Lucky Luke
Lucky Luke is a Franco-Belgian comics series created by Morris, and over period written by René Goscinny. Set in the American Old West, it stars the titular character, Lucky Luke, the cowboy known to shoot faster than his shadow.
Along with The Adventures of Tintin and Asterix, Lucky Luke is one of the most popular and best-selling comic-book series in continental Europe, but unlike Tintin and Astérix, despite its popularity in Canada, only a handful of the series’ adventures have been translated into English.
Publication history
First appearance of Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper in Arizona 1880 (1946)
First appearance of Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper in Arizona 1880 (1946)
Both a tribute to the mythic Old West and an affectionate parody, the comics were drawn by the Belgian artist Morris who drew Lucky Luke from 1946 until his death in 2001. The first Lucky Luke adventure named Arizona 1880 appeared in the Almanach issue of the comics magazine Le Journal de Spirou on December 7, 1946. After several years of solitary work the strip, Morris began a collaboration with Rene Goscinny who became the series’ scenarist for a period that is considered the golden age of the series. This started with the story Des rails sur la prairie published on August 25, 1955 in Spirou. Ending a long run of serial publications in Spirou, the series shifted to Goscinny’s magazine Pilote in 1967 with the story Les cousins Dalton, subsequently leaving publisher Dupuis for Dargaud.
After the death of Goscinny in 1977, several scenarists have tried to fill the role of storyteller the Lucky Luke tradition, such as Vicq, Bob de Groot, Jean Léturgie and Lo Hartog Van Banda. In addition to continuing the series, Morris started the related spin-off series Rantanplan in 1987. At the 1993 Angoulême International Comics Festival, Lucky Luke was given an honorary exhibition.
After Morris’ death in 2001, French artist Achdé continued drawing new Lucky Luke stories in collaboration with writer Laurent Gerra.
Plot summary
Luke, drawing a gun faster than his shadow, fights crime and injustice, most often in the form of the bumbling Dalton brothers, Joe, William, Jack and Averell (each one being taller and dumber than the previous one). He rides Jolly Jumper, “the smartest horse in the world”. He is often seen with Rantanplan, “the stupidest dog in the universe”, whose name is a reference to Rin Tin Tin. A cigarette was constantly on Lucky Luke’s lips in the early stories, but in 1983, in reponse to the growing anti-smoking campaign, Morris replaced the cigarette with a piece of straw, which earned him recognition from the World Health Organization.
In the albums, Luke meets many factual Western figures like Calamity Jane, Billy the Kid, Judge Roy Bean and Jesse James’s gang, and takes part in historical endeavors such as guarding of Wells Fargo stagecoaches, the Pony Express, the building of the first transcontinental telegraph, and the Rush into the Unassigned Lands of Oklahoma.
At the end of each story, except the earliest, Lucky Luke rides off alone into the sunset, singing (in English) “I’m a poor lonesome cowboy, and a long way from home…”.
Bibliography
* 1. La Mine d’or de ~censored~ Digger, Dupuis, 1949 (~censored~ Digger’s Gold Mine)
* 2. Rodéo, Dupuis, 1949
* 3. Arizona, Dupuis, 1951
* 4. Sous le ciel de l’Ouest, Dupuis, 1952 (Under the Western Sky)
* 5. Lucky Luke contre Pat Poker, Dupuis, 1953 (Lucky Luke versus Pat Poker)
* 6. Hors-la-loi, Dupuis, 1954 (Outlaw)
* 7. L’Élixir du Dr Doxey, Dupuis, 1955 (Dr Doxey’s Elixir)
* 8. Lucky Luke contre Phil Defer, Dupuis, 1956 (Lucky Luke versus Phil Defer – the name Phil Defer a French play on Fil de Fer, Iron Wire)
* 10. Alerte aux Pieds Bleus, Dupuis, 1958 (Beware of the Bluefoots)
* 9. Des rails sur la prairie, Dupuis, 1957 (Rails on the Prairie)
* 11. Lucky Luke contre Joss Jamon, Dupuis, 1958 (Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon)
* 12. Les Cousins Dalton, Dupuis, 1958 (The Dalton Cousins)
* 13. Le Juge, Dupuis, 1959 (The Judge)
* 14. Ruée sur l’Oklahoma, Dupuis, 1960 (The Oklahoma Run)
* 15. L’Évasion des Dalton, Dupuis, 1960 (The Daltons Escape)
* 16. En remontant le Mississippi, Dupuis, 1961 (Travelling Up The Mississippi)
* 17. Sur la piste des Dalton, Dupuis, 1962 (On the Daltons’ Trail)
* 18. À l’ombre des derricks, Dupuis, 1962 (In the Shadow of the Derricks)
* 19. Les Rivaux de Painful Gulch, Dupuis, 1962 (The Rivals of Painful Gulch)
* 20. Billy the Kid, Dupuis, 1962
* 21. Les Collines noires, Dupuis, 1963 (The Black Hills)
* 22. Les Dalton dans le blizzard, Dupuis, 1963 (The Daltons in the Blizzard)
* 23. Les Dalton courent toujours, Dupuis, 1964 (The Daltons Always On The Run)
* 24. La Caravane, Dupuis, 1964 (The Caravan)
* 25. La Ville fantôme, Dupuis, 1965 (Ghost Town)
* 26. Les Dalton se rachètent, Dupuis, 1965 (The Daltons Redeem Themselves)
* 27. Le Vingtième de cavalerie, Dupuis, 1965 (The 20th of the Cavalry)
* 28. L’Escorte, Dupuis, 1966 (The Escort)
* 29. Des barbelés sur la prairie, Dupuis, 1967 (Barbed Wire on the Prairie)
* 30. Calamity Jane, Dupuis, 1967
* 31. Tortillas pour les Dalton, Dupuis, 1967 (Tortillas for the Daltons)
* 32. La Diligence, Dargaud, 1968 (The Stagecoach)
* 33. Le Pied-tendre, Dargaud, 1968 (The Tenderfoot)
* 34. Dalton City, Dargaud, 1969]
* 35. Jesse James, Dargaud, 1969
* 36. Western Circus, Dargaud, 1970
* 37. Canyon Apache, Dargaud, 1971 (Apache Canyon)
* 38. Ma Dalton, Dargaud, 1971
* 39. Chasseur de primes, Dargaud, 1972 (The Bounty Hunter)
* 40. Le Grand Duc, Dargaud, 1973 (The Grand Duke)
* 41. L’Héritage de Rantanplan, Dargaud, 1973 (Rantanplan’s Inheritance)
* 42. 7 histoires complètes – série 1, Dargaud, 1974 (7 Full Stories – Series 1)
* 43. Le Cavalier blanc, Dargaud, 1975 (The White Horseman)
* 44. La Guérison des Dalton, Dargaud, 1975 (The Daltons’ Cure)
* 45. L’Empereur Smith, Dargaud, 1976 (Emperor Smith)
* 46. Le Fil qui chante, Dargaud, 1977 (The Singing Wire)
* HS. La Ballade des Dalton, Dargaud, 1978 (The Daltons’ Ballad)
* 50. La Corde du pendu, Dargaud, 1981 (The Rope of the Hanged)
* 51. Daisy Town, Dargaud, 1983
* 55. La Ballade des Dalton et autres histoires, Dargaud, 1986 (The Dalton’s Ballad and Other Stories)
Various writers
* 47. Le Magot des Dalton, Dargaud, 1980, by Vicq (The Daltons’ Loot)
* 48. Le Bandit manchot, Dargaud, 1981, by Bob de Groot (The One-Armed Bandit)
* 49. Sarah Bernhardt, Dargaud, 1982, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche
* 52. Fingers, Dargaud, 1983, by Lo Hartog Van Banda
* 53. Le Daily Star, Dargaud, 1983, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Daily Star)
* 54. La Fiancée de Luky Luke, Dargaud, 1985, by Guy Vidal (Lucky Luke’s Fiancee)
* 56. Le Ranch maudit, Dargaud, 1986, by Jean Léturgie, Xavier Fauche and Claude Guylouis (The Cursed Ranch)
* 57. Nitroglycérine, Dargaud, 1987, by Lo Hartog Van Banda
* 58. L’Alibi, Dargaud, 1987, by Claude Guylouis (The Alibi)
* 59. Le Pony Express, Dargaud, 1988], by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Pony Express)
* 60. L’Amnésie des Dalton, Lucky Productions, 1991, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Daltons’ Amnesia)
* 61. Chasse aux fantômes, Lucky Productions, 1992, by Lo Hartog Van Banda (Ghosthunt)
* 62. Les Dalton à la noce, Lucky Productions, 1993, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Daltons at a Wedding)
* 63. Le Pont sur le Mississippi, Lucky Productions, 1994, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (Bridge Over The Mississippi)
* 64. Belle Star, Lucky Productions, 1995, by Xavier Fauche
* 65. Le Klondike, Lucky Productions, 1996, by Yann and Jean Léturgie (The Klondike)
* 66. O.K. Corral, Lucky Productions, 1997, by Eric Adam and Xavier Fauche
* 67. Marcel Dalton, Lucky Productions, 1998, by Bob de Groot
* 68. Le Prophète, Lucky Comics, 2000, by Patrick Nordmann (The Prophet)
* 69. L’Artiste peintre, Lucky Comics, 2001, by Bob de Groot (The Painter)
* 70. La Légende de l’Ouest, Lucky Comics, 2002, by Patrick Nordmann (The Legend Of The West)
By Achdé & Gerra
* 71. La Belle Province, Lucky Comics, 2004 (The Beautiful Country)
* 72. La Corde au cou, Lucky Comics, 2006 (Rope On The Neck)
English translations
* The Stagecoach, Knight Books (UK), 1976
* Apache Canyon, Knight Books (UK), 1977
* The Stage Coach, Dargaud USA, 1980s; Fantasy Flight (US) 1990s
* The Greenhorn, Dargaud USA, 1980s
* Dalton City, Dargaud USA, 1980s
* Jesse James, Dargaud USA, 1980s; Fantasy Flight (US) 1990s
* Western Circus, Dargaud USA, 1980s
* Ma Dalton, Dargaud USA, 1980s
* The Dalton Brothers’ Analyst, also Curing the Daltons, Dargaud Canada, 1982
* The Dalton Brothers Memory Game, Ravette books (UK), 1991
* Calamity Jane, Glo’worm (UK), 1998
* Dalton City, Glo’worm (UK), 1998
* Ma Dalton, Glo’worm (UK), 1999
* Jesse James, Glo’worm (UK), 1998
* The Tenderfoot, Glo’worm (UK), 1999
* Western Circus, Glo’worm (UK), 2000
* The Dashing White Cowboy, Glo’worm (UK), 2000
* 1. Billy the Kid, Cinebook Ltd, 2006, ISBN 1905460112
* 2. Ghost Town, Cinebook Ltd, 2006, ISBN 1905460120
* 3. Dalton City, Cinebook Ltd, 2006, ISBN 1905460139
* 4. Jesse James, Cinebook Ltd, 2006, ISBN 1905460147
* 5. In the Shadow of the Derricks, Cinebook Ltd, 2007, ISBN 1905460171
* 6. Ma Dalton, Cinebook Ltd, 2007, ISBN 9781905460182
* 7. Barbed Wire on the Prairie, Cinebook Ltd, 2007, ISBN 9781905460243
* 8. Calamity Jane, Cinebook Ltd, 2007, ISBN 9781905460250
* 9. The Wagon Train, Cinebook Ltd, 2008, announced
* 10. Tortillas for the Daltons, Cinebook Ltd, 2008, announced
* 11. Western Circus, Cinebook Ltd, 2008, announced
* 12. The Rivals of Painful Gulch, Cinebook Ltd, 2008, announced
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