Lucky Luke put on beer between Hitchcock and La Grande Vadrouille

Eight years after taking over the reins of the new adventures of Lucky Luke, the Jul and Achdé tandem publishes A Cowboy under pressurea very lively volume 11 which propels “the man who shoots faster than his shadow” into the heart of the community of German settlers settled in America.

As the designer Achdé says: “This hero has spanned generations. From now on, booksellers are waiting for the new Lucky Luke as they are waiting for an Asterix. It represents a sure value. And it brings a little air to their cash flow!»

O surprise, in A Cowboy under pressure (the beer of course), our dynamic duo begins by depicting Lucky Luke who badly gets his back stuck. A first! In poor shape, our hero arrives in New Munich to consult a doctor. He gives him painkillers, but above all he advises him to “Limit alcohol. Although here, it’s not going to be too difficult.»

Intrigued, Luke does not even have time to carry out his own investigations when the city councilors of this small town in Dakota explain to him that a shortage of beer is ravaging all the saloons in the country, caused by a general strike which paralyzes all the breweries in America! Here’s Lucky Luke brought in to save the day. And Jolly Jumper is heading to Milwaukee, the beer capital. The lonesome cowboy will thus play mediator between the striking workers and the brewery owners, including the feared Frederick Martz (inspired by the president of the Pabst Brewing Company Johann Friedrich “Frederick” Pabst).

 

Here is Lucky Luke forced to resolve the class struggle single-handedly. Neither more nor less.

Jul

Screenwriter Jul readily admits: “I did not realize that the German colonists who had established a foothold in America had greatly influenced the countryhe analyzes. They are at the origin of many invariants of American culture. They are the ones who invented Heinz ketchup, Christmas tree decorations, and hamburgers. Without forgetting the girls who dance in saloons, an idea of ​​a certain Frederick Trump, Donald’s ancestor…”

Immersing the solitary cowboy in a Germanic bath, taking him away from the plains of the Far West, the idea is daring. “Beer was the trigger for me, confides Jul. I pushed Luke east to Milwaukee, the world’s beer mecca. By also pushing him into the heart of a brewer workers’ strike against the big bosses of the time, we had fun with Achdé putting our dear hero in an unusual situation for him. Here is Lucky Luke forced to resolve the class struggle single-handedly. Neither more nor less. In fact, I didn’t realize that Lucky Luke was a contemporary of Karl Marx. It’s crazy.”

In principle, Lucky Luke is not really equipped to play diplomat, thrown into the heart of the social conflicts of 19th century America.^e century. “Lucky Luke is a paradox on his feet. He says it himself, he is a vigilante. He has a passion for his professionanalyzes Jul with a smile. He comes into this story as a libertarian. But it is by listening to everyone with great attention that he will attempt to carry out his tempestuous mediation.»

THE COMIC BOX

In this page 26 of the album we find Lucky Luke at the opera. In the company of “Captain” Frederick Martz, intractable brewery owner, our solitary cowboy dressed in a tailcoat attends a performance of The Valkyrieby Richard Wagner.

“I know it’s a spectacular board. And like in Lucky Luke, we show real things, says the designer Achdé, I went to research this famous opera hall in Milwaukee. It happened to belong to Frederick Pabst, the model of the boss of the Brewery Frederick Martz. As Jul wanted to find this grandiose and theatrical side, I imagined a large box where I placed myself on the garden side, that is to say from behind the scenes. I based myself on the plans of the real building.”

So, we start by looking at the royal box occupied by Martz and Luke. Then the gaze descends to the scene where an imposing Valkyrie sings at the top of her lungs: “Where do you come from in a furious flight to us?” The gaze then spots a conductor who seems strangely familiar.

«Yes, it is about Louis de Funès just escaped from The Big Vadrouille, smiles Achdé. In this board, I was obviously inspired by the classicAlfred Hitchcock “The Man Who Knew Too Much” released in 1956. The famous Albert Hall sequence where a killer is about to kill someone at the moment the cymbals crash. We also notice the cymbal player in the orchestra pit.”

Next come the last three squares of the board. “In the final strip of this board, I feature a central box in yellow where we can see a colt in shadow play, adds Achdé. Here I take up the style of Morris who used this graphic technique to stop the action. The whole scene, as in Hitchcock’s film, serves to increase the tension, leading to the humorous and burlesque reply: “What do you mean, “Click!” » This board is the very illustration of the perfect collaboration between me and Jul.»

The New Adventures of Lucky Luke Volume 11 A Cowboy Under Pressure by Jul and Achdé after Morris, Lucky Comics editions, 48 ​​p., €12.50.