By Morris & Lo Hartog van Banda, coloured by Studio Leonardo, translated by Jerome Saincantin (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-353-6 (Album PB/Digital edition)
This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. This book also includes Discriminatory Content added for comedic effect.
Lucky Luke was created in 1946 by Belgian animator, illustrator and cartoonist Maurice de Bévère (AKA “Morris”), riding out in Le Journal de Spirou that summer sans title or banner, and only in the French-language edition. His official launch came in Christmas Annual L’Almanach Spirou 1947, before beginning his first official serial – ‘Arizona 1880’ – in December 7th 1946’s multinational weekly issue.
Doughty, dashing, dependable cowboy “good guy” Lucky is a rangy, implacably even-tempered do-gooder able to “draw faster than his own shadow”. He amiably ambles around the mythic Old West, having light-hearted adventures on his petulant and rather sarcastic wonder-horse Jolly Jumper. Over nine decades, his exploits have made him a top-ranking global comic character, filling nearly 90 individual albums and spin-off series like Kid Lucky and Ran-Tan-Plan, with sales upwards of 300 million copies in 30 languages. That renown translated into a mountain of merchandise, toys, games, animated cartoons, TV shows and live-action movies and even commemorative exhibitions. No theme park yet, but you never know…
Lucky global dominance resulted from a decades-long, 45 volume collaboration with superstar scripter René Goscinny (spanning Des rails sur la Prairie/Rails on the Prairie beginning August 25th 1955 to La Ballade des Dalton et autres histoires/The Ballad Of The Daltons And Other Stories in 1986). On Goscinny’s death, Morris worked alone again and with others, founding a posse of legacy creators including Achdé & Laurent Gerra, Benacquista & Pennac, Xavier Fauche, Jean Léturgie, Jacques Pessis and more, all taking their own shots at the venerable vigilante.
Morris soldiered on singly and with these successors before his own passing in 2001, having drawn fully 70 adventures, plus numerous sidebar and spin-off sagebrush sagas. The first of his new pardners was a fellow low-lander and comics legend: Lo Hartog van Banda (De Wonderlijke Lamp van Professor Halowits, Iris, Arman en Ilva, Student Tijloos – Het Spiegelpaleis). He was a prolific long-lived Dutch comics scripter and screenwriter who co-created today’s tombstone tome as well as Lucky Luke Fingers & Nitroglycerine.
Our taciturn trailblazer draws on western history as much as movie mythology, regularly meeting historical and legendary figures as well as even odder fictional folk in tales drawn from key themes of classic cowboy films – as well as some uniquely European notions and interpretations. As previously hinted, the sagebrush star is not averse to being a figure of political change and Weapon of Mass Satire…
Cinebook’s 65th Lucky Luke album was officially the frontier phenomenon’s 61st European exploit, originally seen au continent in 1992 as Chasse aux fantômes. Visualised with verve by veterans Morris & van Banda it offers a guest-packed jaunty haunty jamboree blessed by the return of an extremely popular guest star…
Once again urgently requested by the Wells, Fargo & Co. Transportation Company, Lucky is luckily on hand and (barely) able to stop a human whirlwind wrecking the head office. His appointment is interrupted by an old friend as Calamity Jane storms in demanding they hand over the brand-new Winchester rifle she mail-ordered. Her brand of customer complaint almost costs lives until Luke calms her down and she discovers her problem is also his problem…
What the boss wants no one to know is that their last stage coach vanished en route, as did everyone on it, and they need a capable troubleshooter to solve the mystery. The company and national commerce are at stake, but Lucky hasn’t been told everything…
Next day – with Jolly Jumper harnessed up and disguised as a coach horse – Lucky steers the stage coach out, pondering on those passengers who have ignored ghastly rumours of kidnappers and griping of the many drivers who have suddenly called in sick…
These bold voyagers comprise young lady Melanie and her maiden aunt, pompous widow Mrs Burdonck, an inept and officious State Senator and an extremely poorly disguised, ugly old bird with the mouth of a drunken sailor on shore leave who still wants her new Winchester and don’t trust nobody to find it for her.
Following a number of failed robbery attempts – foiled by Lucky and the mean-mouthed old lady with the gun in her parasol – the coach arrives at the first staging post where Luke and Martha Jane Cannary compare notes. The Senator is clearly up to something as he’s ordered a change of route, but the largest part of the mystery is solved for them: explained by the station manager/bartender who reveals that the previous travellers were taken by a marauding spirit. The region of Phantom Valley is now an Indian reservation and Apache territory, but once upon a time the town of Doom was the home to hundreds of gold miners until the seam ran out. It was run by an awful creature: a bloodthirsty murdering harridan who killed or drove out everyone before dying in a gunfight and cursing the whole place with her last breath. Her name was Calamity Jane…
Before one passenger can (over)react the story is interrupted by a demonic coach roaring by and everyone can see it is being driven by that very spook; which is a big surprise to Luke and the baffled angry old coot beside him…
With the scene set, Luke, Jane, Jolly Jumper and the rest are reduced to a western Scooby Gang tracking the impossible carriage against impossible odds to expose the rational explanation for the sinister escapades and rescue the abducted hostages to (a golden) fortune…
Fast-paced, funny and thrillingly fulfilling, this is a gloriously riotous romp every fan and casual reader can enjoy and should. These youthful forays of an indomitable hero offer grand joys in the wry tradition of Destry Rides Again and Support Your Local Sheriff (but absolutely not the 1953 Calamity Jane flick with Doris Day!!), superbly executed by master storytellers and a wonderful introduction to this unique genre for today’s kids who might well have missed the romantic allure of the Wild West that never was…
© Dargaud Editeur Paris 1992 by Morris and Lo Hartog van Banda. © Lucky Comics. English translation © 2017 Cinebook Ltd.
Today in 1921 mythic American Good Guy Bill Mauldin was born. Check out Willie and Joe: The WWII Years to learn how that’s actually an understatement.
In 1959 French comics landmark Pilote first went on sale, coincidentally marking the official launch of Asterix & Obelix, whilst in 1999, Belgian comics legend Greg (Michel Regnier) died. His best stuff isn’t available in English but you could go enjoy Spirou & Fantasio volume 21: The Prisoner of the Buddha.