Asterix and the Soothsayer (Le Devin) | |
---|---|
Date | 1975 |
Series | Asterix |
Creative team | |
Writers | Rene Goscinny |
Artists | Albert Uderzo |
Original publication | |
Date of publication | 1972 |
Language | French |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | Asterix and the Laurel Wreath |
Followed by | Asterix in Corsica |
Asterix and the Soothsayer (French : Le Devin, "The Diviner") is the nineteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). [1] It was originally serialized in Pilote issues 652-673 in 1972. [2]
Frightened by a thunderstorm, the Gauls — with the exception of Getafix, who is at his annual druid meeting — are huddled in the chief's hut, when they are visited by a soothsayer, called Prolix, who predicts that "when the storm is over, the weather will improve" and additionally predicts a fight (caused by the villagers' habitual argument over the over-ripeness of fish sold by fishmonger Unhygienix). Asterix alone correctly identifies the soothsayer as a charlatan.
Upon Prolix's departure, the chief's wife Impedimenta preserves him in hiding near the village, where she and the other villagers question him at will; forbidding only Asterix and Obelix. Later, Obelix eludes Impedimenta and, upon encountering Prolix, chases him up a tree. Prolix diverts him by claiming to see a vision of a beautiful woman who loves warriors matching Obelix's description. Obelix returns to the village and almost instantly falls for Mrs. Geriatrix. Prolix meanwhile is arrested by an optio, who brings Prolix before the centurion (Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus) of the Roman camp Compendium, who decides to use the imposter's persuasive skills against the Gauls. Upon Impedimenta's discovery of Asterix near Prolix's camp, consternation spreads among the villagers on grounds of a threatened sacrilege. At the Romans' behest, Prolix returns, claiming dramatically that soon the air in the village will become polluted by a divine curse. Terrified, most of the villagers flee to a nearby island for the curse to exhaust itself, while Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix stay behind.
The Romans soon arrive to claim the village, while Asterix and Obelix hide in the undergrowth. Getafix returns from his conference, and upon hearing of the situation, turns Prolix's ruse against him by creating and spreading a foul-smelling mixture of gasses. These expel the Romans, Prolix, and Cacofonix the Bard, who returns to the other Gauls on the island to confirm Prolix's prophecy. Prolix himself is perplexed by this confirmation, while the Centurion sends word to Caesar that "all of Gaul is now conquered"; and hoping to become dictator himself, he has the soothsayer tell him exaggerated stories of the luxuries emperors enjoy. Getafix, Asterix and Obelix join the other villagers on the island, where Getafix reveals he created the "foul air" that expelled the Romans; but Impedimenta and the other women remain convinced Prolix was genuine, on grounds of his having flattered them in earlier predictions. Asterix therefore determines to take the soothsayer by surprise and thus prove him fallible.
To this end, the Gaulish men and women attack the Roman camp together; and when Centurion Voluptuous Arteriosclerosus demands to know why Prolix did not warn him of this, the latter admits his ignorance. Convinced of the soothsayer's fraudulence, Impedimenta beats him and Arteriosclerosus. Returning to the village, the Gauls meet Bulbus Crocus, an envoy of Julius Caesar's, come to confirm Arteriosclerosus's claim that the village is conquered, and expel him. In the Roman camp, Crocus demotes Arteriosclerosus from a Centurion to a common soldier, who is then commanded by the Optio (who he used to be in charge of) to clean the camp alone. Prolix is expelled from the camp, swears to give up soothsaying, and is driven away by a thunderstorm. The Gaulish village is soon at peace, with the exception of Cacofonix, who still daydreams of himself as a famous singer.
In 1989, the book was adapted into the inaccurately-named Asterix and the Big Fight , which encompassed only a few plot elements from the book it was actually named after.
Part of the plot was also used in the first live-action Asterix film, Asterix and Obelix vs Caesar .
Asterix and the Great Divide is the twenty-fifth volume of the Asterix comic book series. First published in French in 1980, it was translated into English in 1981. It is the first Asterix adventure to be written by illustrator Albert Uderzo, following the death of Asterix co-creator and writer René Goscinny in 1977.
Asterix the Gaul is the first volume of the Asterix comic strip series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). In Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century, a 1999 poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde, Asterix the Gaul was listed as the 23rd greatest book of the 20th century.
Asterix at the Olympic Games is the 12th comic book album in the Asterix series. Serialized in Pilote issues 434–455 in 1968, it was translated into English in 1972. The story satirizes performance-enhancing drug usage in sports.
Asterix and the Goths is the third volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first published in 1963 in French and translated into English in 1974.
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Asterix the Gladiator is the fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was first serialized in the magazine Pilote, issues 126–168, in 1962.
The Twelve Tasks of Asterix is a 1976 English/French animated feature film based on the Asterix comic book series, and the third in the animated franchise. René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, the creators of the series, wrote the story and directed the film themselves; with co-direction by Pierre Watrin and the screenplay co-written by Pierre Tchernia, a friend of Goscinny and Uderzo. The film was directed, produced and animated at Goscinny and Uderzo's own animation studio, Studios Idéfix, and is the only Asterix animated film that used xerography, instead of traditional inkers. At the time of its release, the film received mixed reviews since its tone is more cartoony and frequently breaks the fourth wall. Nowadays, its reception is more favourable, with it often being cited as one of the best Astérix films, even reaching the status of a cult classic.
Asterix in Belgium is the twenty-fourth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (story) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations).
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Asterix and Caesar's Gift is the twenty-first volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It was the first Asterix adventure that was not published in serial form in Pilote magazine prior to its publication as a book.
The Mansions of the Gods is the seventeenth graphic novel of the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo and released in 1971. Originally released as a serial for the magazine Pilote, it was later made into a graphic novel, with an English translation released in 1973. The story focuses on Asterix and the Gauls attempting to thwart the latest Roman plan against them, when Caesar decrees that the forest surrounding them be converted into a new Roman colony for the wealthy.
Asterix and the Roman Agent is the fifteenth volume of the Asterix comic book series, by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations). It first appeared as a serial in Pilote magazine issues 531–552 in 1970 and was translated into English in 1972.
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Asterix and the Vikings is a 2006 Danish-French animated adventure film based on the French comic book series Asterix, written by Stefan Fjeldmark and Jean-Luc Gossens, and directed by Fjeldmark and Jesper Møller. A loose adaptation of the story of the comic album Asterix and the Normans, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo, the plot follows Asterix and Obelix trying to train the nephew of their village's chief, only to find themselves rescuing him from a tribe of vikings who believe him to be a Champion of Fear.
Asterix and the Big Fight is a 1989 French animated film directed by Philippe Grimond and produced by Yannick Piel. It is the film based on the Asterix comic series to being a co-production between France and Germany. Despite sharing the same title as Asterix and the Big Fight, the film shares only minor plot elements with that story, and is primarily an adaptation of Asterix and the Soothsayer. In the film, Getafix is accidentally made insane and amnesic by Obelix, forcing Asterix to try to cure him as his village is deceived by a fraudulent soothsayer that works for the Romans.
Asterix the Gaul is a 1967 Belgian/French animated film, the first in a franchise, based on the comic book of the same name, which was the first book in the highly popular comic series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. The film closely follows the book's plot.
Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar is a 1999 French-Italian-German comedy fantasy adventure film directed by Claude Zidi, the first installment in the Asterix film series based on Goscinny and Uderzo's Astérix comics. The film combines plots of several Astérix stories, mostly Asterix the Gaul, Asterix and the Soothsayer, Asterix and the Goths, Asterix the Legionary and Asterix the Gladiator but jokes and references from many other albums abound, including a humorous exchange between Caesar and Brutus taken from Asterix and Cleopatra, and the villain Lucius Detritus is based on Tullius Detritus, the main antagonist of Asterix and the Roman Agent.
Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book is the thirty-fourth album of the Asterix comic book series, designed and written by Albert Uderzo. The book also includes Asterix stories which were created jointly with René Goscinny. The album, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the creation of the series, was released on 22 October 2009.
Asterix and the White Iris is the 40th book in the Asterix series, the first to be written by Fabcaro, and the sixth to be illustrated by Didier Conrad. It was published on October 26, 2023.