é Returned to their penitentiary by Lucky Luke for the umpteenth time, the Daltons meet a troubling character: Dunkle, a self-proclaimed prophet fond of fiery speeches. His continual preaching eventually converts the ever hapless Averell. Soon, all five escape together and find refuge in a friendly, welcoming community, where they sow chaos and discord each in their own way – unaware that Lucky Luke is already tracking them ...

Once again, Luke is called to the penitentiary, though for once the Daltons haven’t escaped. They have, however, just learned that their cousin Emmett, last survivor of the original Dalton gang, has a son – and that Averell was chosen as his godfather! Now Lucky Luke has to accompany the dumbest bandits in the West to the young boy’s house, as Averell has been temporarily entrusted with his education. A job that his brothers see as an excellent opportunity to get rich ...

The Old West was full of itchy trigger fingers, but also had its share of hemp necktie enthusiasts. Lucky Luke is not a fan of such summary justice, and when he interrupts an improvised hanging with no less than three ropes for a single man, he runs afoul of an unpleasant individual with a knack for manipulating bored and drunk crowds ... Seven short stories by Goscinny and his friends and illustrated by Morris himself – pure Lucky Luke concentrate!

Big surprise for the Lonesome Cowboy: a rich widow and admirer of his exploits has bequeathed him a 250 acre cotton plantation in Louisiana! Thrust into the role of a rich landowner, welcomed as one by his white neighbours, he will have to fight to gain the trust of his terrified black employees and split his heritage among them. A goal towards which he’ll receive help from the local Cajun community, and from ... the Daltons!

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.

Gold has been found in the Klondike, a remote region in the Canadian far north! Jasper, the manservant of ‘Tenderfoot’ Waldo, went to try his luck ... and vanished. Worried about his man, Waldo calls upon his old friend Lucky Luke. The two men will have to make the dangerous trip to the Klondike, only to face all those who, in that desolate, inhospitable land, will stop at nothing in order to fleece their fellow man.

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!