Asterix and the Griffin (2021)

Asterix and the Griffin Review

Asterix and the Griffin is the 39th volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written and illustrated by Jean-Yves Ferri and Didier Conrad. It’s one of the better modern entries in the series.

Asterix and Obelix travel to the Sarmatian territory to try to prevent the Romans from finding the mythical griffin. In this installment, the series went back to the travelogue format, which did wonders for this entry in making it more adventurous. Sarmatia is in modern-day Russia and Ukraine, which instantly made it an intriguing, fresh new country for our Gauls to visit.

The snowy landscapes in this book are truly gorgeous. Once again Conrad stole the show from Ferri himself as his illustration work is impeccable here. Those half-page panels that he always employs are just as stunning as before and the designs of the horses are fantastic. The same goes for the Sarmatians, who all look terrific.

As for the story itself, it’s not great, but it is perfectly serviceable. The Sarmatians are fun and charming, but hardly developed as there are too many of these characters, thus none got a big enough role in the story. The biting humor from the Goscinny era is missing here and we are left with a simpler style of humor that still worked. In particular, Obelix was hilarious in this volume as he got more than a couple of very funny moments with these people and their customs.

Dogmatix stole the show in one of his better roles in the series. Seeing him reach his animalistic prime with these wolves was both funny and instantly unforgettable. My main issue with this volume is how the Romans were uninteresting and how the final twist about the griffin was anti-climactic and so disappointing. But as an adventure, this one worked fairly well and it was almost timeless in that regard.

Asterix and the Griffin has its flaws – the ending is anti-climactic and the supporting characters did not get a lot to do here. However, this is still a largely successful volume in the series thanks to breathtaking illustrations, an interesting new location for our Gauls to visit and a healthy dose of endearing humor.

My Rating – 3.9