By Morris and Goscinny
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 9781849181327
The Daltons are to Lucky Luke what the Joker is to Batman, the Daleks are to Dr Who, and Lucy Van Pelt is to Charlie Brown; the inevitable recurring nemesis that plagues the hero but without which would leave them a little less interesting. We've had several Daltons stories so far in this thirty-six volume run, but Morris and Goscinny keep them fresh by spinning out the possibilities as they suffer the consequences of their actions. In this story Lucky Luke has been called to Washington for a meeting with the Supreme Court where one of the Senators has drafted a bill to reform criminals and wishes to try it out on some villains before presenting the bill to the House. This means they want Lucky Luke's advice on the worst desperadoes out there, which naturally means the Daltons, and they want Luke to supervise them on their month's parole. Should they stay clean throughout that month then they win their freedom.
For the Dalton's part, they see this as a way to get back at Lucky Luke. Although they must not commit a crime for one calendar month else run the risk of being returned straight to prison without trial, they figure that if they can get through the month then they can pick Luke off afterwards and no court would ever dare convict them again.
Luke takes them to Tortilla Gulch for their probation month but unfortunately all the townsfolk think the Dalton's have escaped and everytime they try to enter into any form of transaction the shopkeepers hand over the till and pass out. Luke intervenes only for the townsfolk to presume he's in cahoots, and by the time they get the major involved the town think he's joined the bad guys too. Eventually they settle this misunderstanding, but what follows is an increasingly infuriating situation whereby the Dalton's find themselves assisting Luke, taking part in polite society, and being viewed as friends and neighbours, much to the chagrin of Joe Dalton. Things come to a head when four men decide to take advantage of the Dalton's predicament and begin to impersonate them to carry out various crimes, figuring the Dalton's will take the blame and find themselves thrown back in to jail. The only way to right this wrong is for the four Dalton's to assist the Law.
This tale cleverly turns the Daltons' lives on their heads and wrings much humour from it in the process. From the bamboozlement of the town's people to the bafflement of Averell Dalton, this adventure is packed full of gags – as you'd expect. The fact that the Dalton's come so close to having a settled, worthwhile life utterly escapes them, but then again where would the fun have been in that.
And if you liked that: Try an Iznogoud, also by Goscinny from Cinebook
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