At last Lucky Luke is getting a hardback collected edition, with the first adventures of the Lonesome Cowboy. After 70 years of life and almost 70 translated volumes, it was high time English-speaking readers were offered a hardback collected edition. This first volume contains the first seven adventures of Lucky Luke, previously published as volumes Arizona, Rodeo and Dick Digger’s Gold Mine, and offers an unrivalled insight into the evolution of the character in terms of design as well as personality. The extras available make up a whooping 48 pages of illustrations, photographs, biographies, essays and anecdotes on Morris and the origins of Luke. A must read for any true fan of this legend of the West!

After the heavily cartoon- and slapstick cinema-inspired first adventures, Morris turned towards the tradition of Westerns to flesh out his hero’s world. In Under a Western Sky, Lucky Luke versus Pat Poker and Outlaws there is a lot of Hollywood and John Ford, and while Luke hasn’t quite settled into his current look, he’s certainly closer to the phlegmatic cowboy we know and love. Outlaws also marks the first appearance of the Daltons – the historical Dalton brothers here, who will later return as their decidedly stupider cousins. Throw in 48 pages of extra material on Morris’s experience in the United States, and this is a book you won’t want to miss.

This third volume in the collection brings us to the very edge of absolute greatness, with two later, far more mature solo outings – Doc Doxey’s Elixir (including Manhunt) and Phil Wire (including Lucky Luke and Pill) were first published in 1955 and 1956, and already Luke was much closer to the cowboy that we now have in mind – followed by Rails on the Prairie, the first collaboration between Morris and Goscinny, that would usher in 30 years of a legendary collaboration. These stories are prefaced by a staggering 46 pages of extra material – biographies, essays, interviews, illustrations – that will delight every fan.

The 144 pages of this fourth volume of the ‘Complete Collection’ contains three full titles. While The Bluefeet are Coming! was penned by Morris himself, Lucky Luke vs Joss Jamon and The Dalton Cousins are the results of the legendary partnership between Morris and Goscinny, and the genius writer’s talent shines through even in the team’s early efforts – which here include the first appearance of those who would soon become the most infamous (and stupidest) bandits in the Old West! Goscinny and the Daltons in superb hardback format – an unmistakable volume.

Covering the years 1957 to 1959, this fifth volume of the Complete Collection brings together in its 144 pages three volumes that truly open the golden age of the Morris-Goscinny team. In The Judge, the new writer adopts the tradition of introducing historical characters – here Judge Roy Bean. As for The Oklahoma Land Rush, it’s based on historical events, another future tradition of the series. Finally, The Daltons’ Escape sees the return of the Dalton cousins, and the beginning of a long and distinguished career as recurring villains. Comic history being written, now in hardback format!