Asterix The Gaul

The story begins, as all of Asterixƒ??s adventures do, by invoking the state of Gaul at the time ƒ?? occupied by the Romans, though not entirely. The one small village of indomitable Gauls still holding out against the invaders is slowly zoomed into. In this first ever adventure, the Romans, led by Centurion Crismus Bonus attempt to figure out what gave the Gauls their superhuman strength. They find that the secret lies in a potion brewed by their fearsome (yet rather fatherly) druid, Getafix. This leads them to their first ever attempt to capture the venerable druid, which they manage to do without a snag, at least initially.

The druid is captured and tortured until the torturer is utterly exhausted and stunned by the resistance of Getafix to his methods. Instead, they capture Asterix, who had caught wind of the Romansƒ?? scheme and snuck into their camp, and try to torture him instead, which works brilliantly ƒ?? so brilliantly that the torturer hardly had to tie him down before the Gaulish warrior began to beg for mercy. This forces Getafix to comply with the Romansƒ?? demand to brew his secret potion for them and goes on to give them an elaborate list of ingredients. But what exactly will the druid concoct? Will it be his famous magic potion or do Asterix and Getafix have other tricks up their sleeves?

Asterix The Gaul was named the twenty third most influential book of the twentieth century by the magazine Le Monde. It was first serialized in the French comic magazine Pilote before it was compiled into the well known first volume. Despite many inconsistencies in drawing and characterizations, this book is a fitting start to the beloved Asterix series.