This comic satirizes capitalism and market laws by depicting Obelix’s menhir trade with the neighbouring Roman camp of Babaorum. Here Catus Saugrenus, a young Roman senator, has been sent by Caesar himself to wipe out the Gauls. His method is to stimulate the trade of menhirs from the small village with the entire Roman world as a means of introducing wealth into the Gallic community. Wealth, according to Catus Saugrenus, will lead the Gauls to concentrate on the accumulation of money, thus neglecting their defense and presenting an opportunity that Rome will seize to conquer that territory. Soon, however, the market laws begin to require sensible changes in Roman strategy. For instance, the progressive increase in demand for menhirs by the Romans then leads to an increase in the local production of menhirs in other areas. Ancient Egypt is presented as one of the competing local centres of production, which produces a variant of menhirs: the obelisks. Thus, the comic includes an advertising plate on which the famous Egyptian menhirs are offered to the customer. Next to the representation of the menhir, there is an inscription reading: ‘Avez-vous essayé le menhir égyptien?’ (Have you tried the Egyptian menhir?), as well as a fanciful hieroglyphic inscription that will no doubt be of interest to Nicolas Leroux, author of an article on these kind of inscriptions in the comic strip Asterix and Cléopâtre.

Author: Abraham I. Fernández Pichel