The Cursed Ranch by Jean Léturgie

Why read the book?

This album gathers several short stories rather than one long ride. In the title tale, Miss Bluemarket and her boys move to a new town only to find the house they bought is supposedly haunted, and Lucky Luke offers to investigate the spooks and the dodgy seller behind them.

Other tales send up a grand statue commission with the Daltons hired to spoil it, an inventor racing to patent a log flume, and a banker who keeps vanishing on a fortune teller's advice just as robberies strike. The shorter form lets the gags land fast, with Jolly Jumper close at hand.

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What I Loved

The haunted ranch story has real fun with horror clichés and dodgy property dealers, while the other tales pack neat little plots into a few pages each. The variety keeps the album lively.

Seeing the Daltons turn up to wreck a statue commission is a welcome bonus.

Key Takeaway

A grab bag of brisk short tales that proves Lucky Luke works at any length.

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