Asterix and the Actress

Asterix and the Actress (Asterix et Latraviata)
Date	2001
Series	Asterix
Creative team
Writers	Albert Uderzo
Artists	Albert Uderzo
Original publication
Date of publication	2001
Language	French
Chronology
Preceded by	Asterix and Obelix All at Sea
Followed by	Asterix and the Class Act

Asterix and the Actress is the 31st volume of the Asterix comic book series, written and illustrated by Albert Uderzo.

Plot summary

For Asterix and Obelix' birthday party, their parents come from Condatum. Their mothers have already arrived, bringing a decorated Roman sword and helmet as presents, and they immediately fuss about why their sons are still single, and attempt (without success) to arrange marriages.

Meanwhile, Asterix and Obelix' fathers are arrested for illegal possession of the personal weapons of Pompey, Caesar's enemy, which are now in Asterix and Obelix's possession. To recover them, Bogus Genius, the Prefect of Condatum and Pompey's man sends his agent Fastandfurius and a gifted tragic actress named Latraviata. Disguised as Panacea, Obelix's love interest, who is allegedly suffering from amnesia, Latraviata is to infiltrate the Gaulish village and retrieve Pompey's weapons.

The real Panacea and her husband Tragicomix soon discover that Asterix and Obelix's fathers have been imprisoned by Pompey, and travel to the village to warn their friends. On their way they run into Latraviata and Fastandfurious, who have left the village with Asterix and Obelix in pursuit, and the imposture is exposed. Fastandfurious is "menhired", Pompeius's weapons are returned to the two friends, and Asterix and Obelix free their fathers. At the end of the story Latraviata receives an award for Outstanding Performance from Julius Caesar.

Notes

• When Asterix and Obelix's fathers warn Bogus Genius of their sons' retribution, a legionary whispers that this is a "little quirk of theirs...they're always quoting from that play, Waiting for Godotrix", a reference to Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot.
• The award Latraviata receives parodies a César Award given by the French Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinema (hence a golden Caesar). The first César Award for Best Actress was given to Romy Schneider in 1976 (who resembles Latraviata unmasked).
• This is the first time Asterix and Obelix' parents have an appearance in the mainstream comic line.
• At one point in the story, Obelix hits Asterix in a temper. This is the first time he ever did this (though Asterix later repays the favour while in a hyperactive stupor, having been given some of the Magic Potion whilst still concussed).
• At the end of this book, Dogmatix finds a mate and has puppies, thus being way ahead of his two masters in getting a mate.
• In this book, Asterix and Obelix have a birthday on the same day. However, in the book Obelix and Co. and the live-action movie Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar, Obelix does not share a birthday with Asterix. This coincides with the retcon introduced in the short story Birth of Asterix, which was published in 1994, nearly 20 years after Obelix and Co., but seven years prior to Asterix and the Actress.
• The agent Fastandfurius's name is a reference to the movie series Fast and Furious.
• Latraviata's name is a reference to the opera La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi

In other languages

• Catalan: Astèrix i Latraviata
• Croatian: Asterix i Latraviata
• Czech: Asterix a Latraviata
• Dutch: Asterix en Latraviata
• Finnish: Asterix ja Latraviata
• Galician: Astérix e Latraviata
• German: Asterix und Latraviata
• Greek: Ο Αστερίξ και η Λατραβιάτα
• Italian: Asterix e Latraviata
• Norwegian: Asterix og Latraviata
• Polish: Asteriks i Latraviata
• Portuguese: Astérix e Latraviata
• Serbian: Астерикс и Латравијата
• Spanish: Astérix y Latraviata
• Swedish: Asterix och Latraviata