Asterix and the Missing Scroll
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''Asterix and the Missing Scroll'' (, "
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, 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 Caes ...
's
Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
") is the 36th 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 ...
comics series, and the second 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 ...
. A central theme is censorship and the battle over information. The title alludes to
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 ...
's classic book, ''
Commentarii de Bello Gallico ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (; en, Commentaries on the Gallic War, italic=yes), also ''Bellum Gallicum'' ( en, Gallic War, italic=yes), is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Ca ...
'' (Commentaries on the
Gallic War The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...
). The comic adds a fictitious Chapter 24 titled "Defeats at the Hands of the Indomitable Gauls of Armorica".


Plot

Caesar has completed writing his ''Commentaries on the Gallic War'', but his publisher, Libellus Blockbustus, encourages him to omit Chapter 24 on "Defeats at the Hands of the Indomitable Gauls of Armorica", fearing it would besmirch the Roman leader's curriculum vitae. A mute Numidian scribe, Bigdhata, steals a copy of the chapter and gives it to the journalist Confoundtheirpolitix (a parody of
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...
), who in turn passes it on to the village of indomitable Gauls. Chief Vitalstatistix is unfazed by the lie that all Gaul has been conquered by the Romans, but his wife Impedimenta urges him to campaign for the truth. Since the Gauls have, unlike the Greeks and Romans, no skills in reading and writing, the druid Getafix (accompanied by Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix) travels to the sacred forest of the
Carnutes The Carnutes or Carnuti (Gaulish: 'the horned ones'), were a Gallic tribe dwelling in an extensive territory between the Sequana (Seine) and the Liger (Loire) rivers during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Carn ...
to meet his former teacher, Archaeopterix, who will then pass on the truth by word of mouth to future generations. The true story eventually reaches René Goscinny and
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 ...
in a French cafe in modern times, who publish the censored tales in comic books as the Asterix adventures.


Caricatures

The official Asterix site notes there are several caricatures of celebrities in the book. * The newsmonger character Confoundtheirpolitix was inspired by and resembles
Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...
. Jean-Yves Ferri said the character was almost called Wikilix in reference to
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...
. Like Assange, Confoundtheirpolitix "makes use of the most modern networks to spread the news, and is something of a worry to the powerful in the Known World". The colors of his clothes resemble those of another reporter,
Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
, while the name is a reference to the
British national anthem "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, but ...
. * Caesar's publisher Libellus Blockbustus resembles French advertising magnate Jacques Seguela, but Ferri said the character is actually based on presidential advisers
Henri Guaino Henri Guaino (born 11 March 1957) is a French speechwriter and politician who served as the member of the National Assembly (France), National Assembly for the Yvelines's 3rd constituency, 3rd constituency of Yvelines from 2012 to 2017. A membe ...
and Patrick Buisson, who both worked for former French president
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
. * Film director
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
is caricatured as an unnamed falconer among the entourage of Libellus Blockbustus. This is a tribute to Hitchcock as the director of '' The Birds''. * French actor Jean Réno appears as a soldier in Libellus Blockbustus's special unit tasked to retrieve the scroll. * French journalist
Franz-Olivier Giesbert Franz-Olivier Giesbert (born January 18, 1949, in Wilmington, Delaware) is an American-born French journalist, author, and television presenter. Giesbert worked for ''Le Figaro'' from 1988 to 2000 and for '' Le Point'' starting in 2000. In 2013 ...
is caricatured as the white-haired critic of ''Mundus.''


Notes

* The whistleblower character Bigdhata is an allusion to
Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...
and Chelsea Manning. * ''Asterix and the Missing Scroll'' had an initial print-run of about 4 million copies, half in French and the other half in other languages. It was France's top-selling book of 2015, with more than 1.6 million copies sold. * This book was the final Asterix book to be translated by long-time translator Anthea Bell, who was forced to retire due to illness in 2016. * Anachronistix's pipe makes tweeting sounds and is accompanied by small blue birds, in an apparent reference to
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
.


Reception

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 ...
, ''Asterix and the Missing Scroll'' has a score of 3.69 out of 5.


References


External links


Official site in English
{{Asterix Missing Scroll, Asterix and the 2015 graphic novels Works about censorship Historical revisionism in fiction