By Morris & Goscinny
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 978-1-84918-016-0
What really tickles me about the Lucky Luke books (and this extends into all of Goscinny’s work) is that not only are they genuinely amusing but they’re all bound tightly to real events of the American West. Of course they’re cartoons, and of course serious events can seem trivialised by the approach, but you could say that about almost any creative depiction. As long as the heart is the in right place then the depiction should work, and it’s something Lucky Luke does well.
This story centres around the opening up of the Wyoming territory following a treaty with the Cheyenne. The treaty allowed settlers to cross the Cheyenne land without fear of attack on the condition that the buffalo are left untouched, and a fort was built on the edge of the Cheyenne territory to ensure that the bargain was kept to by both sides. Which, naturally, it wasn’t.
What impresses me is that throughout the story the Cheyenne and their fellow tribes are not portrayed as bloodthirsty savages, not are they treated as downtrodden fools. Like all the characters in the book, other then the hero, everyone is subject to the same level of comic ineptitude and buffoonery that makes the whole thing a delight to read.
And if you liked that: Book one is still available
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