Graphic Novel Review... Lucky Luke Book 37: Fingers
Lucky Luke Book 37: Fingers, by Lo Hartog van Banda & Morris, Cinebook
DUTCH WRITER van Banda only wrote three Lucky Luke books in his prolific career, but if this English translation of Fingers is anything to go by it sticks a chance that they were all pretty good, because this one certainly is.
Collectors of this Cinebook series may feel they've had an overdose of the Dalton Gang getting up to mischief in Lucky Luke books of late, certainly I was a little concerned when I saw them sneaking out from behind a wall on the side of the front cover.
Fortunately they don’t outstay their welcome and are only there in the initial stages of the book to get things rolling: The one and only Gaston, or the king of magic has moved from the old world to the wild west and in those parts they call him fingers because those digits on the end of his hands keep getting him into trouble... They keep stealing things!
Sure he gives them back, but people don’t like it when the gold out of their banks goes missing or in Luke’s case when his pistol gets mislaid, and this from the man who shoots faster than his own shadow. Regardless, Luke is given the task of rehabilitating, and it all goes wrong, and constantly.
While the familiar tropes of the Lucky Luke comedy house style are present they are also given a breath of fresh air, with some different nuances put in for good measure, helping raise an unexpected smile over the outcome of a number of events.
Whether or not these differences were the reason van Banda only wrote a few Lucky Luke books or it was simply down to time and opportunity I cannot say, but I can declare on the evidence of reading Fingers that it’s a fun and fast read.
For more information on Luck Luke books in English visit Cinebook.
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