The twenty-second Asterix book opens on disembodied voices in thick fog. Some voices are skeptical they will find anything, but their leader urges them on, "Yøu'll åll find øut I'm right!"
Meanwhile, in the Gaulish village, a fight breaks out over the quality of fish sold by Unhygienix the fishmonger. As the dust settles, Asterix asks Unhygienix why he can't just fish in the sea near the village; the offended fishmonger answers that his fish is top quality bought from Lutetian wholesalers, not just any old fish out of the sea. However, Getafix says he needs fresh fish urgently to make the magic potion. Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix volunteer to go fishing, taking Geriatrix's old fishing boat and a gourd of magic potion. The skies are clouding over as they push out to sea.
The fishing voyage goes badly from the start; as Obelix throws out the fishing net without attaching it to anything. When they try to return to the village, the brewing storm drives them further out to sea. They spend the next few days at sea, encountering a Viking longship and Redbeard’s latest pirate ship. As the continue to drift, Obelix becomes delirious with hunger and jumps overboard. Asterix jumps after him, they lose sight of the boat, but then finally see land.
The land is in fact North America, but the pair assume they have returned home, until they see wildlife not found in Gaul. During this they are stalked by the natives (that Obelix takes to be unusual Romans). When they both end up in the natives’ village, the Language Barrier forces them to make a display of mime. However their fighting and hunting skills impress the natives enough that they paint an animal skin to record their deeds. The chief also decides to engage his daughter to Obelix.
Obelix hates the idea, and persuades Asterix that they should head home again. They sneak away at night in a canoes, but it sinks, stranding them on a coastal island.
The next morning, the Viking longship arrives. The captain, Herendethelessen, is joyous at having found land at last, as are his crew after the weary voyage. Asterix signals to them by standing on a heap of stones while carrying the animal skin and holding a torch aloft. The Vikings land their boat, believing the Gauls to be native to the island, but the Language Barrier strikes again. In the end, they all all leave together on the longship, leaving the real natives to mourn their departure.
The longship returns to Denmark, where the explorers' chief, Odiuscomparissen, is furious at the wasteful "voyage of discovery”. Herendethelessen reports that he found the new world he swore existed, and offers the Gauls as proof. Odiuscomparissen calls for a feast to celebrate the find.
At the feast, the Gauls are recognised by Catastrofix, a Gaulish slave. Odiuscomparissen concludes that Herendethelessen just skived off to Lutetia for a few months, and as the would-be explorer threatens to kill the slave for lying and making him look foolish, Obelix leaps to his defence and a fight breaks out. During the fight the three Gauls sneak out and take Catastrofix’s fishing boat back to Gaul. Odiuscomparissen forgives Herendethelessen because they had had a good fight and a good laugh out of it. Herendethelessen is left wondering if he really did discover a new world.
The three Gauls make it back to the village, having caught plenty of fish on the way. They are welcomed back by everyone, although Unhygienix is underwhelmed by the quality of the fish. Getafix is intrigued by Asterix and Obelix's stories of the strange island they found on their voyage, but such thoughts are soon forgotten as they sit down to the obligatory banquet... except for Unhygienix, who would rather sulk under a tree.
The album received an Animated Adaptation in 1994, Asterix Conquers America, though without the climax subplot involving Danes. This subplot wound up integrated in Asterix and the Vikings.
Tropes
- Animal Talk: Although there does seem to be a difference between the "dog languages" of Dogmatix and Huntingseassen, they quickly overcome it.
- Arranged Marriage: Obelix is lined up to marry the The Chief's Daughter of the tribe they are staying with, as the chief thinks Obelix's hunting prowess would make him a perfect son-in-law. Obelix is horrified, though it takes Asterix to explain to him what is happening.
- A Birthday, Not a Break: Even on their captain's birthday, the pirates are not safe from the Gauls. At least the Gauls decide to spare their ship for once.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Odiuscomparissen wants so sacrifice the Gauls to the gods. The Vikings consider this an honor.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: When first the Indian chief and later Herendthelessen make the “Those x are crazy” gesture (minus the words), Obelix assumes that they got the right idea about Gauls.
- Braids, Beads and Buckskins: The tribe has features of many different Native American cultures, and some of the natives the Gauls encounter seem to dress daily in the sort of elaborate costumes usually reserved for special occasions, much like how Getafix is always wearing his ceremonial robes.
- Butt-Monkey: Herendthelessen is treated like this by his boss Odiuscomparissen. He’s got something of a Karmic Butt-Monkey, since he really did discover a new world, but the “natives” he brought as proof turn out to be what must have been the only two Europeans in America at the time.
- The Chief's Daughter: Obelix is expected to marry her, causing him and Asterix to flee.
- Combat by Champion: The tribe's best warrior, who looks like a bodybuilder, plants his spear in front of Obélix, who slaps him away. Astérix, figuring "When in Rome", plants his sword in front of another Indian (who's built more like Obelix), who suffers the same result.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Asterix and Obelix are allowed to join the tribe after besting their best warriors.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Unhygienix explains that the latest shipment of fish from Lutetia is delayed by an ox-cart drivers' strike over the price of hay, alluding to the frequent strikes by French hauliers over fuel prices.
- Every Episode Ending: Subverted; Cacofonix is present at the banquet, although Fulliautomatix is bashing him with his hammer to keep him from singing. Instead, Unhygienix is the one sitting under the tree, turning up his nose at a plate of fish being offered to him by his wife, Bacteria.
- Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Herendethelessen finds out the hard way it's a bad idea to threaten or attempt murder on a fellow Gaul in front of Obelix.
- Flat World: After hearing Huntingseassen growl in the night, Obelix believes that they have reached the edge of the sea.
- The Food Poisoning Incident: Vitalstatistix' shield bearers suffer from food poisening off-panel due to eating rotten fish from Unhygienix.
- Foreign Queasine: When Asterix and Obelix are having their first meal with the local native tribe, they don't recognise the meat they are eating. Obelix points to his plate and asks the chief, "Gobble gobble" (turkey)? The chief replies, "Woof woof." A green-faced Obelix slowly puts the plate down again.
- Funny Background Event: While the villagers are seeing Asterix, Obelix, and Dogmatix off on their fishing trip, Fulliautomatix is hammering Cacofonix into the sand up to his waist to stop him singing a farewell ballad.
- Hand Signals: The Indians communicate like this, even among themselves. note
- Historical In-Joke: Much like Leif Erikson, the Viking who first discovered America in 1000, and Christopher Columbus nearly 500 years later, Asterix and Obelix have no idea that they've discovered a new continent. They describe it to Getafix as "a funny sort of island".
- Hypocritical Humor: In the comic, Obelix complains to Asterix about "this fat Hyberian girl" (the Chief's daughter) following him around. She may be on the plump side, but for Obelix to call anyone "fat" is really taking the cake.
- Injun Country: Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix land in the Northeastern Woodlands. But the local Natives look more like Natives of the Plains than Northeastern Woodlands, somehow.
- Insane Troll Logic: The reason for the notoriously low quality of Unhygienix's fish is explained: he never fishes himself, he buys his wares from wholesalers who have certified it as high quality fish. The fact that the quality of the fish might drop when transported from Lutetia (Paris) to Armorica (Britanny, several hundred kilometers West from Paris) by oxcart over two weeks never occurs to him.
- Vitalstatistix does his shield-bearers' work by carrying a shield that no one is standing on.
- Obelix treading quietly while shouting loudly.
- Obelix wants to get Asterix to make the Indian tell him where Asterix is.
- On the other hand, following an arrow in the opposite direction from where it is pointing is a sensible way to find the person who fired it.
- Language Barrier: A lot of comedy comes from the Gauls, Native Americans and Danish having no language in common.note
- Literal-Minded: Obelix “throws out the net” without a way to retrieve it.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Asterix and Obelix find a grizzly bear on the eastern coast of North America, which clues them that they are not near their home. However in real life there wouldn't be grizzlies in the area, only black bears.
- Mistaken Nationality: Asterix and Obelix mistake the Native Americans for Cretans, then Iberians. Obelix mistakes them for Romans disguised as turkeys. Meanwhile the Vikings assume the two Gauls are natives.
- No Indoor Voice: Viking tribal chieftain Odiuscomparissen always shouts his lines.
- No Name Given: Because the natives' communication with each other and with the Gauls is almost entirely non-verbal, none of them are given a name - not even significant characters such as the chief or his daughter.
- Painting the Medium: The Vikings' diålect øf Prøtø-Germånic is shøwn ås diåcritics on certain vøwels. When Åsterix tries tø speåk it,, he puts the diåcritics on the wrøng vøwels. Ålsø, å Gåulish slåve speåks with å heåvy åccent, shøwn with squåres øver the Å's ånd diågønal lines gøing the wrøng wåy in the Ø's.
- Reference Overdosed:
- Several references to the United States are made: roast turkey, the Air Force insignia, the fifty stars, the Star Spangled Banner, the Statue of Liberty, Neil Armstrong, and of course, hot dogs.
- Several references to Denmark are made. The Vikings have a Great Dane as their pet dog. When they are "greeted" by Odiuscomparissen (if one can call the Ancient Viking equivalent of "Where the hell have you been!?" a greeting), one of them says, "Who would you expect? A mermaid?", in reference to the statue of the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.
- The play Hamlet is referenced a few times as well, since it takes place in Denmark. The Viking leader Odiuscomparissen holds up a skull and ponders: "Something is rotten in the state of...", in reference to the skull held up by Hamlet in the play and the line "something is rotten in the state of Denmark". Also, when Herendethelessen wonders whether he really is the discoverer of foreign land, he says, "To be or not to be, that's the question?"
- In the English translation, Herendethelessen's followers include Steptoanssen Shifty Eyes (a reference to the 1960s and 1970s sitcom Steptoe and Son) and Haraldwilssen the intellectual (a reference to 1960s and 1970s UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson).
- Series Continuity Error: Unhygienix refuses to eat fresh fish directly from the sea, but in previous albums does exactly that and clearly enjoys it. There's no explanation for why this has changed.
- Telegraph Gag STOP: Haraldwilssen starts to describe the voyage as an emphatic saga, but when the chief threatens to cut both saga and skald short with his sword, he tells it this way.
- Thinly-Veiled Dub Country Change: In the Icelandic translation, rather than merely being an expy of him, Herendethelessen is Leif Eiriksson while Odiuscomparissen is his father, Eirik the Red. The other viking crew members are also given the names of notable Norse/Viking figures, including Thorfinn Karlsefni
and Ari the Wise. The vikings are depicted speaking in flowery old Norse akin to the Icelandic sagas, making a handful of direct in-jokes. Their home is implied to be in Iceland rather than Denmark. While all of this might make the story more amusing to an Icelandic reader, it's also a raging anachronism, even by Asterix standards, as none of these people were born for another millennium and Iceland wasn't even settled yet. - Throw the Dog a Bone:
- As it is mostly set in either America or Scandinavia, this is the only Asterix album from the Goscinny era in which not a single Roman is beaten up (though it happens aplenty in the animated adaptation). Only two panels even feature any Romans, as a Roman patrol listens to the latest fight over Unhygienix's fish from just outside the village, happily remarking how nice it is when the Gauls fight each other for a change.
- The pirates appear, but since it's the captain's birthday, the Gauls refrain from sinking them. They do steal the entire birthday feast, however.
- Tipis and Totem Poles: Asterix and Obelix evidently land on the temperate East coast of North America (the homage to the Statue of Liberty could be taken as indicating they are near today’s New York City). Yet the local indigenous people live in tipis (generally only used by Great Plains tribes) and build totem poles (an artistic medium specific to tribes of the Pacific Northwest), which would be like having ancient Dacians living in medieval castles and dining on cheeseburgers made with cuajada.
- Traveling Salesman: Discussed when the Vikings offer beads to the Gauls. Asterix assumes they're door-to-door salesmen trying to flog their stuff to them.
- Truth in Television: In ancient times, it was often thought that there were dragons in unexplored reaches of the Earth. And cod fishermen may have explored the waters of the Atlantic Coast decades before the Columbian Exchange.
- Vikings In America: And Gauls.
- Written Sound Effect: The Viking ship goes “creeåk” and “pløøf”.
- “These Natives are Crazy!”
