Alix

Alix, right, and Enak, left.

Alix is a French-Belgian comic series created by Jacques Martin in 1948. It may be considered the serious, historically accurate counterpart to the more famous Asterix, which it actually predates. It is a classic example of the ligne claire school popularized by Hergé.

The title character is a young Gaul from the 1st century BCE who, after being captured and enslaved, is adopted by a rich Roman and becomes a Roman citizen himself. He goes through various adventures that take him all over The Roman Republic and beyond--at one point, all the way to Han Dynasty China--and becomes a friend of Gaius Julius Caesar. His sidekick is a teenage Egyptian boy, Enak, and his nemesis is a scheming Greek named Arbaces.

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Tropes used in Alix include:

• Anachronism Stew: One story has a bunch of philosophers somehow discover that atoms can be used to cause untold destruction. This is said over an image of a mushroom cloud. Then there's the villain's lair with glass windows and the steam-driven propeller ship...
  • ... all of which is regarded as incredible progress ("What is this strange thing in your windows?"), and anyway all traces of these advances (including the inventors) is destroyed and forever lost by the end of the book.
• Ancient Egypt
• Ancient Greece
• Ancient Rome
• Appease the Volcano God: In "Les Proies du Volcan", Alix and Enak come across a primitive island people who practice human sacrifices to a volcano god.
• Arch Enemy: Arbaces.
• Big Badass Wolf: In "Les Légions perdues", Alix saves a wolf's life. This wolf then repays the kindness by coming to his assistance on several occasions.
• Bittersweet Ending: Many an adventure ends on a bittersweet note.
• Chaste Hero: Alix sometimes finds himself with women throwing themselves at him (and sometimes seems interested), but he always finds reasons not to pursue. (However, later albums get more ambiguous; "La chute d'Icare" never makes it clear whether or not Alix did get it on with Julia, Shallow Love Interest Of The Album.)
• Clear My Name: A blond-haired murderer passes himself off as Alix in one story, and of course everyone thinks he did it.
• Creator Cameo: Not the creator himself, but in "L'Enfant grec" a supporting character named Numa Sadulus was inspired by a friend of the creator named Numa Sadoul.
• Distress Ball: Often picked up by Enak, whom Alix then has to rescue.
• Dream Sequence: Alix has a few, sometimes with prophetic elements.
• Evil Twin: Kinda. Arbaces has an identical brother, who is slightly less of an asshole to Alix, but they're still enemies.
• Give Me a Sword: Spoken verbatim by Alix as he is surrounded by Spartan soldiers in "Le Dernier Spartiate".

"If you are worth more than the Romans, let me go. If you are worth as much as the Romans, give me a sword. But if you are worth less than the Romans, then KILL ME!"

• Gladiator Games
• Hair of Gold: Played straight with Alix, who is brave and wholesome to a fault. Well, if you leave out his relationship with Enak, but the latter is a case of Deliberate Values Dissonance.
• Historical Domain Character: Julius Caesar, Pompey, Cleopatra and others.
• Ho Yay: The relationship between Alix and Enak isn't exempt of sexual undertones, meaning they don't qualify as Heterosexual Life Partners. Word of God has it that the implied homosexuality is perfectly deliberate.
  • Enak has bouts of Clingy Jealous Girl from time to time.
• Human Sacrifice: In "Le Tombeau étrusque", a cult of Baal-worshipers practices human sacrifice.
• James Bondage: Alix is bound to a cross and left for hyenas to feed on in "Le Prince du Nil". He and Enak also find themselves bound to crosses in "O Alexandrie".
• Made a Slave: How Alix ended up in Rome to begin with. Enak is also abducted by Greek slavers in "Le Dernier Spartiate".
• Magical Realism: Despite the overall realism of the series, paranormal elements occasionally crop up.
• The Not Love Interest: Enak, except, you know...
• Not Quite Dead: Arbaces seems to die at least once in almost every album he appears in. Even when we're shown the body floating up in water.
• Playing with Fire: A girl Alix meets in Babylon has a number of psychic powers, including pyrokinesis.
• Scenery Porn
• Shirtless Scene
• So What Do We Do Now?: A group of Trojans obsessed with destroying the preserved, original Trojan Horse. When they succeed, well... A character even comments that there's nothing sadder than warriors with no war to fight.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Archelous in "L'Enfant grec" is a girl, but she passes herself off as a boy.
• Too Cool to Live: Many, many characters are one-album only for this reason. If they live and return in a subsequent album, they get it then. (Except for Arbaces.)
• Trick Arrow: An explosive arrow is seen at one point.
• Unwilling Suspension: Happens to Enak on one occasion, with sharp spears planted under him for added effect.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In the backstory to "La Tiare d'Oribal", it is revealed that a Persian ruler had his best alchemists come up with a poison that would cause anyone wearing his tiara to go mad, except those using a special antidote. After they designed both the poison and the antidote, the ruler had them all killed so the secret wouldn't transpire.