Lucky Luke Comics
An introduction to the Lucky Luke Comic book collection
Is there a Lucky Luke Cartoon? What is the name of the dog in Lucky Luke? Do you have all the Comic books in the Lucky Luke series? Read on and I will try to answer your questions!
The very first Lucky Luke comic was launched in 1946 and was featured in the "le journal de Spirou" a Belgian comics magazine. Morris (a.k.a Aldus Maurice De Bevere) both Drew and Wrote the first story about Lucky Luke, it was titled "Arizona". Morris later got Rene Goscinny onboard to do the writing, so he could himself focus on the actual drawing. Goscinny is perhaps better known as one of the creator of Asterix. After Morris death the comic has been continued by Achdé (Real name Hervé Darmenton). The latest comic book; Lucky Luke vs Pinkerton has been written by Daniel Pennac and is illustrated by Tonino Benacquista.
The comics are set in the Wild West of America around the end of the 19th century and spins its tales around real world events and characters.
Lucky Luke is popular throughout the world and has been translated into 27 languages with 76 different books published so far.
Photo Courtesy of Ferran CornellÃ
Wikimedia Commmons
The One-Armed Bandit: Lucky Luke 33
Released with english text in June 2012, this is one of my absolute favorite Lucky Luke comics. Our hero is helping 2 inventor brothers as they attempt to convince the west to use their One Armed Bandit machine.
It is a great Lucky Luke adventure, with a lot of really funny episodes.
Rails on the Prairie: Lucky Luke Vol. 32
Rails on the prairie follows Lucky Luke on the adventures he experience when he helps build the Transcontinental Railroad. There has been several acts of sabotage and it is up to Lucky Luke to prevent further interruptions as the railroad pushes westward.
This Lucky Luke comic was released in english on April 16th 2012 and is the newest english translation of the comic book series.
Lucky Luke Versus the Pinkertons: Lucky Luke Vol. 31 - The most recent Lucky Luke - Newly released
The english translation of Lucky Luke Versus Pinkerton was released on the 16th of january 2012.
This adventure by Lucky Luke was written by Danel Pennac, not Morris, however it still has the charm and humour of the series.
Lucky Luke goes up against Allan Pinkerton, a strict Lawman who aims to make bandit hunting a rational business. As we all know Lucky Luke will protect anyone against evil-doers and as such he finds himself battling it out with Pinkerton.
The main characters of Lucky Luke
The comics has a large and varied ensemble of character , however there are some that are present in all or almost all of the stories. You can read more about all of them on my Lucky Luke lens, but here is the quick rundown:
- Lucky Luke - the Hero of the comics. Lonesome Cowboy who is faster than his own shadow.
- Jolly Jumper - Very clever horse and Lucky Lukes faithful companion
- Rantanplan - The stupidest dog in the West
- The Dalton Brothers - Notorious Criminals, Lucky Lukes arch enemies
The other characters of Lucky Luke:
Throughout his Travels Lucky Luke meets and interacts with several historically famous people.
Most notably of these are the Dalton Brothers who continuously escape from prison and get up to no good. It is a running joke in the books that Lucky Luke always needs to bring them back and mostly that is the case. There are however a few of the comics where Lucky Luke is surprised, either by them having been returned without his interaction or by them not having run off at all.
You can see some examples of the real people featuring in the Lucky Luke comments below, as well as see which volume your favourite Wild West celebrity is portrayed.
There are many more famous people throughout the books though and many more tales to explore. With this approach The Lucky Luke comics gives you a fun entry point into the events and people of the Wild West era.
I have found that the comics are a great way to learn about this part of the American history as my curiosity will often prompt me to go find out the "real" story after I have finished the Lucky Luke take on it.
Favourite Lucky Luke character? - there are so many characters in the comics, but which one do you prefer.
My favourite character from the comics has to be Averell, he is just such a lovely guy. He might not be the smartest person in the world, but he has a heart of gold. I get sad every time Joe is mean to him.
What is your alltime favourite character from the Lucky Like comics?
Learning from Comics?
I have found that the Lucky Luke comics are a great way to learn about this part of the American history as my curiosity will often prompt me to go find out the "real" story after I have finished the Lucky Luke take on it.
Just remember that the stories are written with artistic freedom.
Spin offs
There are a couple of spin offs from the original series. The Dog Rantanplan (the most stupid dog in the West) became so loved that he got his own series with 20 volumes released to date. (Most of these are only in french, however some has been translated to other languages).
Other than that there are 2 volumes that deals with the early year of our hero, however again, these does not seem to have been translated to english.
Lucky Luke movies, cartoons and video games - All the extra stuff
There are 4 animated movies about Lucky Luke as well as a television serie with 104 episodes all in all. The movies were first released on VHS, however has since been re-released on DVD.
Terence Hill (he also starred in the action television serie about Lucky Luke), Til Schweiger and the french Jean Dujardin have all played Lucky Luke in the 4 live action movies about the man who is faster than his own shadow.
Numerous computer games has also been made about our hero. The latest one being "Go West" that was released for PC and Nintendo Wii in 2007, the game is a collection of mini games where you get to play as Joe Dalton robbing a bank and shooting the police, you can take a trip to the saloon and do some fist fighting or attempt to do smoke signals as an indian. There is of course also a bunch of them where you get to play Lucky Luke himself as he chases after the Daltons.
Sources for more information - If you wan't to read more about the Lucky Luke comics try one of the links below
- Wikipedia
Very nice breakdown of Lucky Luke related information - Tvtropes
This site has a lot of interesting observations about the comics - Comicwiki
Danish site, is worth checking out for non-danish speakers just to see the different versions of the "faster than his own shadow" back page - Lucky Luke info
My lens on Lucky Luke and the other characters of the comic
My favorite has to be the The Tenderfoot. The comic is about the very posh British Waldo who inherits a ranch in the Wild West. He arrives with his butler Jasper to take over his new home. When the Wild West and Britain meets hilarity ensue.
