By Morris & Goscinny
Publisher: Cinebook
ISBN: 978-1-905460-98-4
This Lucky Luke tale reintroduces Morris and Goscinny's version of Billy the Kid, who, for comic effect, is literally a kid. The plot involves Lucky Luke (and Jolly Jumper) having to take Billy from the penitentiary, where he's currently serving 1247 years, to New Mexico for a trial for another crime. What I constantly enjoy about Lucky Luke is that the books have recurring themes but seldom repeat themselves, but the real treasure to be found within the pages is the humour. There are some corkers in here, made funnier because like so much of Goscinny's writing, they seem so casual and offhand. In one scene builders arrive to construct an attic at a hotel and ask the owner where he'd like it, while in another they arrive at a small town containing just a saloon, a jail and an undertaker, and it's explained how these three businesses work hand in hand together. Later there's a nice visual gag following the hold up of a stagecoach caught in a crossfire that in turn gets surrounded by indians. There are bolder gags too, but it's the subtler ones that are particularly appealing. If you've never read Lucky Luke then there probably isn't a better place to start.
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