Asterix and Obelix volunteer to go fishing, as Getafix needs fresh fish, which Unhigienix, the fishmonger, as usual, cannot provide. No Romans again, unless you miss them, not a problem for me.įirst published in French in 1975 as La Grande Traversée, it was first published in English in 1976. This was a fun one, lots of puns, and jokes, also about Asterix and Obelix ending up as the first Europeans in North America, even before the Vikings.
The ending has Asterix explaining to Getafix that they went over the sea that way, to some "Long Island" and Getafix ponderously looking out to sea. There's a fight, and in the ruckus, the Gauls escape and manage to catch some fish on the way home. There's some fun Shakespeare puns, and the chief plans to sacrifice Asterix and Obelix to the Gods, until a slave discovers they're Gauls, not from the New World as thought. They all board the ship, and end up home in the land of Vikings, where the Chief is mad at Herendthelessen for going on a jaunty cruise while the rest were raiding villages. There's more miscommunication, and jokes about punctuation and accents and such, but only the dogs figure each other out. The Norsemen have great names, like: Herendthelessen, Haraldwilssen, Nogoodreassen, and Great Dane Huntingseassen.Īsterix stands atop a cairn of stones, with a torch and a cloth painting in his hand, meant as a Statue of Liberty reference (Which I'd NEVER caught until now) and the ship finds them.
Later on, they spy a ship, which we know, is full of Danes (or other Scandinavians, but given the nature of the jokes, I think Danish) looking for glory and discovery. They sneak out one night in a canoe, but it has a hole and they're forced to swim to an island. Obelix is to be wed to the chieftain's daughter, which he doesn't want. With a communication barrier, there's lots of sign language and miscommunication, until things smooth out. We later run into native Americans who take Asterix prisoner, and Obelix manages to find him (with the help of wonder dog Dogmatix). They find a floating branch, and grab it, to swim back to the close land.Īt first they think it's home, but then Obelix discovers turkeys in the woods, and later, a bear, which aren't native to Gaul at all. They happen across a ship, of course, the pirates, and it's the Captain's birthday, so there's a sumptuous feast ready, Obelix discovers, and after pleading by the Captain, Asterix and Obelix don't sink the ship, even leaving a sausage for the crew.Įventually things get worse, as they run out of food, have to drink rainwater, and Obelix gets loopy from lack of food, jumping out of the boat. Of course, they're not fishermen, or sailors really, and end up blown way out to sea in a storm. Druid and voice of wisdom Getafix says this is unacceptable, as he needs "reasonably" fresh fish for the magic potion that the villagers all use to keep the Romans (and otherĬhief Vitalstatistix is in a foul mood, as his shield bearers are both out with food poisoning from bad fish, sold by village fishmonger Unhygienix (The proof is in the name alone), and so is angry, and egged on by blacksmith, and shit disturber extraordinaire, Fulliautomatix, leading to one of our famous village brawls.ĭruid and voice of wisdom Getafix says this is unacceptable, as he needs "reasonably" fresh fish for the magic potion that the villagers all use to keep the Romans (and other threats) at bay.Īsterix offers to go fishing, and Obelix goes along for the ride. Chief Vitalstatistix is in a foul mood, as his shield bearers are both out with food poisoning from bad fish, sold by village fishmonger Unhygienix (The proof is in the name alone), and so is angry, and egged on by blacksmith, and shit disturber extraordinaire, Fulliautomatix, leading to one of our famous village brawls.