Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield Asterix :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

Another great Asterix book.

2007-12-13
Another great story! For those Asterix amateurs, this is one more piece for the collection.

One of the most fun adventures of the little Gual

2007-12-03
My son loved it (so did I). The story is very creative and filled with the usual myriad plays on everything that typify Asterix.

Graphic SF Reader

2007-09-03
Julius Caesar is after a bit of a propaganda victory. He wants to be carried like a Gaul, but on Vercingetorix's shield. However, he has no idea where he left it, or that a couple of drunken soldiers in a far outpost lost it in bets and for grog.

It is race for Asterix and Obelix, let alone Dogmatix, to find the shield before the Roman agents.

The best book in the series.

2007-07-18
Rene Goscinny, Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield (Dargaud, 1968)

After the conquest of the last of Gaul (except, of course, for the indomitable Gaulish village), Vercingetorix, the chieftain of the Gauls, threw his armor at Caesar's feet. There's been some upstart activity, and Caesar wants the armor to wear when he goes to Gaul to quell the uprising. Except that the Shield of Vercingetorix is missing. Where did it get off to?

This, actually, is one of the best books in the series, if not the best. Goscinny approached the subject matter as a traditional mystery, but threw in many of his own stylings, not to mention a host red (and pickled!) herrings. It's probably a bit of a stretch to say it, but what Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield reminds me of more than anything is sixties French New Wave cinema, but with a more solid structure to it. The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with it. A really, really solid entry in the series. ****

Review of "Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield"

2007-05-07
I ordered this because I read them when I was a kid and loved them. Unfortunately, the portrayal of Africans wasn't something I wanted the young African American I was mentoring to see this portrayal. Sorry!

A suspenseful story with a surprise in the end!

2005-02-05

Julius Caesar has never recovered from his defeat by Vercingetorix. Now, years after, Caesar wants to salve his wounded pride by parading triumphantly with Vercingetorix’s shield. But where can it be? Will Caesar or the Gauls find it first?

Great story, but pages fell out.

2003-12-10
(...).

As a child, I read all of the "classic" Asterix books in Swedish. As an adult and now living in the U.S., I am reading them again to my children, but this time in English. This is a good classic. As someone pointed out, the pages of some Asterix books, like this one, falls out after only minor wear. It seems like only the old classics do that. However, they are all out of stock by now anyway. Maybe future reprints of the classics will be as good as the new ones (with respect to binding). In general, the old classics have more entertaining stories than the new ones.

Asterix and Obelix live in a village in Gaul that the Romans failed to conquer. The reason for this is that the village druid knows how to make a magic potion that endows the villagers with super human strength. In this book the village chief, becomes sick from eating too much unhealthy food and is sent to recover at a health spa. Asterix and Obelix are accompanying their chief. Obelix the great Gourmet and Gourmand have no plans to diet, however, which makes his presence torturous to the patients. The main storyline is centered on a missing shield, which a defeated Gaulish King threw before (on) the feet of Julius Caesar. Very entertaining, and filled with great puns, as well as skillful wordplay.

I object to the druids name "Getafix". Whoever came up with the English names for the characters did not have kids in mind. The Swedish translation was a lot better concerning this item.

In general I find that, children the age 5-13 really enjoy these books, and so do my children. Adults can enjoy these books as well. The Asterix comic books are a great way to teach children ancient history. Naturally, the adult needs to help with the differentiation between fiction and history. From these books, my kids have learned about the Roman Empire, the ancient Greeks, the Vikings, the Goths, the Phoenicians, ancient Gaul, ancient Egypt, and the ancient Mediterranean world in general.

My ten year old started loving these books at the age of eight and he cannot get enough of them. My six year old started liking them at the age of five. Even though many Asterix puns may be a little bit above his head, my younger son still loves these stories.

In my opinion the best Asterix albums are: Asterix and the Normans; Asterix in Corsica; Obelix and company; Asterix the Gladiator; Asterix the Legionary; Asterix and Cleopatra; Asterix and the Goths; Asterix in Belgium; Asterix and the big fight; and Asterix all around Gaul. The last title is a translation from Swedish and might be wrong.

Its a MUST read for Asterix 2002-10-26
This is an important adventure as it goes into the background of certain facts that keeps getting mentioned in all other adventures like Alesia, Vercingetorix.

Asterix in Arvenia 2002-06-19
Yet another rollicking Asterix adventure, taking place in the provinces of Gaul . When Chief Vitalstatistix takes ill, Druid Getafix suggests that he go to a health spa at Aqua Calidae in the Arvenian countryside.
While leaving Vitalstatistix at the spa, our friends decide to tour the Arvenian countryside, and in the process, deal a humiliating blow to Julius Caesar's special envoy, Tribune Noxius Vapus.
When Vapus goes to Rome to report his defeat to Caesar, he is ordered to find the famous shield of Gaullish national hero, Vercingetorix.
The result: a race against time with Asterix and Obelix searching for the shield and the Romans searching for the shield, as well as our heroes.
Once more Asterix and Obelix get up to some fantastic escapades and as always, this adventure is filled with wit, puns and double puns, including a reference to Lug the Gd of Business and Industry.

Great comic - lousy binding! 2002-01-22
This book fell apart after one reading. Just a word of caution. The comic itself is good, but all of our Asterix books have fallen apart after 1 or more read-throughs. They need to improve their glue. Now I have to have it spiral bound.