''Lucky Luke'' is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

comic album a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicat ...

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 René Goscinny (; ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Asterix, Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Born in France to a Jewish family from Poland, he spent his chil ...

. 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 The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

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 Jolly Jumper is a horse character in the Franco-Belgian comics series ''Lucky Luke'', created by Belgium, Belgian artist Morris (comics), Morris. Described as "the smartest horse in the west" and able to perform tasks such as chess-playing and tig ...

. 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 The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because three of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted doub ...

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. 83 albums have appeared in the series as of 2024, and 3 special editions/homages, at first published by

Dupuis Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines. Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. Initially a French language publisher, it now ...

. From 1968 to 1998 they were published by

Dargaud Société Dargaud (), doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud, publishing its first comics in 1943. ...

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 ''Pilote'' (), for a while subtitled ''the magazine of Asterix and Obelix'' (French: ''Le Journal D’Astérix et D’Obélix'' ) was a French comics magazine published from 1959 to 1989. Showcasing most of the major Franco-Belgian comics, French ...

'' from 1968 to 1973, in ''Lucky Luke'' in 1974–75, in the French edition of ''

Tintin Tintin usually refers to: * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), the protagonist and titular character of the series Tintin or Tin Tin may also refer to: Material related to ''The A ...

'' 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

Simultaneously a tribute to the mythic Old West and an affectionate

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

, 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. It later appeared in the ''Almanach'' issue of ''Spirou'' on 7 December 1946. After several years of writing the strip himself, Morris began a collaboration with

. He was the series writer during what is considered its golden age, starting with the story , published on 25 August 1955 in ''Spirou'', until his death in 1977 (with the exception of ). Ending a long run of serial publications in ''Spirou'', the series was shifted to Goscinny's ''

'' magazine in 1967 with the story . Later it was taken to

publisher. After the death of Goscinny in 1977, several writers succeeded him: including Raymond "Vicq" Antoine, Bob de Groot, Jean Léturgie and Lo Hartog van Banda. At the 1993

Angoulême International Comics Festival The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

, ''Lucky Luke'' was given an honorary exhibition. 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. Lucky Luke comics have been translated into:

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, Bengali, Catalan, Croatian,

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

, Danish, Dutch, English,

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

, Finnish,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Serbian, Slovene,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Swedish,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, Turkish, Vietnamese, Welsh and Bulgarian.

Stories

Overview

Although always described as a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

, 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

, "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 Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (October 10, 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, ...

. Luke meets many historical Western figures such as

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1856 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American American frontier, frontierswoman, Exhibition shooting, sharpshooter, sex worker, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known f ...

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

, Judge Roy Bean and

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...

's gang, and takes part in events such as the guarding of

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

es, the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company. During its 18 months of opera ...

, the building of the First Transcontinental Telegraph, the Rush into the

Unassigned Lands The Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma were in the center of the lands ceded to the United States by the Creek (Muskogee) and Seminole Indians following the Civil War and on which no other tribes had been settled. By 1883, it was bounded by the Cher ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, the building of the

Statue of liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

, and a tour by French actress

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

. Some of the books feature a one-page article on the background to the events featured. Goscinny once said that he and Morris tried to base the Lucky Luke adventures on real events whenever possible, but that they would not let the facts get in the way of a funny story. Charleroi - station Janson - Les Daltons - 01

Charleroi - station Janson - Les Daltons - 01

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 Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

, 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 The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because three of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted doub ...

. 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''.

Historical figures who have appeared in ''Lucky Luke''

Smoking controversy

Morris, who had been criticized over Lucky Luke's

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

for a long time, answered his critics: "the cigarette is part of the character's profile, just like the pipe of

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

". 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". Morris received an award from the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

in 1988 for replacing Luke's omnipresent cigarette with a wisp of straw in the story ''Fingers'' (1983). 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 A nicotine patch is a transdermal patch that releases nicotine into the body through the skin. It is used in nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), a process for smoking cessation. Endorsed and approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it ...

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.

Collected editions

By Morris (1949–1958)

Dupuis Publishing

*1. '' La Mine d'or de Dick Digger'', 1949 (''Dick Digger's Gold Mine'') *2. '' Rodéo'', 1951 *3. ''

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

'', 1951 *4. '' Sous le ciel de l'Ouest'', 1952 (''Under the Western Sky'') *5. '' Lucky Luke contre Pat Poker'', 1953 (''Lucky Luke versus Pat Poker'') *6. '' Hors-la-loi'', 1954 (''Outlaws'') *7. '' L'Élixir du Dr Doxey'', 1955 (''Doc Doxey's Elixir'') *8. '' Lucky Luke contre Phil Defer'', 1956 (''Phil Wire'') *10. '' Alerte aux Pieds Bleus'', 1958 (''The Bluefeet are Coming'')

By Morris & Goscinny (1955–1977)

Dupuis Publishing

*9. '' Des rails sur la Prairie'', 1957 (''Rails on the Prairie'') *11. '' Lucky Luke contre Joss Jamon'', 1958 (''Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon'') *12. '' Les Cousins Dalton'', 1958 (''The Dalton Cousins'') *13. '' Le Juge'', 1959 (''The Judge'') *14. '' Ruée sur l'Oklahoma'', 1960 (''The Oklahoma Land Rush'') *15. '' L'Évasion des Dalton'', 1960 (''The Daltons' Escape'') *16. '' En remontant le Mississippi'', 1961 (''Travelling Up the Mississippi or Steaming Up the Mississippi'') *17. '' Sur la piste des Dalton'', 1962 (''On the Daltons' Trail'') *18. ''

À l'ombre des derricks À, à ( a-grave) is a letter of the Catalan, Emilian-Romagnol, French, Italian, Maltese, Occitan, Portuguese, Sardinian, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, and Welsh languages consisting of the letter A of the ISO basic Latin alphabet and a ...

'', 1962 (''In the Shadow of the Derricks'') *19. '' Les Rivaux de Painful Gulch'', 1962 (''The Rivals of Painful Gulch'') *20. ''

'', 1962 *21. '' Les Collines noires'', 1963 (''The Black Hills'') *22. '' Les Dalton dans le blizzard'', 1963 (''The Daltons in the Blizzard'') *23. '' Les Dalton courent toujours'', 1964 (''The Daltons Always On The Run'') *24. '' La Caravane'', 1964 (''The Wagon Train'') *25. '' La Ville fantôme'', 1965 (''Ghost Town'') *26. '' Les Dalton se rachètent'', 1965 (''The Daltons Redeem Themselves'') *27. '' Le Vingtième de cavalerie'', 1965 (''The 20th Cavalry'') *28. '' L'Escorte'', 1966 (''The Escort'') *29. '' Des barbelés sur la prairie'', 1967 (''Barbed Wire on the Prairie'') *30. ''

'', 1967 *31. '' Tortillas pour les Dalton'', 1967 (''Tortillas for the Daltons'')

Dargaud Publishing

*32. '' La Diligence'', 1968 (''The Stagecoach'') *33. '' Le Pied-tendre'', 1968 (''The Tenderfoot'') *34. '' Dalton City'', 1969 *35. ''

'', 1969 *36. '' Western Circus'', 1970 *37. '' Canyon Apache'', 1971 (''Apache Canyon'') *38. '' Ma Dalton'', 1971 *39. '' Chasseur de primes'', 1972 (''The Bounty Hunter'') *40. '' Le Grand Duc'', 1973 (''The Grand Duke'') *41. '' L'Héritage de Rantanplan'', 1973 (''Rantanplan's Inheritance or Rin-Tin-Can's Inheritance'') *42. ''7 histoires complètes'', 1974 (''7 Full Stories or 7 Stories'') *43. '' Le Cavalier blanc'', 1975 (''The Dashing White Cowboy'') *44. '' La Guérison des Dalton'', 1975 (''A Cure for the Daltons'') *45. ''L'Empereur Smith'', 1976 (''Emperor Smith'') *46. ''Le Fil qui chante'', 1977 (''The Singing Wire'') *50. ''La Corde du pendu'', 1982 (''The Hanged Man's Rope or The Hanged Man's Noose'') *51. ''Daisy Town (comics), Daisy Town'', 1983 *55. ''La Ballade des Dalton#Published versions, La Ballade des Dalton et autres histoires'', 1986 (''The Daltons' Ballad and Other Stories or The Ballad Of The Daltons And Other Stories''). 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 (Lucky Luke), 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. , 2024, by Jul (''Trouble Brewing'')

''Kid Lucky'' spin-off

# , 2011 (''Cowboy in Training'') # , 2013 (''The Dangerous Lasso'') # ''Statue Squaw'', 2015 # , 2017 (''Follow the Arrow'') # , 2019 (''Kid or Double'')

Special editions and homages

*, 2016, by Matthieu Bonhomme (''The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke'') * , 2017, by Guillaume Bouzard (''Jolly Jumper Stops Responding'') * , 2019, by Mawil (''Lucky Luke Saddles Up'') *''Lucky Luke: Wanted'', 2021, by Matthieu Bonhomme (''Wanted Lucky Luke'') *, 2021, by Ralf König (''Swiss Bliss''). * , 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 Comics, Giggle'' (in 1967). The ''Giggle Comics, Giggle'' version had Luke's name changed to "Buck Bingo". 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. List of single albums in English Brockhampton Press (UK) *''

'', 1972 *''The Stagecoach'', 1972 *'' Dalton City'', 1973 *''The Tenderfoot (Lucky Luke), The Tenderfoot'', 1974 *''Western Circus (Lucky Luke), Western Circus'', 1974 *''Apache Canyon'', 1974 Knight Books (UK) *''The Stagecoach'', 1976 *'' Dalton City'', 1976 *''

'', 1976 *''Le Pied-tendre, The Tenderfoot'', 1976 *''Apache Canyon'', 1977 *'' Western Circus'', 1977 Hodder Dargaud (UK) *''Ma Dalton (Lucky Luke), Ma Dalton'', 1980 *''Curing the Daltons'', 1982 *''The Dashing White Cowboy (Lucky Luke), The Dashing White Cowboy'', 1982

USA and Canada *''The Stage Coach'', US, 1980s *''The Greenhorn'', US, 1980s *'' Dalton City'', US, 1980s *''

'', US, 1980s *''Western Circus (Lucky Luke), Western Circus'', US, 1980s *''Ma Dalton (Lucky Luke), Ma Dalton, US, 1980s *''The Dalton Brothers' Analyst'', Canada, 1982 *''Curing the Daltons'', Canada, 1982 Fantasy Flight Games, Fantasy Flight (US) *''The Stage Coach'', 1990s *''

'', 1990s Ravette Books (UK) *''The Dalton Brothers Memory Game'', 1991 Glo'worm (UK) *''

'', 1998 *'' Dalton City'', 1998 *''Ma Dalton (Lucky Luke), Ma Dalton'', 1999 *''

'', 1998 *''The Tenderfoot (Lucky Luke), The Tenderfoot'', 1999 *''Western Circus (Lucky Luke), Western Circus'', 2000 *''The Dashing White Cowboy (Lucky Luke), The Dashing White Cowboy'', 2000 Cinebook Ltd # ''Billy the Kid (Lucky Luke), Billy The Kid'', 2006, # ''Ghost Town (Lucky Luke), Ghost Town'', 2006, # '' Dalton City'', 2006, # ''

'', 2006, # ''In the Shadow of the Derricks (Lucky Luke), In the Shadow of the Derricks'', 2007, # ''Ma Dalton (Lucky Luke), Ma Dalton'', 2007, # ''Barbed Wire on the Prairie (Lucky Luke), Barbed Wire on the Prairie'', 2007, # ''

'', 2007, # ''The Wagon Train (Lucky Luke), The Wagon Train'', 2008, # ''Tortillas for the Daltons'', 2008, # ''Western Circus (Lucky Luke), Western Circus'', 2008, # ''The Rivals of Painful Gulch'', 2008, # ''The Tenderfoot (Lucky Luke), The Tenderfoot'', 2008, # ''The Dashing White Cowboy (Lucky Luke), The Dashing White Cowboy'', 2008, # ''The Daltons in the Blizzard (Lucky Luke), The Daltons in the Blizzard'', 2009, # ''The Black Hills (Lucky Luke), The Black Hills'', 2009, # ''Apache Canyon (Lucky Luke), Apache Canyon'', 2009, # ''The Escort (Lucky Luke), The Escort'', 2009, # ''On the Daltons' Trail (Lucky Luke), On the Daltons' Trail'', 2009, # ''The Oklahoma Land Rush (Lucky Luke), The Oklahoma Land Rush'', 2009, # ''The 20th Cavalry (Lucky Luke), The 20th Cavalry'', 2010, # ''Emperor Smith (Lucky Luke), Emperor Smith'', 2010, # ''A Cure for the Daltons (Lucky Luke), A Cure for the Daltons'', 2010, # ''The Judge (Lucky Luke), The Judge'', 2010, # ''The Stagecoach (Lucky Luke), The Stagecoach'', 2010, # ''The Bounty Hunter (Lucky Luke), The Bounty Hunter'', 2010, # ''Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon (Lucky Luke), Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon'', 2011, # ''The Dalton Cousins (Lucky Luke), The Dalton Cousins'', 2011, # ''The Grand Duke (Lucky Luke), The Grand Duke'', 2011, # ''The Daltons' Escape (Lucky Luke), The Daltons' Escape'', 2011, # ''Lucky Luke versus the Pinkertons'', 2011, # ''Rails on the Prairie (Lucky Luke), Rails on the Prairie'', 2011, # ''The One-Armed Bandit'', 2012, # ''The Daltons Always On The Run (Lucky Luke), The Daltons Always On The Run'', 2012, # ''The Singing Wire (Lucky Luke), The Singing Wire'', 2012, # ''Les Dalton se rachètent, The Daltons Redeem Themselves'', 2012, # ''Fingers'', 2012, # ''Doc Doxey's Elixir'', 2012, # ''The Man from Washington'', 2013, # ''Phil Defer, Phil Wire'', 2013, # ''The Daily Star'', 2013, # ''Lone Riders'', 2013, # ''The Bluefeet are coming! (Lucky Luke), The Bluefeet are coming!'', 2013, # ''Lucky Luke versus Pat Poker (Lucky Luke), Lucky Luke versus Pat Poker'', 2013, # ''Tying the Knot'', 2014, # ''The Pony Express'', 2014, # ''Hors-la-loi (Lucky Luke), Outlaws'', 2014, # ''Dick Digger's Gold Mine'', 2014, # ''The Daltons' Amnesia'', 2014, # ''Seven Stories'', 2014, # ''The Painter'', 2015, # ''The Beautiful Province'', 2015, # ''Nitroglycerin'', 2015, # ''Rodeo (Lucky Luke), Rodeo'', 2015, # ''

'', 2015, # ''Sous le Ciel de l'Ouest, Under a Western Sky'', 2015, # ''Legends of the West'', 2016, # ''The Daltons' Stash'', 2016, # ''Bride of Lucky Luke'', 2016, # ''La Ballade des Dalton, The Ballad of the Daltons and other stories'', 2016, # ''Daisy Town (comics), Daisy Town'', 2016, # ''The Cursed Ranch'', 2016, # ''Sarah Bernhardt (Lucky Luke), Sarah Bernhardt'', 2017, # ''The Wedding Crashers'', 2017, # ''Ghost Hunt'', 2017, # ''The Promised Land'', 2017, # ''Belle Starr'', 2018, # ''Bridge Over the Mississippi'', 2018, # ''Kid Lucky'', 2018, # ''The O.K. Corral'', 2018, # ''A Cowboy in Paris'', 2018, # ''Marcel Dalton'', 2019, # ''The Prophet'', 2019, # ''The Klondike'', 2020, # ''L'Héritage de Rantanplan, Rin Tin Can's Inheritance'', 2020, # ''Oklahoma Jim'', 2020, # ''A Cowboy in High Cotton'', 2020, # ''The Dalton Uncles'', 2021, # ''Steaming up the Mississippi'', 2021, # ''The Alibi'', 2021, # ''The Hanged Man's Rope and Other Stories'', 2022, # ''Rin Tin Can's Ark'', 2022, # ''Trouble Brewing'', 2024, Eurokids (India) # ''The Alibi'', 2009, # ''Ghost Hunt'', 2009, # ''Kid Lucky'', 2009, # ''Oklahoma Jim'', 2009, # ''The Prophet'', 2009, # ''Belle Star'', 2009, # ''The Klondike'', 2009, # ''The Pony Express'', 2009, # ''Sarah Bernardt'', 2009, # ''The bridge on the Mississippi'', 2009, # ''The Hanged Man's Rope and other stories'', 2009, # ''The Ballad of the Daltons and other stories (Lucky Luke), The Ballad of the Daltons and other stories'', 2009, # ''Daisy Town (comics), Daisy Town'', 2009, # ''Fingers'', 2009, # ''Marcel Dalton'', 2009, # ''The Artist'', 2009, # ''The legend of the west'', 2009, # ''The Daily Star'', 2009, # ''Lucky Luke's fiancé'', 2009, # ''Nitroglycerine'', 2009, # ''The Cursed Ranch'', 2009, # ''The Beautiful Province'', 2009, # ''From the Gallows to the Altar'', 2009, # ''The Dalton's Loot'', 2009, Europe Comics # ''The Man Who Shot Lucky Luke'', 2016 # ''Cowboy in Training'', 2017 # ''Dangerous Lasso'', 2017 # ''Statue Squaw'', 2017 # ''Follow the Arrow'', 2019

In other media

Films

Animation

*Goscinny directed and co-produced two animated Lucky Luke films: **''Daisy Town (1971 film), Daisy Town'' (1971) ** (1978) *The French company Xilam produced a theatrical animated film: ''Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure'' (5 December 2007)

Live-action

There are a number of feature adaptations from various countries, including: *Turkish films: ** (1970), starring Izzet Günay ** (1975), starring Sadri Alışık *Italian films, both starring Terence Hill: **''Lucky Luke (1991 film), Lucky Luke'' (1991) **''Lucky Luke 2'' (1991) *French films, both produced by Saïd Ben Saïd and Yves Marmion: ** (2004), featuring Til Schweiger as Lucky Luke (one of the most expensive European films ever made) **''Lucky Luke (2009 film), Lucky Luke'' (2009), starring French actor Jean Dujardin as Lucky Luke

Television

In 1983, Hanna-Barbera Productions, France 3, Gaumont Film Company, Extrafilm Berlin and Morris collaborated to produce the animated TV series ''Lucky Luke (1984 TV series), Lucky Luke'', which ran for 26 episodes and was based on original album stories. The series' main voice actors were William Callaway as Lucky Luke, Robert Ridgely as Jolly Jumper, Paul Reubens as Bushwack, Frank Welker as Joe Dalton, Rick Dees as Jack Dalton, Fred Travalena as William Dalton, Bob Holt (actor), Bob Holt as Averell Dalton, and Mitzi McCall as Ma Dalton. Additional voices were provided by Peter Cullen, Pat Fraley, Barbara Goodson, and Mona Marshall. 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 (1992 TV 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 (''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 George Armstrong Custer, 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 (2010). Mediatoon Distribution produced ''Kid Lucky'' in 2020.

Video games

''Lucky Luke'' video games have been released for many platforms, most of them by Atari SA, Infogrames for the European market. 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 Microsoft Windows, 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 (operating system), Android. * ''Lucky Luke'' – Tiger Handheld – 1984 * ''Lucky Luke: Nitroglycerine'' – Coktel Vision, C64, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Thomson TO – 1987 * ''Lucky Luke: The Video Game'' – Philips Interactive, Philips CD-i – 1996 * ''Lucky Luke'' – Infogrames, Game Boy (Europe only) – 1996 and Game Boy Color – May 1999 * ''Lucky Luke'' – SNES, MS-DOS, and Windows (Europe only) – October 1997 * ''Lucky Luke'' – Infogrames, PlayStation – 1998 and Windows (Europe only) – 2000 as ''Lucky Luke: On the Dalton's Trail'' * ''Lucky Luke: Desperado Train'' – Game Boy Color (Europe Only) – 2000 (Infogrames) * ''Lucky Luke: Western Fever'' – Windows and PlayStation (Europe only) – 2001 * ''Lucky Luke: Wanted!'' – Game Boy Advance (Europe only) – 11 February 2001 (Infogrames) * ''Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure'' – DS, Windows, Wii – 2007

Tributes

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 Bar (establishment), saloon doors and Luke's shadow can be seen on the floor and on the wall. 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. 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 / placed under the actual street sign. In Charleroi, Belgium, a statue of Lucky Luke can be seen in Astrid Park. The nearby Charleroi Metro station Parc (Charleroi Metro), Parc is also decorated with scenes of Lucky Luke. In 2000, statues of Lucky Luke, Ratanplan and Joe Dalton were erected in the , Middelkerke, Belgium. They were designed by Luc Madou. In 1993, French rapper MC Solaar released his song with references to Lucky Luke and the The Daltons (Lucky Luke), 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. In 2022, the Belgian government included a tribute to Lucky Luke in the visa pages of its newly redesigned Belgian passport, 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.

Notes

References

''Lucky Luke'' publications in ''Spirou''
an

BDoubliées

External links

''Lucky Luke'' official site

English publisher of ''Lucky Luke'' - Cinebook Ltd

* * In Brussels,

is dedicated to ''Lucky Luke''.

Goscinny website on ''Lucky Luke''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucky Luke Lucky Luke, 1946 comics debuts 1946 establishments in Belgium American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series Bandes dessinées Belgian comics adapted into films Belgian comics characters Belgian comic strips Belgian comics titles Comics adapted into animated films Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into video games Comics by Morris (cartoonist) Comics characters introduced in 1946 Comics set in the 19th century Fictional orphans French children's animated action television series French children's animated adventure television series Humor comics Adventure comics Male characters in comics Orphan characters in comics Parody comics Western (genre) comics Western (genre) comics characters Western (genre) gunfighters Western (genre) heroes and heroines

Publication history

Stories

Overview

Historical figures who have appeared in ''Lucky Luke''

Smoking controversy

Spin-off series

Collected editions

By Morris (1949–1958)

Dupuis Publishing

By Morris & Goscinny (1955–1977)

Dupuis Publishing

Dargaud Publishing

By Morris and various writers (1980–2002)

Dargaud Publishing

Lucky Productions

Lucky Comics

By Achdé and various writers (since 2004)

Lucky Comics

''Kid Lucky'' spin-off

Special editions and homages

English translations

In other media

Films

Animation

Live-action

Television

Video games

Tributes

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links