Lucky Luke Vol 58: The Daltons’ Stash

Review by Simon Chadwick on August 16, 2016

The Daltons’ Stash throws us another tale centred on the criminal brethren as they learn of a forger’s hidden stash of loot from their jail cell. The fact that the stash is simply a ruse by the forger to encourage the Daltons to escape and give him some peace and quiet is, of course, lost on them. Naturally Lucky Luke is tipped off, and the chase is on once again.

The Daltons are a rich vein of comedy and they’re blundering and bungling easily fills panel after panel, such as stealing four horses from a hearse that only walk slowly and in neat pairs. When they finally do reach the fictitious hiding place, after a few mishaps, they learn it is in the centre of a new model prison, so well protected even its telegraph poles are strung with barbed wire to prevent anyone swinging along them to escape. The brothers find themselves in the unusual position of having to break in to prison but, thanks to an extremely lenient judge and a disheartened sheriff, that’s going to be much harder than they suspect, not least because the prison has something very different to buried treasure at its heart.

We get to see a lot of the Daltons throughout the Lucky Luke books but regardless of the creative pairings an effort is always made to put a spin on things and keep the stories fresh and funny. Morris’s genius here is that the Daltons are pretty much an elaborate set-up for what could have been a story of its own, as we’re treated to a little narrative slight of hand when the tale takes an unexpected turn. It would have been very easy for Morris to churn out a carbon-copy tale, but the fact he was still being creative with his storytelling to get the most out of his characters emphasises why the character and books have such longevity.

And if you liked that: Honestly, you’re spoilt for choice. Pop over to www.cinebook.com and take a look.