Lucky Luke is a Franco-Belgian Comics character created by Morris in 1946 for the French comic magazine Pilote. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny, until Goscinny's death in 1977. Several writers have collaborated to the series since, and Achdé replaced Morris as illustrator after his passing.
The franchise takes place in the American Old West. Its titular character is a street-smart Gunslinger known as the "man who shoots faster than his shadow". Accompanied by his intelligent horse Jolly Jumper, and sometimes by Rantanplan ("the world's stupidest dog"), Lucky Luke faces various villains, either fictional or inspired by American history or folklore, with the most famous and recurring of these being the Dalton Brothers, loosely based on the Dalton Gang of the early 1890s. The stories are filled with humorous elements parodying the Western genre.
Since its creation, Lucky Luke has become one of the best-known and best-selling comics series in Europe (second behind Goscinny's own Asterix in total sales) and has been translated into 23 languages with a total of 81 albums. It grew so big that publisher Dargaud created a separate banner solely dedicated to it, Lucky Comics.
The series has also had adaptations in other media, such as animated films and television series, live-action films, video games, toys, and board games.
Comic book series:
- Lucky Luke (since 1946) - For individual albums, see the Recap page.
- Lucky Luke (since 2016) - A Darker and Edgier series by Mathieu Bonhomme.
Spin-Off Comics Book Series
- Rantanplan (since 1987) - Starring Luke's dimwitted canine sidekick.
- Kid Lucky (since 1995) - A Spin-Off Babies series about the titular character as a little boy.
Animation
Films:
- Lucky Luke: Daisy Town (1971)
- Lucky Luke: Ballad of the Daltons (1978)
- Lucky Luke: The Daltons on the Run (1983) (a Compilation Movie containing an arc of three episodes from Lucky Luke centering around the Dalton brothers and their mother Ma Dalton)
- Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure (2007)
Series:
- Lucky Luke (1983-1984 / 1991-1992) - Adapts 52 albums (from 1953 to 1988) and sticks closely to them. Co-produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1983-1984 and by IDDH in 1991-1992.
- The New Adventures of Lucky Luke (2001-2003) - Not based off specific albums.
- Rintindumb (2006-2007) - Starring the aforementioned dog.
- The Daltons (2010-2015) - About the Dalton Brothers and their unsuccessful attempts to escape prison. Same animation style as Go West!.
- Kid Lucky (2020-) - Adapts the eponymous Spin-Off Babies comics.
Live-action adaptations
- Lucky Luke (1991 film)
- Lucky Luke (1992 TV series)
- Lucky Luke and the Daltons (2004 film)
- Lucky Luke (2009 film)
Video games
- Lucky Luke - Tiger Handheld (1984)
- Lucky Luke: Nitroglycerine (1987)
- Lucky Luke: The Video Game (1996)
- Lucky Luke (1996)
- Lucky Luke (1997)
- Lucky Luke (1998)
- Lucky Luke: On the Dalton's Trail (2000)
- Lucky Luke: Desperado Train (2000)
- Lucky Luke: Fever of the West (2001)
- Lucky Luke: Wanted! (2001)
- Go West! A Lucky Luke Adventure (2007)