong>(Sphere)
\nISBN: 978-0-7515-8398-4 (Album HB) eISBN: 978-0-7515-8397-7<\/p>\n

Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Seasonal Sensations with Gallic Chill\u2026 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whoops! Missed one!<\/em><\/p>\n

As we saw a few days ago, Asterix le Gaulois<\/strong><\/em> has been around, amazing and amusing the planet since 1959 and become part of the fabric of French life. His exploits have touched billions of people all around the world.<\/p>\n

For five and a half decades and for almost all of that time his astounding adventures were the sole preserve of originators Ren\u00e9 Goscinny and\/or Albert Uderzo.<\/p>\n

After nearly 15 years dissemination as weekly serials before invariably collected into book-length compilations, in 1974 the 21st<\/sup> saga – Asterix and Caesar\u2019s Gift<\/strong> – was the first to be released as a complete, original album prior to serialisation. Thereafter each new tome was an eagerly anticipated, impatiently awaited treat for legions of devotees. The eager anxiety hadn\u2019t diminished any when Uderzo\u2019s handpicked replacements – scripter Jean-Yves Ferri (Fables Autonomes<\/em>, La Retour \u00e0 la terre<\/em>) and illustrator Didier Conrad (Les Innomables<\/em>, L\u2019Avatar,<\/em> Le Pi\u00e8ge Malais<\/em>, Tatum<\/em>) – settled into the creative role on his retirement in 2009.<\/p>\n

Whether an action-packed comedic romp with sneaky, bullying baddies getting their just deserts or a sly satire for older-if-no-wiser heads, these new yarns are just as engrossing as the established canon. As you already know, half of the epics take place in exotic locales throughout the Ancient World, whilst the alternating rest are set in and around Uderzo\u2019s adored Brittany where, circa 50 BC, a little hamlet of cantankerous, proudly defiant warriors and their families resist every effort of the mighty Roman Empire to complete the conquest of Gaul. This one\u2019s solidly of the former variety as our major cast members make it all the way to \u201cbarbaricum\u201d: literally beyond the known world\u2026<\/p>\n

Although divided by its Roman conquerors into provinces Celtica<\/em>, Aquitania<\/em> and Armorica<\/em>, the very tip of the last-named region stubbornly refuses to be properly pacified. Utterly unable to overrun this last little bastion of Gallic insouciance, the otherwise supreme Roman overlords are reduced to a pointless policy of absolute containment – even though the irksome Gauls come and go as they please\u2026<\/p>\n

Thus, a tiny seaside hamlet is permanently hemmed in by heavily fortified garrisons Totorum<\/em>, Aquarium<\/em>, Laudanum<\/em> and Compendium<\/em>, filled with veteran fighters who would rather be anywhere else on earth than there. The residents couldn\u2019t care less: daily defying, frustrating and often terrorising the world\u2019s greatest military machine by going about their everyday affairs, bolstered by magic potion brewed by resident druid Getafix<\/em> and the shrewd wits and strategic aplomb of diminutive dynamo Asterix\u2026 and his simplistic, supercharged best friend Obelix<\/em>. And their dog\u2026<\/p>\n

In Rome, Julius Caesar<\/em> is in need of a diversion for his sensation seeking subjects, so when geographer Cartographus<\/em> claims to have discovered a fabled griffin, the Emperor funds a huge expedition to capture it via legions of soldiers and engineers. The beast resides far to the east in the icy Sarmatian wastes, but the scholar is convinced he can snare it as he has captured a Sarmatian Amazon woman to guide them. Terrifying and seductive, Kalashnikova<\/em> only sees a chance to return home\u2026<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the frozen lands under discussion have welcomed some familiar friends as Asterix, Obelix and canine wonder Dogmatix<\/em> escort a very ill (no, no, it\u2019s just a cold, really!) Getafix to the yurt of Fanciakuppov<\/em>. That cheery shaman had visions of Roman invaders stealing his people\u2019s sacred animal, so his old druid pal has brought a keg of magic potion to resist the incursion. There are, however, a couple of snags\u2026<\/p>\n

Firstly, the tribe is proudly matriarchal, with powerful warrior women doing all the fighting. They do it fantastically well, and don\u2019t need help from foreigners – no matter how attractive they might be! – or magic. It\u2019s a good thing too, as local conditions soon render the potion useless and Asterix has to rely on his brains and his giant pal\u2019s innate brawn\u2026<\/p>\n

The big guy is quite distracted. Primarily by Dogmatix running away to become a wolf, but also by the obvious attentions of some of the amorous Amazons\u2026<\/p>\n

The Roman expedition is led by seasoned centurion Intrepidus<\/em>, and Cartographus (who naturally has a secret agenda in play) has brought along famed venator (animal-fighting gladiator) Vainglorius<\/em>, as a specialist to tame the griffin when they find it.<\/p>\n

Army morale is low: the commanders squabble constantly, these lands are gloomy, frozen cold, steeped in legends and packed with people and things trying to kill them. Worst of all, when they should be building forts to secure their supply lines, the men are instead fighting each other for the right to guard the prisoner. Aloof, beautiful Kalashnikova disdains and discards them all\u2026 and they love it.<\/p>\n

When the military monsters capture Fanciakuppov, he is forced to lead the smug raiders to the secret abode of the griffin, but thanks to the hit-&-run tactics of the Gaul-enhanced war women their numbers are so severely depleted, no one thinks they\u2019ll make it back to sunnier climes\u2026<\/p>\n

The mission ends in spectacular failure but they do all get to see the fabulous beast before they die\u2026<\/p>\n

Packed with hilarious action, genuine chills, potent punning and cartooning delights, this tale provides plenty of pokes at fake news, current affairs, conspiracy theories, a certain global retail\/delivery brand, and lands many wry jabs at all sides of the battle of the sexes and role of women in societies ancient and modern.<\/p>\n

Asterix and the Griffin <\/strong>is a sure win and another triumphant addition to the magically mythic Gaulish oeuvre for laugh-seekers in general and all devotees of comics.
\nOriginal edition \u00a9 2021 Les \u00c9ditions Albert Ren\u00e9. English translation: \u00a9 2021 Les \u00c9ditions Albert Ren\u00e9. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jean-Yves Ferri & Didier Conrad, coloured by Thierry M\u00e9barki, translated by Adriana Hunter (Sphere) ISBN: 978-0-7515-8398-4 (Album HB) eISBN: 978-0-7515-8397-7 Win\u2019s Christmas Gift Recommendation: Seasonal Sensations with Gallic Chill\u2026 9\/10 Whoops! Missed one! As we saw a few days ago, Asterix le Gaulois has been around, amazing and amusing the planet since 1959 and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Asterix and the Griffin (volume 39)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,183,113,290,214,122,66,111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-asterix","category-comedy","category-dinosaurs","category-european","category-historical","category-horror-stories","category-satirepolitics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7x9","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28965,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28963\/revisions\/28965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}