Asterix and the Chieftain's Daughter (French: ''La Fille de Vercingétorix'', "The Daughter of Vercingetorix") is the 38th book in the

Asterix ''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

, and the fourth to be written by

Jean-Yves Ferri Jean-Yves Ferri () (born 20 April 1959) is a French writer, designer, and colourist of comics. On 25 July 2011, he was chosen as the writer for the next installment of the Asterix series created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Uderzo person ...

and illustrated by

Didier Conrad Didier Conrad (born 6 May 1959) is a French comics artist and writer. Since 2012, he has been the artist of the popular ''Asterix'' series. Biography Beginnings Didier Conrad was born in Marseille of parents originally from Switzerland. He dev ...

. The book was released worldwide in more than 20 languages on 24 October 2019 with an initial print run of over 5 million copies. It is the final Asterix book to be released during the lifetime of the series' co-creator

Albert Uderzo Alberto Aleandro Uderzo (; ; 25 April 1927 – 24 March 2020), better known as Albert Uderzo, was a French comic book artist and scriptwriter. He is best known as the co-creator and illustrator of the ''Astérix'' series in collaboration with Re ...

, who died on 24 March 2020.

Plot

One evening, the Gaulish village is visited by two

Arverni The Arverni (Gaulish: *''Aruernoi'') were a Gallic people dwelling in the modern Auvergne region during the Iron Age and the Roman period. They were one of the most powerful tribes of ancient Gaul, contesting primacy over the region with the ne ...

chieftains, Monolithix and Sidekix, who were lieutenants to

Vercingetorix Vercingetorix (; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ; – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. Despite h ...

up to the fateful battle of Alesia and thus good acquaintances of Vitalstatistix. They have brought Vercingetorix's daughter Adrenalin, who wears her father's

torc A torc, also spelled torq or torque, is a large rigid or stiff neck ring in metal, made either as a single piece or from strands twisted together. The great majority are open at the front, although some had hook and ring closures and a few had ...

, a symbol of Gaulish resistance.

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

has learned of her existence and wants her taken

captive Captive or Captives may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Captive'' (1980 film), a sci-fi film, starring Cameron Mitchell and David Ladd * ''Captive'' (1986 film), a British-French film starring Oliver Reed * ''Captive'' (1991 ...

and re-educated to Roman ways. The Arverni chieftains ask Vitalstatistix to keep Adrenalin safe until they can relocate her to Britain, where the Romans will not expect to find her. Vitalstatistix agrees to protect the girl, assigning

and

Obelix Obelix (; french: Obélix) is a cartoon character in the French comic book series ''Asterix''. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his obesity, the menhirs he carries around on his bac ...

as her minders. Rebellious and strong-willed, Adrenalin quickly wearies of the village's adults and befriends the younger generation, particularly Selfipix and Blinix, the eldest sons of

Fulliautomatix This is a list of characters in the ''Asterix'' comics. Main characters Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix are the first characters with short descriptions usually listed at the beginning of each of the ''Asterix'' books (after the map of Gaul). They ...

and Unhygienix respectively. She decides to abscond from her role as a figurehead of war, and her new friends help her sneak out of the village. A Gaulish traitor named Binjwatchflix has tracked down Adrenalin and put the surrounding Roman garrisons on alert. During the chaotic search between the Gauls, the Romans and Binjwatchflix for her, Adrenalin encounters two of the pirates collecting fresh water and, to Redbeard's consternation, attempts to commandeer their ship in order to sail to

Thule Thule ( grc-gre, Θούλη, Thoúlē; la, Thūlē) is the most northerly location mentioned in ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek and Latin literature, Roman literature and cartography. Modern interpretations have included Orkney, Shet ...

to live her life in peace. Asterix and Obelix spot the pirate ship and take up pursuit, along with Selfipix, Blinix and

Dogmatix Dogmatix () is a fictional white terrier dog who is a companion to Obelix in the ''Asterix'' comics. Dogmatix is a pun on the words dog and dogmatic. In the original French, his name is ''Idéfix'', itself a pun on the French expression '' idée ...

. Additionally, Binjwatchflix has stowed away on the pirate ship. In a rapid sequence of events, the Gauls and pirates are forced to contend with Adrenalin's stubbornness and a Roman galley attacking them. Amid the fighting, Binjwatchflix grabs the girl and the torc and entrenches himself on the pirate ship's lookout post. Obelix rips out the mast, causing the ship to sink and dropping Binjwatchflix and Adrenalin into the sea. Upon climbing into the Gauls' boat, Binjwatchflix is bitten by Dogmatix, causing him to drop the torc into the ocean. He then jumps overboard to swim to safety but is followed by a shark, leaving his fate in doubt. Back in the village, Adrenalin defies Monolithix and Sidekix, wishing to be no part of their rebellion. The Arverni soon find that one of their warriors is wearing Vercingetorix's ceremonial helmet and make him the new figurehead of their resistance. After giving her blessing to Asterix's village as Vercingetorix's true successors, Adrenalin departs for Thule with a young shipmaster named Peacenix. They eventually end up with some multi-ethnic children at a tropical island.

Notes

*Details of the book were announced at a press conference on 10 April 2019 at Parc Asterix. Writer Ferri described the titular character as a typically rebellious teenager but with the temperament of her famous father. A theme of the book is dealing with adolescence. "Adolescence is finding one's way, despite one's parents", said Ferri. *This album is the second instance following ''

Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield ''Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield'' (, "The Arvernian Shield") is the eleventh volume in the Asterix comic book series, written by René Goscinny and drawn by Albert Uderzo. It was originally published as a serial in Pilote issues 399–421 in ...

'' in which the Gauls demonstrate their shame over the defeat at Alesia, here symbolized by their general reluctance to say the name of Vercingetorix aloud. *After a 38-year absence, the Phoenician trader Ekonomikrisis makes a cameo appearance as a recent victim of the Pirates. *Peacenix, on whose ship Monolithix and Sidekix returned to Gaul, at one point quotes from ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'' by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. *One of the pirates is a caricature of

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

, who had died a year before the story's publication. *At the customary banquet at the end of the book, Cacofonix the bard is only playfully tied up by the village children, and left ungagged.

Reception

The book has a score of 3.47 on

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

References

{{Asterix 2019 graphic novels Depictions of Julius Caesar in comics Chieftain's Daughter Cultural depictions of Vercingetorix Nautical comics