By Morris & Goscinny, translated by Luke Spear (Cinebook)
ISBN: 978-1-84918-052-8 (Album PB), 978-1-84918-519-6 (Digital edition)
This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. This book also includes Discriminatory Content added for comedic effect.
Lucky Luke debuted in 1946, created by Belgian animator, illustrator and cartoonist Maurice de Bévère (AKA “Morris”), initially riding out in Le Journal de Spirou that summer sans title or banner, and only in the French-language edition. The Lone Rider’s 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. For 80 years (Joyeux anniversaire, Mon Brave!), his exploits have made him a top-ranking global comic character, filling more than 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’s 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, forming a posse of legacy creators including Lo Hartog van Banda, Achdé & Laurent Gerra, Xavier Fauche, Benacquista & Pennac, 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.
Our taciturn trailblazer draws on western history as much as movie mythology, regularly meeting historical figures as well as even odder fictional folk in tales drawn from key themes of classic cowboy mythology – as well as some uniquely European notions or interpretations. As previously hinted, our sixgun star is not averse to being a figure of political change and Weapon of Mass Satire, but here spoofs his own antecedents and venerated movie schtick for a delicious drive down memory lane…
Inspired by John Ford’s 1939 classic movie Stagecoach, La diligence was first serialised in weekly Le Journal de Spirou #1504 – 1525 (February 9th – July 6th 1967) – before becoming Morris & Goscinny’s 32nd album and the 47th chronological Lucky Luke album in 1968. The saga blends the usual sagebrush silliness and crop of daft characters with another actual historical figure – gentleman bandit Charles E. Boles AKA Black Bart, who robbed stage coaches really politely and left little poems to console the recently impoverished…
Preceded with a small fact feature on Boles (here called Charles E. Bolton), the comic roars along rapidly. The plot is short and sweet as Lucky is hired by Mr. Oakleaf of the Denver office of Wells Fargo & Co. to counter a transport credibility crisis. With all the firm’s trips to San Francisco falling foul of thieves and robbers, they need to prove the service is still worth using and therefore want Luke to escort a tantalising gold shipment to the west coast…
He won’t be alone. They have their best driver – Hank Bully – riding “whip” on the trip and, since every little bit helps, there will even be a few brave and/or desperate paying passengers aboard. These include prospector Digger Stubble (whose gold the coach is transporting), charming card-sharp Cat Thumbs, aspiring photographer Jeremiah Fallings, preacher Sinclair Rawler and diminutive accountant Oliver Flimsy and his truly terrifying wife Annabella.
However, the people aren’t the real worry for Lucky. As the thing is a promotional stunt to assuage public doubts, the whole fiasco has been heavily advertised and every owlhoot and gun-toting chancer knows what they are carrying and the route they’ll be taking…
After foiling the first few dozen robbery attempts and getting fed up with Wells Fargo food at the numerous staging posts en route, Lucky decides that it’s time to alter the travel plans and start doing things his way if they are all going to make it to San Francisco. It might even have worked if all the crooks had been outside the vehicle waiting for them and not actually in the coach itself…
Packed with wry digs at beloved old films and loaded with visual guest shots of esteemed stars and directors, the tale sees the rapidly-bonding voyagers overcome hostile terrain, marauding savages (not actually that savage, really), the temptations of sin and even each other to complete the trip, but that merely presents one last mystery to bedevil them. Of course, as always Lucky has it covered…
These youthful forays of an indomitable hero offer grand joys in the wry tradition of Destry Rides Again and Support Your Local Sheriff, superbly executed by a master storyteller: a wonderful introduction to a unique genre for modern kids who might well have missed the romantic allure of the Wild West that never was…
© Dargaud Editeur Paris 1968 by Goscinny and Morris. © Lucky Comics. English translation © 2010 Cinebook Ltd.
Today in 1926 comics empresario/artist/co-originator of 3D comics Norm Maurer (Three Stooges, Mighty Mouse) was born, as was writer Marv Wolfman (New Teen Titans, Spider-Woman, Tomb of Dracula) in 1946; cartoonist Margeaux – neé Andrew – Pepoy (Little Orphan Annie, Batman, Superman, Dick Tracy) in 1969.
This date in 1955 saw the last episode of Jack Williamson & Lee Elias’ Beyond Mars strip published, whereas Jim Toomey’s Sherman Lagoon launched today in 1991 and is still going strong…