Lucky Luke returns in the album “A cowboy under pressure”, which is released this Friday

Lucky Luke returns in “A cowboy under pressure”lost in the mists of the Northern United States and a social conflict in the beer industry, a completely new world for him.

This album, which will be released this Friday by Lucky Comics, is the 11th in the new series taken up by Achdé. The designer, who succeeded the character's creator, Morris, remains very faithful to his master's graphics.

But, for this adventure, we had to renew ourselves: it essentially takes place in a large city, Milwaukee, and settings typical of the Industrial Revolution, very little if ever tackled by Morris, although Belgian.

“I know I put pressure on Hervé” Darmenton, Achdé's real name, concedes screenwriter Jul (Julien Berjeaut). “Everything was complicated, because, well, I don't like being in the city. I admit it, I've always said it: I took up Lucky Luke because I wanted to draw deserts, cacti and cow heads”recalls the designer.

Christie's Paris auctions 50 original plates

The documentation consulted for “A cowboy under pressure” allowed us to see to what extent beer, served in the saloon, was important in this Wild West. “It was often very developed. We had cold beer because we made ice cream, we managed, we brought back mountains of it…”according to Achdé. “It must have been cooler in Arizona than in Montana!” according to Jul.

“Lucky Luke quit smoking but he still drank. He's still a cowboy. If you take that away from him, I don't know what's left of him.” says the designer.

In addition to bookstores, the man who shoots faster than his shadow also arrives in auction rooms. This Friday, Christie's Paris is auctioning 50 original plates signed Morris. Dating from 1949 to 2001, they are estimated at prices ranging from 20,000 to 80,000 euros.