Obelix and Co. - Cultural References

Cultural References

• The character of Preposterus is a parody of French politician Jacques Chirac, who was, at that time, Prime Minister under President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, and was himself President of the Republic from 1995 to 2007.

• Laurel and Hardy make an appearance as Roman legionaries when they are ordered to unload the menhirs from Obelix's cart.

• When, on page 2, the Romans leave the camp, two of the legionaries are carrying a drunk on a shield. The bearers are Goscinny and Uderzo themselves and the drunk is their friend Pierre Tchernia.

• In this story, camp life for the Roman legionaries is shown as very undisciplined. In other Asterix adventures they are usually clean-shaven and well-organised, but here the men's faces are covered in stubble and life is easy-going to the point of anarchy. This laxity is reflected in the watchtower guard who becomes increasingly dishevelled with every appearance.

• Page 36 of this book was the 1000th page of Asterix. It is the page in which Preposterus uses a number of stone tablets in order to explain his strategy of selling menhirs to an increasingly bemused Caesar. This panel had been hailed as a remarkable explanation of modern commerce and advertising.

• Moreover, there is a small panel with the Roman numeral M and below a tiny Latin text saying 'Albo notamba lapillo'. It should read 'Albo notanda lapillo' (which means "To be noted on a white stone", appropriate given the subject of the story), but it is purposely misspelled: "notamba" is a pun in the French for footnote, une "note en bas" (i.e. a "note at the bottom"), which is what the panel is...

• Getafix's comment on page 30 "And the funny thing is, we still don't know what menhirs are for!" refers to the fact that modern archeologists and historians are uncertain what purpose they served.

• The "Egyptian menhir" advertised in Rome is an obelisk, similar to Cleopatra's Needle.