Dan Cooper (comics)

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Dan Cooper
DanCooper 270.jpg
Created by Albert Weinberg
Publication information
Publisher Le Lombard, Fleurus, Novedi, Dargaud
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) Tintin magazine.
Original language French
Genre
Publication date25 November  1954
Creative team
Writer(s) Albert Weinberg, Jean-Michel Charlier
Artist(s) Albert Weinberg

Dan Cooper (also known as Les Aventures de Dan Cooper) is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a fictional Canadian military flying ace and astronaut.

The title was conceived by Albert Weinberg in 1954 as Tintin magazine's answer to Buck Danny, which had become a great success for the rival Spirou magazine. It was the second of three prominent Franco-Belgian aviation-themed bandes dessinées, alongside Jean-Michel Charlier's Buck Danny (1948) and Tanguy et Laverdure (1959). Weinberg wrote and drew the strip for almost forty years, with the exception of three stories contributed by Charlier in the early 1960s.

As per Franco-Belgian comics tradition, each completed storyline would appear as a published album after first appearing as a serial in a weekly magazine.

Synopsis

Dan Cooper is a test pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Early story-lines featured futuristic science-fiction themes such as piloting a rocketship to the Martian moon Deimos; however later stories were more rooted in present-day themes.

Speculative connection to D. B. Cooper

A 1972 FBI composite drawing of D. B. Cooper DBCooper.jpg
A 1972 FBI composite drawing of D. B. Cooper

Although fairly obscure in the English-speaking world since it did not appear in English translation (apart from a short run in the UK comics Champion and Lion in 1966 under the title Jet Jordan), the comics series nevertheless gained a small measure of notoriety in 2009 in the United States as a result of speculation concerning the identity of the 1971 airplane hijacker who came to be known as D. B. Cooper, but who had actually identified himself as "Dan Cooper." Cooper boarded a flight from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington, claimed to have a bomb and demanded $200,000 in cash. He obtained the cash when the plane landed for refueling, and jumped from the Reno-bound airplane somewhere near Portland. Cooper was never apprehended or identified despite decades of FBI investigations, and the only evidence recovered outside the plane was a few thousand dollars in ransom cash buried or lost on a sandbar in the Columbia River.

The Cooper Research Team led by Tom Kaye, working in cooperation with Seattle-based FBI agent Larry Carr, speculated that the hijacker may have chosen an alias based on the fictional character. Kaye and colleagues suggest the hijacker may have become a fan of the comics while on a tour of duty in Europe, or that he may have been of French-Canadian origin. Some of the comics storylines seemingly match aspects of the D. B. Cooper case, including jumping out of a plane with a parachute, as well as a ransom being delivered in a knapsack. [1] [2]

Albums

No.SeriesYearTitle (original)TitleAuthorPublisher
1main1957Le triangle bleuThe Blue TriangleAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
2main1958Le maître du SoleilThe Master of the SunAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
3main1959Le mur du silenceThe Wall of SilenceAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
4main1960Cap sur Mars Set Course for MarsAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
5main1962Duel dans le cielDuel in the Sky Jean-Michel Charlier Lombard/Dargaud
6main1963Coup d'audaceA Bold MoveJean-Michel CharlierLombard/Dargaud
7main1964L'escadrille des JaguarsThe Jaguar SquadronJean-Michel CharlierLombard/Dargaud
8main1965Le secret de Dan CooperThe Secret of Dan CooperAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
9main19663 cosmonautesThree CosmonautsAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
10main1967Fantôme 3 ne répond plus !No Response from Phantom 3!Albert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
11main1968Acrobates du cielAcrobats of the SkyAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
12main1969Tigres de merSea TigersAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
13main1969Le mystère des soucoupes volantesThe Mystery of the Flying SaucersAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
14main1970Panique à Cap Kennedy Panic at Cape KennedyAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
15main1970Les hommes aux ailes d'orThe Men with the Golden WingsAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
16main1971SOS dans l'espaceSOS in SpaceAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
17main1971Ciel de NorvègeSkies of NorwayAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
18main1972Les pilotes perdusThe Lost PilotsAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
19main1973 Apollo appelle Soyouz Apollo Calling SoyuzAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
20main1974L'affaire MinosThe Minos AffairAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
21main1975Objectif JumboObjective JumboAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
22main1976Crash dans le 135Crash in the 135Albert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
23main1979Opération JupiterOperation JupiterAlbert WeinbergLombard/Dargaud
24main1979Azimut zéroAzimuth ZeroAlbert WeinbergFleurus/EDI-3
25main1980Le canon de l'espaceThe Space CannonAlbert WeinbergFleurus/EDI-3
26main1980Opération Kosmos 990Operation Kosmos 990Albert WeinbergFleurus/EDI-3
27main1981Programme F-18The F-18 ProgramAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
28main1981F-111 en périlF-111 in PerilAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
29main1982L'aviatrice sans nomThe Nameless AviatrixAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
30main1982Pilotes sans uniformePilots out of UniformAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
31main1983Navette spatialeThe Space ShuttleAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
32main1984Viking connectionViking connectionAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
33main1985TargetTargetAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
34main1985"Silver Fox""Silver Fox"Albert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
35main1986Dragon LadyDragon LadyAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
36main1987L'avion invisibleThe Invisible PlaneAlbert WeinbergHachette/Novedi
37main1989La vrilleThe TailspinAlbert WeinbergDargaud
38main1990Pilotes fantômesThe Ghost PilotsAlbert WeinbergDargaud
39main1990L'otage du ClemenceauThe Hostage of the Clemenceau Albert WeinbergDargaud
40main1991Alerte sur le "Clem"Alert on the "Clem"Albert WeinbergDargaud
41main1992L'œil du tigreThe Eye of the TigerAlbert WeinbergDargaud
1Special Edition2004Mystères et secretsMysteries and SecretsAlbert WeinbergLoup
-main2004Le maître du Soleil - ÉpilogueThe master of the Sun - EpilogueAlbert WeinbergB.D. Club Genève
2Special Edition2005Échec et Mat !Check and Mate!Albert WeinbergHibou
1Missions2006Les parasThe ParatroopersAlbert WeinbergHibou
3Special Edition2006Les intrusThe IntrudersAlbert WeinbergHibou
4Special Edition2008Tous azimuts!All Azimuths!Albert WeinbergHibou
5Special Edition2010L'île aux géantsThe Island of the GiantsAlbert WeinbergHibou

References

  1. "In Search of D.B. Cooper: New Developments in the Unsolved Case". FBI. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-12-11. Retrieved 2011-12-09.
  2. Randy Boswell (November 24, 2011). "FBI-backed team finds Canadian link to famous '70s plane hijacking". National Post. Retrieved 2011-12-09.