Lucky Luke versus Joss Jamon by René Goscinny

Why read the book?

Joss Jamon and his band of crooks have taken over Frontier City while honest folk cower. Lucky Luke, with Jolly Jumper, arrives to find the law turned upside down, and he must outsmart a whole gang rather than a single villain. The story builds to a famous mock trial where Jamon packs the jury with his own outlaws, among them men modelled on real bandits of the Old West.

This is one of the first Goscinny scripts, and it already shows his gift for turning a simple Western into a tale about justice, greed and bluff. Lucky Luke wins by patience and nerve as much as by his gun.

Favourite quote

What I Loved

The trial is a small comic masterpiece, with the guilty sitting in judgement on the innocent. Goscinny plays the absurdity for all it is worth, and Lucky Luke stays cool while the whole town watches.

It is clever, funny and tightly plotted, a clear step up in storytelling.

Key Takeaway

An early Goscinny gem that turns a corrupt town and a rigged jury into sharp, gentle satire.

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