Jolly Jumper is a
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
character in the
Franco-Belgian comics series ''
Lucky Luke
''Lucky Luke'' is a Western ''bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their par ...
'', created by
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
artist
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
. Described as "the smartest horse in the west" and able to perform tasks such as
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
-playing and
tightrope walking
Tightrope walking, also called funambulism, is the skill of walking along a thin wire or rope. It has a long tradition in various countries and is commonly associated with the circus. Other skills similar to tightrope walking include slack rope ...
, Jolly Jumper accompanies his cowboy in their travels across the
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
, and delivers frequent quips.
In the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
version of the series, Jolly Jumper is female and is called "Dolly". In the Turkish Version the character is called "Düldül".
Publication history
Jolly Jumper first appeared alongside Lucky Luke in the story ''Arizona 1880'', published in the ''Almanach'' issue of the
Franco-Belgian comics magazine ''
Spirou'' on December 7, 1946.
In his earlier appearances, he was more like a real horse, which started to change after
René Goscinny
René Goscinny (, ; 14 August 1926 – 5 November 1977) was a French comic editor and writer, who created the ''Astérix'' comic book series with illustrator Albert Uderzo. Raised largely in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he attended French schoo ...
became the series' main writer.
Analysis and reception
The absurdity of the intelligent talking horse Jolly Jumper juxtaposed against the appearances of many real historical figures has been described as contributing to the humor and charm of the comic series.
[
]
Sources
''Lucky Luke'' publications in ''Spirou''
an
BDoubliées
;Footnotes
Further reading
*
*
External links
Lucky Luke official site
{{Lucky Luke by Morris
Comics characters introduced in 1946
Western (genre) comics characters
Fictional horses
Lucky Luke
Comic book sidekicks
Anthropomorphic animal characters
Belgian comics characters