With “A Cowboy Under Pressure”, Lucky Luke ventures into unknown territory: the world of German migrants who shaped the United States. Between culture shock, breweries on strike and astonishing historical references, this new album offers a unique vision of the Wild West.
For many, the Wild West conjures up memories of lonely cowboys, duels in the sun, and dusty saloons. But in A Cowboy Under Pressure, Lucky Luke discovers another reality: that of German migrants, who arrived en masse in the 19th century and whose influence marked the history of the United States. “It’s funny to think that the American way of life as we imagine it in all American clichés, in fact, is something that comes from German migrants,” explains Jul, writer of the album. Indeed, whether hamburgers, beer, ketchup and even traditions such as Christmas decorations, were imported by them.
A strike that paralyzes the Far West
In this new adventure, Lucky Luke is faced with an unexpected crisis: a massive strike in German breweries. The result? No more beer in the saloons, and therefore no more fights, no more duels… total chaos! “It’s a bit like Chaplin’s Modern Times. Lucky Luke facing the big factories, the big breweries, the unionists on strike. It’s a new, completely new challenge and really very funny”s’amuse Jul.
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Lucky Luke, accustomed to the great outdoors, finds himself facing production lines, angry unions and German settlers trying to preserve their traditions. “It’s a culture shock for him”adds the designer.
An immersion in history
As always with Lucky Luke, the humor is based on a solid historical basis. “Goscinny and Morris had a very serious historical basis like that. I like to have lots of documentation and from that, for example, the invention of the first red light which appears in this album or the chains of traffic jams in factories like that, assembly line work, it was already before Ford, it existed at the timesays Jul. The album also evokes surprising anecdotes: did you know that German almost became the official language of the United States? “By two votes, during a vote in Congress. The Constitution was almost written in French. The language was almost written in German. America is truly a melting pot”explains Achdé, writer and designer of the album.
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Another historical nod: the appearance of Friedrich Trump, grandfather of Donald Trump, who ran a saloon in the American West. “It’s still dizzying, that there is all this history in the background too”marvels Jul. This album is full of nods to German clichés and great cultural works. A memorable scene at the Milwaukee Opera pays homage to Wagner and Louis de Funès, in reference to La Grande Vadrouille.
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With A Cowboy Under Pressure, Lucky Luke leaves his comfort zone to explore a little-known facet of the Far West: America shaped by German migrants. An adventure that mixes action, humor and history, and which reminds us that even in the dusty plains of the Far West, Europe was never far away.
Lucky Luke comic television series Achdé
