Lucky Luke Volume 29 The Grand Duke

Grand Duke Leonid of Russia is in Washington to sign a commercial treaty on behalf of the Tsar. But this larger-than-life aristocrat has read too much Fennimore Cooper and wants to visit the West. The US government is forced to agree to his whim—but wisely chooses Lucky Luke to escort him to the cattle capital of the West: Abilene. A good thing, too, because the Russian Grand Duke encounters real American desperadoes on his visit!

While taking part in a rodeo in Wisconsin, Lucky Luke and Jolly Jumper meet Mario Bombardier, a Quebecois cowboy, and his mare the beautiful Province. It’s love at first sight for the two horses, and after the inevitable separation, Jolly Jumper can’t stop moping. Eventually Luke decides to head to Quebec in order to arrange a reunion – and discovers the merry atmosphere of the Nouvelle France: mounted police, bar fights, poutine, traditional French songs ... and an unscrupulous, wealthy banker...

In 1860, getting from Missouri to California on the West Coast took a long, long time – not to mention a certain degree of courage. Annoyed at the delay in communication, the federal government offers a grant to whoever can solve the problem and set-up a fast, reliable mail system linking East and West. In response, entrepreneur W.H. Russell founds the Pony Express company: fearless men riding day and night, changing horses at way stations. But not everyone likes that idea...

After a fellow inmate, having received a blow to the head, forgets his own name and is freed as a brand new man, the Daltons start pretending to be amnesiac in order to escape the prison. So as to test their supposed amnesia – and hopefully allow them to retrieve their memories should it be real – they are put in familiar situations: bank hold-ups, train robberies ... under Lucky Luke’s supervision, of course.

After their umpteenth defeat at Lucky Luke’s hands, the Dalton brothers get into a big argument that ends with the four of them splitting up. They make a deal: Whoever is first to get a million dollars will be the leader of the gang. Going their separate ways, trying various schemes, each spreads his own kind of mayhem, forcing poor Lucky Luke to do four times the work to keep up with their antics !

We all know that Lucky Luke has a busy life. When it’s not Washington calling upon him for some national project, it’s the local penitentiary asking him to recapture the Daltons. But not every moment is spent in such grand adventures. Here is a collection of smaller stories depicting the everyday life of our cowboy, from taking a child to the dentist to helping passing settlers – and even attending a classical concert in Houston! What a full life he leads!

Passing through the quiet little town of Rattlesnake, Luke exposes a Mexican gambler as a cheat and runs him out of town. Unfortunately, the hustler ends up in the hands of the Bluefeet Indians and manages to convince them to attack Rattlesnake. A siege begins, during which Luke will have to use all his guile and courage to keep the Bluefeet at bay until the Cavalry arrives.

In this early adventure of the famous cowboy, Lucky Luke is dealing with one of the plagues of the Old West: quacks. “Doctor” Doxey is a con man, a charlatan who brews up useless elixirs and sells them as miracle cures for every ailment known to man. But he doesn’t stop at that and occasionally causes illnesses himself, the better to cure them—a behaviour that does not sit well with Luke...