Francophone comics in Poland have always had their own special place. Of course, today the leaders are those from overseas telling us about the adventures of famous superheroes, various types of Disney picture productions, as well as these "our" graphic stories from the Vistula River. Among French-language comics, the adventures of Tin Tino, Asterix and Obelix were the most famous. But are you sure?
A short story of a lonely cowboy
The story of the two Gauls, closer to European culture, never captivated me. Of course, there were a few songs that delighted me more or less, but only for a moment. It was the same with the other stories. However, Lucky Luke shot my heart with both his outstanding animated and fictional productions and the original comic itself. All this because of love for the dangerous and magical USA of the 19th century.
The comics, which are a tribute to the mythical Wild West, were created by the Belgian artist Morris, who draws the adventures of a cowboy shooting faster than his own shadow from 1946 until his death in 2001. Lucky Luke’s first adventure titled Arizona 1880 appeared in the French version of the French-Belgian comic magazine Spirou in October 1946.
After several years of independent development, Morris began working with René Goscinny. It lasted from 1955 until the death of the latter in 1977. After her, Goscinny was replaced by several writers, including Raymond “Vicq” Antoine, Bob de Groot, Jean Léturgie and Lo Hartog van Banda. Following Morris’s death in 2001, French artist Achdé continued drawing new Lucky Luke stories in collaboration with Laurent Gerra, Daniel Pennac and Tonino Benacquista.
Source: deviantart.com/sem-nome
What’s magical in the Wild West over 200 years ago?
This question may be on your mind from the beginning of reading this article. Well, I thought, probably nothing. However, I was wrong. Not only lovers of cowboys, Indians or history will find something for themselves there. Also fantasy fans, although they have to search a lot.
Most of all, the shadow of the lone rider stands out the most. When Luke stands in the daylight dueling or chasing the Daltons or another thug, his poor shadow cannot keep up with him. And it’s not about the Flash’s super speed, but about the extremely good reflexes that allow him to shoot firearms fluently, which often means that the lonely owner of the Jolly Jumper saves many situations. And the poor black reflection of his master only gets angry and, bending the laws of physics, goes away, avoiding further embarrassment.
Another important element that lends a mystery to the stories started by Morris are the multiple drinks. While Luke himself avoids alcohol, he happens to meet strange potions, most often of Indian or Mexican origin, based on numerous spicy spices and “fire water”, which literally cause fire to escape from his ears and nostrils.
The hallucinogens so popular in Indian culture function in a similar way. They allow you to get to know the world from a completely different side, opening your inner eye to different experiences. When it comes to the indigenous people of America, we cannot forget about rituals, such as the rain dance. Of course, the rain dance is just one type of magic “bans”. There is also a dance that evokes drought, sun, lightning, misfortune, insects … but it is mainly used to change the weather.
Source: amazon.co.uk
The last and perhaps the most important part of the magical Wild West are animals. And when it comes to animals, it is worth mentioning Wesołek, also known as Jolly Jumper. What’s so special about it? Well, he can speak, and although it would seem that many do not understand him, his accurate comments sometimes reach his greatest friend and owner. As an intelligent yet silent character, Jolly often substitutes for the audience and comments on the plot with irritation or sarcasm. The Jolly Jumper is a white horse with a brownish spot on the left side and a yellow mane. He dislikes dogs and often directs offensive comments towards the little-witted quadruped, and at the same time the Rantanplan prison guard. This extremely apt and anthropomorphic character is very resourceful in adventures and crises, and also malicious (can dodge Lucky Luke in a game of dice). Jolly Jumper is not as eager to take on new adventures as his master, but will follow him wherever he goes, and the prequel comics show that the two grew up together.
It was mentioned above. Rantanplan (also known as Rin-Tin-Can in the English comics or Bzik in the Polish version) is Lucky’s hairy companion who is often entrusted with keeping an eye on the Dalton brothers or helping Lucky Luke track them down every time they run away. However, he is unable to understand it and often takes Joe Dalton, who hates him wholeheartedly, for his beloved owner. In addition to being stupid, Rantanplan is remarkably sluggish and prone to accidents. By nature, however, it is a very good-natured animal and follows Lucky Luke to the ends of the Earth. Like the greatest of the Dalton brothers – Averell – he has a huge appetite and will devour literally whatever is put in front of him, whether it’s food or not, from dish soap. His comments are mostly understood by Jolly.
Source: swiatksiazki.pl
This is just the beginning …
As you can see, the American Old West may seem like the most normal place in the world, but in comics with a lone rider, his face changes beyond recognition. Just a few of the examples I have listed here may be an incentive to explore this magical place with the cowboy and his faithful pets, where in the many ghost towns things really happen out of this world.
