Lucky Luke is a Westerncomic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their partnership lasted until Goscinny's death in 1977. Afterwards, Morris collaborated with several other writers until his own death in 2001. Since Morris's death, French artist Achdé has drawn the series, scripted by several successive writers.
The series takes place in the American Old West of the United States. It stars the titular Lucky Luke, a street-smart gunslinger known as the "man who shoots faster than his shadow", and his intelligent horse Jolly Jumper. Lucky Luke is pitted against various villains, either fictional or inspired by American history or folklore. The most famous of these are the Dalton Brothers, loosely based on the Dalton Gang of the early 1890s and claimed to be their cousins. The stories are filled with humorous elements parodying the Western genre.
Lucky Luke is one of the best-known and best-selling comics series in Europe. It has been translated into 30 languages. 82 albums have appeared in the series as of 2022, and 3 special editions/homages, at first published by Dupuis. From 1968 to 1998 they were published by Dargaud and then by Lucky Productions. Since 2000 they have been published by Lucky Comics. Each story was first serialized in a magazine: in Spirou from 1946 to 1967, in Pilote from 1968 to 1973, in Lucky Luke in 1974–75, in the French edition of Tintin in 1975–76, and in various other magazines since.
The series has also had adaptations in other media, such as animated films and television series, live-action films, video games, toys, and board games. As of 2022, all 82 books in the series' regular albums are available in English.
Publication history
First appearance of Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper in Arizona 1880 (1946)
Simultaneously a tribute to the mythic Old West and an affectionate parody, the comics were created by Belgian artist Morris, who drew Lucky Luke from 1946 until his death in 2001. The first Lucky Luke adventure, Arizona 1880, appeared in the French version of the Franco-Belgian comics magazine Spirou in October 1946.[4] It later appeared in the Almanach issue of Spirou on 7 December 1946.[5]
After several years of writing the strip himself, Morris began a collaboration with René Goscinny. He was the series writer during what is considered its golden age, starting with the story "Des rails sur la Prairie", published on 25 August 1955 in Spirou, until his death in 1977 (with the exception of "Alerte aux Pieds Bleus").[6] Ending a long run of serial publications in Spirou, the series was shifted to Goscinny's Pilote magazine in 1967 with the story "La Diligence". Later it was taken to Dargaud publisher.
After Morris' death in 2001, French artist Achdé continued drawing new Lucky Luke stories in collaboration with writers Laurent Gerra, Daniel Pennac and Tonino Benacquista. Since 2016, new albums are scripted by writer Jul.
Although always described as a cowboy, Luke generally acts as a righter of wrongs or bodyguard of some sort, where he excels thanks to his on-hand resourcefulness and incredible gun prowess. A recurring task is that of capturing the bumbling but menacing gangsters the Dalton brothers, Joe, William, Jack and Averell. He rides Jolly Jumper, "the smartest horse in the world" and is often accompanied by prison guard dog Rin Tin Can, "the stupidest dog in the universe", a spoof of Rin Tin Tin.
The chronology of the albums is deliberately murky, and in most albums no particular year is given. The villains and incidental characters based on real persons lived over most of the mid-to-late-19th century. For example, in the album Daily Star, Lucky Luke meets a young Horace Greeley, prior to his moving to New York in 1831. Judge Roy Bean, who was appointed judge in 1882, appears in another album, and in another album yet, Lucky Luke takes part in the 1892 Coffeyville shootout against the Dalton gang. Lucky Luke himself appears unchanged in all stories.
Except in the first few stories, where he shoots and kills Mad Jim and the old Dalton brothers gang in Coffeyville, Luke is never seen to kill anyone, preferring to disarm people by simply shooting weapons out of their hands.
Phil Defer was killed in the first publication in Le Moustique, but in the later album collection, this was changed into a debilitating shoulder wound.
In the final panel of each story, except the earliest, Lucky Luke rides off alone on Jolly Jumper into the sunset, singing (in English) "I'm a poor lonesome cowboy, and a long way from home...". Luke first said this line in 1949 and it became a tradition afterwards. The song itself is based on a real life cowboy song, collected by John Lomax in Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads. [9]
Historical figures who have appeared in Lucky Luke
Lucky Luke's cigarette was replaced with a wisp of straw in 1983.
Morris, who had been criticized over Lucky Luke's cigarette for a long time, answered his critics: "the cigarette is part of the character's profile, just like the pipe of Popeye or Maigret".[11] It is claimed that Morris was forced to remove the cigarettes Lucky Luke smokes from his strip and Lucky Luke who "used to be a heavy smoker", had to give up smoking for "commercial reasons", apparently to "gain access to the American market".[12][13][14]
Morris received an award from the World Health Organization in 1988 for replacing Luke's omnipresent cigarette with a wisp of straw in the story Fingers (1983).[12][15][16] In the 2007 animated film Tous à l'Ouest: Une aventure de Lucky Luke, Lucky Luke is seen using what appears to be a nicotine patch and mentions that before that he had to "chew on a piece of straw for a while" right after he quit smoking. In the 1994 story Le Pont sur le Mississippi (The Bridge Over the Mississippi), he is seen rolling a cigarette again, although he claims it was just to hide his boredom. And in Sarah Bernhardt (1982), when Bernhardt's cook lights a fire to make a cake, despite Luke's strict orders not to, Luke is seen rolling a cigarette in an irate mood. He then strikes a match, only for it to be blown out by Jolly Jumper, who reminds him of his own "no fire" orders.
Spin-off series
A spin-off series called Rantanplan and starring Luke's dimwitted canine sidekick began in 1987. It has been written over the years by several successive teams of writers and artists. The character also got a 76-episode animated television series in 2006.
A second spin-off series called Kid Lucky was created in 1995, aimed at attracting a younger readership. This starred Luke as a little boy, a format that had been very popular with Spirou. Two albums starring this version of the character were released as part of the main series: Kid Lucky and Oklahoma Jim. These were credited to veteran writer Jean Léturgie and unknown artist Pearce, who was later revealed to be a joint pen name for Yann Lepennetier and Didier Conrad. The series was scrapped due to poor sales and the two albums removed from the official list of Lucky Luke albums. The series was however re-launched in 2011 as Les aventures de Kid Lucky d'après Morris, with Achdé now solely in charge of it. To date, Achdé has written four Kid Lucky albums, L'apprenti Cow-boy, Lasso périlleux, Statue Squaw and Suivez la flèche, released in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017, respectively. In June 2020, It was announced Kid Lucky will be adapted into an animated series.[17]
Between Le Fil qui chante and La Corde du pendu is La Ballade des Dalton, 1978 (The Daltons' Ballad or The Ballad of the Daltons), an adaptation from the animated film.
By Morris and various writers (1980–2002)
Dargaud Publishing
47. Le Magot des Dalton, 1980, by Vicq (The Daltons' Stash or The Daltons' Loot)
48. Le Bandit manchot, 1981, by Bob de Groot (The One-Armed Bandit)
49. Sarah Bernhardt, 1982, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche
52. Fingers, 1983, by Lo Hartog Van Banda
53. Le Daily Star, 1983, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Daily Star)
54. La Fiancée de Lucky Luke, 1985, by Guy Vidal (Bride of Lucky Luke or Lucky Luke's Fiancee)
56. Le Ranch maudit, 1986, by Jean Léturgie, Xavier Fauche and Claude Guylouis (The Cursed Ranch)
57. Nitroglycérine, 1987, by Lo Hartog Van Banda (Nitroglycerine)
58. L'Alibi, 1987, by Claude Guylouis (The Alibi)
59. Le Pony Express, 1988, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Pony Express)
Lucky Productions
60. L'Amnésie des Dalton, 1991, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Daltons' Amnesia)
61. Chasse aux fantômes, 1992, by Lo Hartog Van Banda (Ghost Hunt)
62. Les Dalton à la noce, 1993, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Wedding Crashers)
63. Le Pont sur le Mississippi, 1994, by Jean Léturgie and Xavier Fauche (The Bridge on the Mississippi or Bridge Over the Mississippi)
64. Kid Lucky, 1995, by Pearce and Jean Léturgie
65. Belle Star, 1995, by Xavier Fauche
66. Le Klondike, 1996, by Yann and Jean Léturgie (The Klondike)
67. O.K. Corral, 1997, by Eric Adam and Xavier Fauche
68. Oklahoma Jim, 1997, by Pearce and Jean Léturgie
69. Marcel Dalton, 1998, by Bob de Groot
Lucky Comics
70. Le Prophète, 2000, by Patrick Nordmann (The Prophet)
71. L'Artiste peintre, 2001, by Bob de Groot (The Painter or The Artist)
72. La Légende de l'Ouest, 2002, by Patrick Nordmann (Legends of the West)
By Achdé and various writers (since 2004)
Lucky Comics
73. La Belle Province, 2004, by Laurent Gerra (The Beautiful Province)
74. La Corde au cou, 2006, by Laurent Gerra (Tying the Knot or From the Gallows to the Altar)
75. L'Homme de Washington, 2008, by Laurent Gerra (The Man from Washington)
76. Lucky Luke contre Pinkerton, 2010, by Daniel Pennac and Tonino Benacquista (Lucky Luke versus The Pinkertons)
77. Cavalier seul, 2012, by Daniel Pennac and Tonino Benacquista (Lone Riders)
78. Les tontons Dalton, 2014, by Laurent Gerra and Jacques Pessis (The Dalton Uncles)
79. La Terre promise, 2016, by Jul (The Promised Land)
80. Un cow-boy à Paris, 2018, by Jul (Cowboy in Paris)
81. Un cow-boy dans le Coton, 2020, by Jul (A Cowboy in High Cotton)
82. L'Arche de Rantanplan, 2022, by Jul (Rintincan's Ark)
83. Un cow-boy sous pression, 2024, by Jul (A cowboy under Pressure)
Kid Lucky spin-off
L'apprenti Cow-boy, 2011 (Cowboy in Training)
Lasso périlleux, 2013 (The Dangerous Lasso)
Statue Squaw, 2015
Suivez la flèche, 2017 (Follow the Arrow)
Kid ou double, 2019 (Kid or Double)
Special editions and homages
L' homme qui tua Lucky Luke, 2016, by Matthieu Bonhomme (The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke)[18]
Jolly Jumper ne répond plus, 2017, by Guillaume Bouzard (Jolly Jumper Stops Responding)
Lucky Luke sattelt um, 2019, by Mawil (Lucky Luke Saddles Up)
Lucky Luke: Wanted, 2021, by Matthieu Bonhomme (Wanted Lucky Luke)
Zarter Schmelz, 2021, by Ralf König (Swiss Bliss).
Les Indomptés, 2023, by Blutch (Untamed).
English translations
Apart from the collections mentioned below, Lucky Luke comics were published in British comic book magazines such as Film Fun Comic or Giggle (in 1967). The Giggle version had Luke's name changed to "Buck Bingo".[19]
Brockhampton Press Ltd, Leicester, began publishing the books in hardcover and softcover, with six titles from 1972 to 1974, translated by Frederick W Nolan. Brockhampton became part of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd in 1976, and under their children's imprint, Knight Books, Hodder published mini-sized paperback editions of the first six books, in 1976 to 1977. In 1980 and 1982, Hodder & Stoughton published three new titles as Hodder Dargaud, as well as reprints of the previous six.
Cinebook Ltd have been publishing English language translations of Lucky Luke in softcover album format since 2006. One new volume is released every two months. In India only, Euro Books, a division of Euro Kids International Ltd. published English versions of 24 Lucky Luke titles in 2009.
In 2019, Cinebook began releasing a hardcover collection of Lucky Luke, published in chronological order featuring three to four original albums per volume together with a vast amount of extras included, titled Lucky Luke – The Complete Collection.
Cinebook also published translations of the two Matthieu Bonhomme homages: Wanted Lucky Luke (2016) and The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke (2021). Untamed by Blutch was published in 2024.
In 1990, a new animated series of 26 episodes was produced by IDDH, with the collaboration of Morris, based on album stories not adapted in the prior series.
The 1992 live-action Italian television series, Lucky Luke, also known as The Adventures of Lucky Luke, was based on the films of the previous year and again starred Terence Hill.
In 2001, Xilam produced the 52-episode animated series Les Nouvelles aventures de Lucky Luke (The New Adventures of Lucky Luke). It was made available on an eight-disc DVD set with French and English audio tracks. This series also featured Colonel Custer, who is an Indian-hater and a dwarf in this incarnation. Unlike the two earlier animated series, this series featured original stories.
Xilam produced two further animated series involving Lucky Luke: Rintindumb (2006) and Les Dalton[fr] (2010).
Mediatoon Distribution produced Kid Lucky in 2020.[28]
Video games
Lucky Luke video games have been released for many platforms, most of them by Infogrames for the European market.[29] Only Game Boy Color and PlayStation versions were released in North America.
A Lucky Luke game was developed for mobile phones by The Mighty Troglodytes. Lucky Luke: Go West was released in Europe for Windows, Wii, and Nintendo DS in late 2007.
In 2013, French publishers Dupuis and Anuman Interactive announced the development of a new Time Management game: Lucky Luke: Transcontinental Railroad (set in the 1860s) for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.[30]
In the Belgian Comic Strip Center in Brussels, the permanent exhibition pays homage to the pioneers of Belgian comics, with Morris being among them. In the room dedicated to his work, the entry has saloon doors and Luke's shadow can be seen on the floor and on the wall.[37]
In 1992, as part of Brussels' Comic Book Route, a wall in the Rue de la Buandrie/ Washuisstraat in Brussels was dedicated to Lucky Luke.[38] It was designed by D. Vandegeerde and G. Oreopoulos.
Since 2007, the Rue des Pierres/ Steenstraat in Brussels has a commemorative plaque with the name Rue Lucky Luke / Lucky Luke straat placed under the actual street sign.[39]
In 2000, statues of Lucky Luke, Ratanplan and Joe Dalton were erected in the Jules Van den Heuvelstraat, Middelkerke, Belgium. They were designed by Luc Madou.[41]
In 1993, French rapper MC Solaar released his song "Nouveau Western" with references to Lucky Luke and the Daltons.
Lucky Luke is also referenced in the 2010 Obsidian Entertainment-developed and Bethesda Softworks-published video game Fallout: New Vegas. Posters appear in the game, as well as in some loading screens, stating "There's a new sheriff in town and he's looking for deputies ... Become a part of the human dignity bloc". Accompanying this text is an image of a frontier-era sheriff doing a finger gun motion with both hands. Aside from the star-shaped sheriff badge he wears, the sheriff is dressed identically to Lucky Luke, sporting his trademark white hat, yellow shirt, black vest, and red bandana tied around his neck.
In 2015, Danish reggaeton band Camilo & Grande released a single titled "Lucky Luke", in which they liken their lives to that of Lucky Luke.[42]
In 2022, the Belgian government included a tribute to Lucky Luke in the visa pages of its newly redesigned passport. It features a blank silhouette of Luke and Jolly Jumper in Monument Valley, with the full detail of the characters being revealed under UV light.[43]
René Goscinny was a French comic editor and writer, who created the Astérix comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. He was raised primarily in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schools, and he lived in the United States for a short period of time. There he met Belgian cartoonist Morris. After his return to France, they collaborated for more than 20 years on the comic series Lucky Luke.
Iznogoud is a French comics series featuring an eponymous character, created by the comics writer René Goscinny and comics artist Jean Tabary. The comic series chronicles the life and times of Iznogoud, the Grand Vizier of the Caliphate of Baghdad at an undefined period. His greatest desire is to replace the Caliph, leading him to repeatedly utter the phrase "I want to be Caliph instead of the Caliph", a phrase that has been adopted in French and some other European languages to characterize overly ambitious people. Iznogoud is supported by his dimwitted yet faithful servant, Wa'at Alahf.
Notable events of 1961 in comics.
Joe, William, Jack and Averell Dalton, known together as The Daltons or the Dalton brothers, are fictional characters in the Lucky Luke Western comics series. Four brothers and outlaws acting as the most recurring enemies to protagonist Lucky Luke, they were created by artist Morris and writer René Goscinny. Loosely inspired by the real-life Dalton Gang active in the United States in early 1890s, The Daltons first had a one-panel cameo appearance in the 1958 comic Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon, before being prominently featured later that year in the comic The Dalton Cousins.
Rantanplan is a fictional hound dog created by a Belgian cartoonist Morris and French writer René Goscinny. Originally a supporting character in the Lucky Luke series, Rantanplan later starred in self-titled series. Rantanplan is a spoof of the male German Shepherd Rin Tin Tin. In the Turkish translations of the series, he is indeed named Rin Tin Tin. English versions of the books have renamed him "Rin-Tin-Can" and "Bushwack" in the 1983 Hanna-Barbera animated television series Lucky Luke, as well as "Rintindumb" in the French comedy animated television series The Daltons produced by French animation studio Xilam.
Jolly Jumper is a horse character in the Franco-Belgian comics series Lucky Luke, created by Belgian artist Morris. Described as "the smartest horse in the west" and able to perform tasks such as chess-playing and tightrope walking, Jolly Jumper accompanies his cowboy in their travels across the Wild West, and delivers frequent quips.
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines.
Daisy Town is a 1971 French-Belgian film based upon the comic book character Lucky Luke and making it his first animated appearance. A Lucky Luke comic based on the film, with the title Daisy Town was released in 1982, drawn by Pascal Dabère.
À l'ombre des derricks is a Lucky Luke comic written by Goscinny and illustrated by Morris. It is the eighteenth title in the series and it was originally published by Dupuis in 1962, in French. English editions of this French series were published by Cinebook Ltd in 2007 as In the Shadow of the Derricks. The story is based on the historical oil rush in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859.
Lucky Luke contre Joss Jamon is a Lucky Luke comic written by Goscinny and Morris. It is the eleventh album in the Lucky Luke Series and the second on which Goscinny worked. The comic was printed by Dupuis in 1958 and in English by Cinebook in 2011, under the title Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon.
Les Cousins Dalton is a Lucky Luke comic written by Goscinny and Morris. It is the twelfth album in the Lucky Luke Series. The comic was printed by Dupuis in 1958 and by Cinebook in 2011 as The Dalton Cousins.
Lucky Luke : La Ballade des Dalton is a 1978 French animated film written and directed by René Goscinny, Morris, Henri Gruel and Pierre Watrin starring the comic book character Lucky Luke. Two different adaptations of the film in book form were both published in French in 1978. The first, adapted by Guy Vidal, was in text form rather than comic strip, and was accompanied by images from the film. The second was a comic strip adaptation by an uncredited Pascal Dabère and formed part of the book, La Ballade des Dalton et autres histoires.
Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure is a 2007 French animated western comedy film directed by Olivier Jean-Marie and written by Jean-Marie and Jean-François Henry. Based on the 2001–03 animated television series The New Adventures of Lucky Luke and loosely based on La Caravane by Morris and René Goscinny, the film was produced by Xilam, France 3 Cinéma, Pathé, Dargaud Média and Lucky Comics, and was released theatrically in France by Pathé Distribution on 5 December 2007.
Notable events of 1960 in comics.
Maurice De Bevere, better known as Morris, was a Belgian comics artist, illustrator and the creator of Lucky Luke, a bestselling comic series about a gunslinger in the American Wild West. He was inspired by the adventures of the historic Dalton Gang and other outlaws. It was a bestselling series for more than 50 years that was translated into 23 languages and published internationally. He collaborated for two decades with French writer René Goscinny on the series. Morris's pen name is an Anglicized version of his first name.
Les Nouvelles Aventures de Lucky Luke is a 2001–2003 animated television series based on the Franco-Belgian comic book series of the same name created by Belgian cartoonist Morris. 52 episodes were produced.
Lucky Luke is an animated television series based on the comic book series of the same name created by the Belgian cartoonist and creator of the franchise Morris. The series lasted for 26 episodes, and was co-produced by Hanna-Barbera, Gaumont, Extrafilm and FR3. In France, the series was broadcast from 15 October 1984 on FR3. In the United States, the show aired in syndication on various CBS and ABC stations.
Lucky Luke – The Complete Collection is a series of books collecting the complete output of the Belgian comic title Lucky Luke, a comic title that was first published and introduced in the Belgian magazine Spirou during the late 1940s, and later continuing in Pilote before finally switching back to Spirou and being collected in the album format. The comic title was created by Morris in 1949, and later also written by René Goscinny. The publisher behind this reprint book collection is Cinebook Ltd. The first volume of the series was released in June 2019.
Lucky Luke is an animated television series based on the comic book series of the same name created by a Belgian cartoonist Morris.
Lefèvre, Pascal. 1998. "Lucky Luke, a 'lonesome cowboy' for more than half a century. In The Low Countries, 1998–1999". In The Low Countries: Arts and Society in Flanders and the Netherlands: A Yearbook, 1998-99. Stichting Ons Erfdeel.
External links
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