Asterix in Spain (1969)

Asterix in Spain Review

Asterix in Spain is the fourteenth volume of the Asterix comic strip series that was written by Rene Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo. It was published in 1969 and it is one of the weakest entries in the series.

The brave Iberians are holding out against Julius Caesar. When Chief Huevos y Bacon’s son is taken hostage, it is up to the Gauls to take him home to his father while they encounter various adventures on the road. This is another travelogue, but it’s the worst one so far and even weaker than ‘Asterix and the Banquet’. That is because it is so concerned with Spanish references and this setting that Goscinny forgot to tell a strong story.

Pepe is very annoying. This kid is quite obnoxious and it is difficult to care for the brat. The only good thing regarding him is his dynamic with the main duo, Dogmatix and even Cacofonix as he likes his music, which amusingly makes the musician so happy. The chief character has a hilarious name that is among the best ones so far, but the character himself left a lot to be desired. Asterix and Obelix themselves are pretty good here, but they don’t get that many memorable moments this time around.

Asterix in Spain is gorgeously illustrated by Uderzo, I have to give it that. Hispania looks splendid and meticulously detailed while the final section is filled with so many colorful images where a lot happened in the background. The dialogue is also solid and the book begins and ends well, but the entire middle part was quite weak. The humor is okay at first with the Spanish words mixed with English in a very funny way, but then the references became too obvious with the bull and the Don Quixote moments being particularly lazy.

Asterix in Spain is at the end of the day quite a disappointing volume. It looks great and it has its memorable moments, but for the most part the humor and the plot were not up to the previous stories’ standard.

My Rating – 3.5