“Oh! And one more thing….”
(Sorry Steve Jobs, for borrowing your line)
Apart from reliving all those memories from childhood – school friends, their parents, domestic help, mom’s sister… I did one more thing. Most of you in US will not be able to relate to this but one of our favorite comic books in India used to be Asterix. Originally written by Goscinny and illustrated by Uderzo (both from Belgium), this comic series is best appreciated with some knowledge of Shakespearian English and a rough idea about the Roman Empire. A little knowledge of Latin would make it perfect!
The puns are to die for!
“Vini, Vidi, Vibuci”, Julius Caesar exclaimed as he saw the tiny village of Gaul beat the heck out of his famed Roman army. If you are used to the “Vidi, Vidi, Vici – I came, I saw I conquered” line, there is a helpful translation of the line in the comic below the picture which reads – “I came, I saw, I could not believe my eyes”!!
Of course, how can one forget the nomenclature?
The Norman guys’ names always ended with “af” – Telegraf, Autograf, Timandahalf! The twin brothers on the ship? Firsthaf, Secondhaf!!!
The Romans’ (who were cast as villains) names always ended with “us” – commander of the army – Nefarius Purpus!!
And the indomitable Gauls had the “ix” suffix – Asterix, Obelix, the druid who made their potion – “Getafix”, the ironsmith of the village “Fuliautomatix”, the fish monger (who somehow always had rotten fish to sell) “Unhygenix”. The chief of the village? “Vitalstatistix”.
But the cream of the cream was the name of the wife of the chief of the village (who used to always nag him). Her name was simply “Impedimenta” 🙂
Managed to get the whole series of 36 comic books from India this time. (including the versions written by Ferri and illustrated by Conrad later). The suitcase was heavy as heck but it was totally worth it!!
Now you will excuse me if I do not surface for a few days.
(Vikram Das, we got to exchange notes sometime!!!)
Nice!!!
Hmm enlarged the picture and it appears I am missing a few of these, we should catch up and chat on these, nice collection. Well worth the weight of your suitcase.
I happen to have a few!
I thought Vini, Vidi…Were the original! That was the effect.
Uff uff ki lobhoniyo byapar! Ami kichu Bangla translation o portam…’Etashetamix’
I did not know they had a Bengali version. Etashetamix is very funny and original!!
Outstanding.
You are missing the most recent one – Asterix and the Chariot Race.
Ah!
Yes my all time favourite
Gasp! You forgot Dogmatix!!
I bought the set two years ago along with TinTin collection as well. Spent many summer evenings drowning in the comical episodes
I have the Tintin collection too. It is not as cerebral as Asterix. Although the twins Thompson and Thomson have their moments…. e.g. on the phone:
“Yes, Yes, this is Thompson with a “p” as in psychology” and the other one goes..
“And this is Thomson without a “p” as in Venezuela”
🙂
The most hilarious name, I thought, was Schizophrenix in Asterix and the Great Divide. 🙂
Too funny!
Ok, I need to borrow those when you’re done!
Loved Asterix
Loved Asterix.
Awesome
Rajib, would appreciate a writeup on TINTIN if you please…
I will have to get them next time … let me know how to do that
Let me know when you go to Kolkata. I will tell you.
Amazon has them too if you want a quick buy. They are in single(just like the ones we are used to) and 3-in-1 omnibus type (economical but I like the single better).
Asterix and TinTin – What great memories!
Great books! I was reading them in German – have to get the English experience
One thing about these comics – the guys who translate them are equally brilliant.
Added to the post:
While I did not mean this to be exhaustive set of names, Rupa and Jhinuk are absolutely right that I should have mentioned the bard “Cacofonix” (nice!!) and of course the dog – what else but “Dogmatix”.
On that front there was this really old guy in the village – “Geriatrix”. That was not the whole funny part. He had a very beautiful and young wife. Her name was “Panacea”!! Goscinny and Uderzo was nothing if not the funniest guys around!!
Nope. Panacea was a different character. Geriatrix’s wife didn’t have a name.
ah! I am mixed up then. Which means I have to start reading them!! Was panacea the girl Tragicomix was pursuing?
She was Soporifix’s daughter, engaged (and later married) to Tragicomix, but I believe Obelix had a semi-crush on her as well.
Tomar tulona tumi
And the mixologist – Fizzix …..
A critical portion of the success of this for me (since I cannot read French) is the absolutely fabulous translation done by Anthea Bell, here is an article from 2013. Another thing IMO is that since passing away of Goscinny (Belgium was the last they did together), the punch in the stories has declined heavily. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/16/anthea-bell-asterix-translator-interview
I figured your favorite name would be Marcus Ginandtonicus:)
Loved the Asterix and Obelix series, but Herge’s Tintin series was the cure-all for me!
Oh my favorites
Love the puns!
Love the asterix series.
Great reads growing up.. time to catch up again !