Asterix NZ - Take a look Inside - "Asterix at the Olympic Games"

Take a look Inside

Background

English Title: Asterix at the Olympic Games
French Title: Asterix aux Jeux Olympiques
Asterix Book Number: 12
First Published: 1968
First Published in English: 1972
Written by: Rene Goscinny
Illustrated by: Albert Uderzo
Translated By: Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge

This book has had very clever marketing. It was originally published the same year as the Tokyo Olympics. It was published in English at the same time as the Munich Games. The revised English edition was published in 2004, again to coincide with the Athens Games.

Asterix at the Olympic Games deals with the subject of drug taking in such competitions - a problem that is of course still very relevant to readers today. Great foresight by the authors then!

Limited Edition Asterix aux Jeux Olympiques Cover

A live action movie Asterix at the Olympic Games, is currently in production and will be released in early 2008.

To mark the release, Uderzo drew a new cover for a limited release of the book. It features an upset Caesar walking away from a triumphant Asterix. Caesar does not "appear" in the original comic (but is heard in a speech bubble) however, his appearance on this cover can be seen as symbolic since Asterix undermines the glory of Caesar's athletes.

It is also a nod to the film, in which Caesar (played by Alain Delon) features heavily.

Plot

"The athletes of the ancient world assemble in Athens for the Olympic Games. Asterix and the Gauls enter too, but they're due for a setback. As an artificial stimulant, magic potion is banned. Can our friends win without it? And what's the special ingredient of the other potion, the one in the cauldron in the shed with the door that doesn't close properly?"

Take a look Inside

You can view Images from Asterix at the Olympic Games here.

Notable Characters
	Gluteus Maximus *What it means:* Gluteus Maximus - your buttock muscle *About:* Gluteus Maximus, with his sporting prowess and amazing physique is the star of the Roman Aquarium camp. It is on his soldiers that the Roman hope for a Gold Palm at the Olympic Games lie. He thinks he is "the greatest!" until he meets Asterix and Obelix!
	Centurion Gaius Veriambitius What it means: Very ambitious *About :* His name says it all really - he is very ambitious! He knows that if his legionary Gluteus Maximus wins at the Olympic Games he will be promoted by Julius Caesar to be a tribune. He wants to succeed at all costs, even if it means encouraging Maximus to cheat...

The Original Pilote Covers:

Look out for...

The first official appearance of Geriatrix - and does he make an impression!
A member of a woman's right movement
A Goscinny and Uderzo appearance
The Asterix at the Olympic Games Mistakes

Review

There are lots of things going for this book. Its topicality means every four years it is THE book to get, but the classic humour of the book still allows it to be read at all other times. For this reason it is one of the best selling Asterix books in English.

The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful. Uderzo obviously spent a large amount of time researching and drawing various Greek landmarks and it really shows. See page 23 for an example.

Since the book sees all the men of the village traveling to Greece, we have the opportunity to learn more about the secondary characters. Geriatrix is introduced for the first time here and the books will never be the same! Fulliautomatix's relationship with him is also introduced here.

The humour in this book is also wonderful. Goscinny really out did himself here. I especially like page 6 where the Gauls randomly discuss the best way to have mushrooms.

For these reasons, the book gets a well deserved:

Buy Asterix at the Olympic Games

Asterix at the Olympic Games