“Gaston” and “Lucky Luke” are among the most artistically and dramaturgically influential series of Franco-Belgian comics. New books from both have just been published in German.
Marc Delafontaine, who signs his work “Delaf”, has designed the 22nd album – and in doing so has actually made the “return of a chaot” possible in a very entertaining way. The album seems to tie in seamlessly with Franquin's work: in the first story, Gaston explains that the times of his failure are over, only to then make it clear a few images later what it means when someone like him is in “top shape”. It puffs, puffs and vrooms in the picture narratives, each of which covers one page. And the Frenchman, born Christian Hincker in Strasbourg in 1967, doesn't give his hero anything either: after Luke brings the criminal Rufus Klinker to justice, his siblings Rose and Caspar suddenly stick to his spurs.