{"id":35917,"date":"2026-07-08T17:30:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=35917"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:30:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:30:39","slug":"lucky-luke-volume-26-the-bounty-hunter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2026\/07\/08\/lucky-luke-volume-26-the-bounty-hunter\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Luke volume 26: The Bounty Hunter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Morris<\/strong> & Goscinny<\/strong> (Cinebook)
\nISBN: 978-1-84918-059-7 (Album PB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times. This book also includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> added for comedic effect.<\/em><\/p>\n

Time for a big Birthday bash…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Created by Belgian animator, illustrator and cartoonist \u201cMorris\u201d (AKA Maurice de B\u00e9v\u00e8re), Lucky Luke<\/strong> debuted in the summer of 1946, initially riding out in Le Journal de Spirou<\/em><\/strong> in mid-summer sans title or banner, and only in the French-language edition. The Lone Rider\u2019s official launch came in Christmas Annual L\u2019Almanach Spirou 1947<\/em><\/strong>, before beginning his first official serial – \u2018Arizona 1880\u2019 – <\/em>in 1946\u2019s multinational weekly issue for December 7th<\/sup>. Doughty, dashing, dependable cowboy \u201cgood guy\u201d Lucky is a rangy, implacably placid do-gooder able to \u201cdraw faster than his own shadow\u201d. He amiably ambles around the mythic Old West, having light-hearted adventures on his petulant and rather sarcastic wonder-horse Jolly Jumper<\/em>.<\/p>\n

For 80 years (Joyeux anniversaire<\/em>, Mon Brave!<\/em>), his exploits have made Lucky a top-ranking global comic icon, filling more than 90 individual albums and spin-off series like Kid Lucky<\/strong> and Ran-Tan-Plan<\/strong>, with sales well north 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…<\/p>\n

After a relatively slow start for such a fast gun, Lucky\u2019s global dominance came via a decades-long collaboration with superstar scripter Ren\u00e9 Goscinny. The official partnership spanned Des rails sur la Prairie<\/em><\/strong>\/Rails on the Prairie<\/strong> (beginning August 25th<\/sup> 1955) to La Ballade des Dalton et autres histoires<\/em><\/strong>\/The Ballad Of The Daltons And Other Stories<\/strong> in 1986, during which time (in 1967) the sixgun straight-shooter switched teams, transferring to Goscinny\u2019s own magazine Pilote<\/em> <\/strong>with La Diligenc<\/em><\/strong>\/The Stagecoach<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Goscinny produced 45 albums with Morris before his death, after which Morris continued both singly and with other literary pardners, before recruiting a posse of legacy creators including Lo Hartog van Banda, Achd\u00e9 & Laurent Gerra, Xavier Fauche, Benacquista & Pennac, Jean L\u00e9turgie, Jacques Pessis and more, who all took their own shots at the venerable vigilante. Morris soldiered on until his own death in 2001, having drawn fully 70 adventures, plus numerous sidebar and spin-off sagebrush sagas.<\/p>\n

His grande id\u00e9e draws on western history less than movie mythology, but our heroes still regularly meet historical figures as well as even odder fictional folk in tales drawn from key themes of classic cowboy lore – as well as some uniquely European notions or interpretations such as seen here. 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 wallows in venerated movie schtick for a delicious drive down memory lane and game of cowboys and imbeciles…<\/p>\n

In the \u201850\u2019s Goscinny had started scripting Lucky uncredited. Morris had taken almost a decade to fill nine albums with affectionate sagebrush parody, action and Lucky Laughs, but when Goscinny was deputised as wordsmith, Luke was seen more often and rapidly attained dizzying heights of super swift superstardom. Moreover, his hits just kept coming. Chasseur de primes<\/em><\/strong> was the 39th<\/sup> European album, having been seen serially in weekly Pilote<\/em><\/strong> from #658 to 679, spanning June 15th<\/sup> to November 8th<\/sup> 1972. In 2010 as The Bounty Hunter<\/strong>, it became Cinebook\u2019s 26th<\/sup> English-language volume of hilarious horsefeather history. As always, Morris drew from a deep shared well of visual and cinematic motifs and here tips his hat to the then-new phenomenon of \u201cspaghetti westerns\u201d as the unmistakable image of Lee Van Cleef makes it onto Lucky\u2019s graphic gallery and most Unwanted list…<\/p>\n

More an assemblage of themed and interlinked skits than a full feature, The Bounty Hunter<\/strong> is unsavoury stalker\/reward-obsessed killer-without-a-badge Elliot Belt<\/em> who derives far too much joy from collecting fees and even bigger thrills and obscene jollies from hunting down legalised \u00a0prey… like anyone he sees on a wanted poster.
\n\"\"
\nDespised by all and not caring one whit, his life and dark joys are forever spoiled when he arrives in Cheyenne Pass and sees Lucky Luke capturing felons. When the stalwart refuses the reward and gives it to charity, Belt slips into murderous madness after realising his cheery, unsuspecting rival is a better gunslinger than him but refuses to kill anyone…<\/p>\n

The intolerable situation worsens when super-rich, horse-mad rancher Bronco Fortworth<\/em> puts a private $100,000 bounty on the head of his Cheyenne farmhand Wet Blanket<\/em>, who has gone missing at the same time as the plutocrat\u2019s immensely valuable new stud steed His Highness<\/em>. Without any evidence or recourse to real lawmen, Fortworth will pay anyone who uses ANY means to bring the missing Cheyenne back to him to personally hang…<\/p>\n

After failing to join forces or partner up with Lucky – who is convinced Wet Blanket is innocent and wants to avoid another Indian war – Belt infiltrates the local Reservation to ply the residents with booze and worse in hopes of finding the missing stable hand. They don\u2019t care about any of the white man\u2019s nonsense but can\u2019t get past their highly developed commercial instincts, weird rituals and trashy tourist traps…<\/p>\n

Belt does, however, convince entrepreneurial wizard Chief Little Fish Knife<\/em> to hold Lucky hostage (twice!) and terrorise the town (mostly just the saloon, actually) but Luke is hard to hold and ultimately, when all else fails, Belt grudgingly recruits a small army of other (lesser) bounty hunters, all the while plotting to cheat them out of their fair shares…
\n\"\"
\nEvents are completely out of control when Wet Blanket obliviously returns from his vacation and immediately joins Luke in stopping the bounty hunters-inspired \u201cIndian uprising\u201d just as the never-vigilant US cavalry turn up where they\u2019re not wanted to heap coals on a growing wildfire sparked by Belt and Bronco Fortworth…<\/p>\n

Through deft manipulation Lucky de-escalates the situation and even finagles a proper day in a real court for all concerned. As His Highness is discovered romping with a herd of wild mustangs, what really happened to the so-valuable steed is shockingly revealed by the one person nobody expected to be involved…
\n\"\"
\nPursued by his betrayed hirelings and \u201ccheated of his rightful reward\u201d, Elliot Belt finally goes too far even for western justice and at last learns what it means to be the face and name on a wanted poster…<\/p>\n

As much barbed morality play as rowdy light thriller, this yarn again proves how crucial great villains are to any hero. These tall-to-small tales are perfect for kids with a smidgen of historical perspective and social understanding, although the action and surreal slapstick situations are no more contentious than any Laurel and Hardy<\/strong> film; perfectly understandable as Morris was a huge fan of the duo. These forcefully foolish forays are a grand old hoot in the tradition of Destry Rides Again<\/strong> or Blazing Saddles<\/strong>, superbly executed by master storytellers and a perfect introduction to a unique genre for anyone who might well have missed the romantic allure of the Wild West that never was.
\n\u00a9 Dargaud Editeur Paris 1972 by Goscinny and Morris. \u00a9 Lucky Comics. Published in 2010 by Cinebook Ltd.<\/p>\n

Today in 1887, Flemish comics writer Raymundus Joannes de Kremer<\/strong> AKA Jean Ray<\/em><\/strong> AKA John Flanders<\/em><\/strong> (Malpertuis<\/strong>, Whisky Tales<\/strong>, Ghouls in My Grave<\/strong>) was born, sharing the day with artist Irwin Hasen<\/strong> (Wildcat<\/strong>, Green Lantern<\/strong>, Dondi<\/strong>) in 1918; \u201cfather of seinen manga\u201d Shinji Nagashima<\/strong> in 1937; horrorist, author and educator Mort Castle<\/strong> in 1946; Belgian creator Philippe Li\u00e9geois <\/strong>AKA Turk<\/em><\/strong> (Clifton<\/strong>, L\u00e9onard<\/em>, Robin Dubois<\/em>) in 1947; illustrator Stan Woch<\/strong> (Airboy<\/strong>, The Sandman<\/strong>, Swamp Thing<\/strong>) in 1959 and Whilce Portacio<\/strong> (X-Factor<\/strong>, Iron Man<\/strong>, Wetworks<\/strong>) in 1963.<\/p>\n

The date saw the launch of Alex Graham<\/strong>\u2019s Fred Bassett<\/strong> strip in the UK\u2019s Daily Mail in 1963; the final appearance of the original Buck Rogers<\/strong> strip in 1967 and the deaths of The Katzenjammer Kids<\/strong> creator Harold Knerr<\/strong> in 1949; King Features Editor Sylvan Byck<\/strong> in 1982; Underground Commix pioneer Clay Geerdes<\/strong> (Comix World<\/strong>) in 1997 and Firehair<\/em>, Captain Wings<\/em>, Tarzan<\/strong>, Li\u2019l Abner<\/strong> and Long Sam<\/strong> illustrator Bob Lubbers<\/strong> in 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Morris & Goscinny (Cinebook) ISBN: 978-1-84918-059-7 (Album PB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. This book also includes Discriminatory Content added for comedic effect. Time for a big Birthday bash… Created by Belgian animator, illustrator and cartoonist \u201cMorris\u201d (AKA Maurice de B\u00e9v\u00e8re), Lucky Luke debuted in the summer of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Lucky Luke volume 26: The Bounty Hunter”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[113,75,63,122,125,192,127,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comedy","category-crime-comics","category-european-classics","category-historical","category-humour","category-lucky-luke","category-nostalgia","category-westerns"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-9lj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35917"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35925,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35917\/revisions\/35925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}