''Le Juge'' is a ''
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 ...
'' comic written by
Goscinny and
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 ...
. It is the thirteenth album in the Lucky Luke Series. The comic was printed by
Dupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. () is a Belgium, Belgian publisher of comic albums and magazines.
Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic comics album, albums and magazines. It is ...
in 1959 and by
Cinebook
Cinebook Ltd is a British publishing company that publishes comic albums and graphic novels. It describes itself as "the 9th art publisher," the 9th art being comics in continental Europe, especially France, Belgium and Italy.
They typically tr ...
in 2010 as ''The Judge''. The story is inspired by the historical
Justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...
Roy Bean
Phantly Roy Bean Jr. (c. 1825 – March 16, 1903) was an American saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Only Law West of the Pecos". According to legend, he held court in his saloon along th ...
. As usual, Lucky Luke does not interfere unless injustice is done, or one party acquires an unfair advantage over the other. Siding with Bean takes place only for that reason, to the level that things are fair game again. The unsung side-kick of the Judge is Jacinto, a diminutive Mexican, who lightens up several details of the story.
Synopsis
While escorting a flock to
Pecos, Luke is arrested by pseudo-judge Roy Bean, aided by his bear Joe.
Judge Roy Bean uses an old outdated
Civil Code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...
to apply the law in his own way. He gives everyone fines for stupid reasons (for example, he sentenced a Mexican named Jacinto to a month of forced labor simply because he had shaded him by the way). He also encourages people to make bets on the outcome, before confiscating the bets saying that betting and gambling are prohibited by law.
After a mock trial, the judge confiscates the cattle from Luke. The latter escapes and decides to ally himself with Bad Ticket, a man who also settles as a judge in
Langtry. A war begins between the two judges and Luke decides to decide between them during a game of poker. Finally, Roy Bean capitulates after a game fraught with cheating and leaves Langtry.
However, Bad Ticket is even worse than Roy Bean and decides to hang Lucky Luke who only escapes with the help of Joe the bear. Finally, Luke, Roy Bean and Joe decide to team up against Bad Ticket. The latter locks them up. The prisoners manage nevertheless to escape, not without flooding the cellar where they were locked by digging a tunnel which lets in the water of the river.
Bad Ticket believes that they drowned. Some citizens, including Jacinto, see Luke and Roy Bean covered in flour, and take them for ghosts. This causes panic in Langtry while almost everyone believes that the city is haunted.
The citizens, discovering the responsibility of Bad Ticket, want to hang him with the undertaker (his accomplice). But Luke and Roy Bean (reluctant, but forced by Luke) come back to town and prove they are alive.
Roy Bean judges Bad Ticket and the undertaker and condemns them to leave Langtry and never return.
The army, called by Luke, arrives to arrest Roy Bean. However, there is no one in Langtry to judge him. Then, at Luke's request, Roy Bean judges himself and condemns himself to no longer be a judge.
Civilization and education arrive in Langtry and bandits leave. Lucky Luke recovers his cattle and takes them to Silver City.
Characters
* Bad Ticket: Rival of the judge, he opens a saloon-court in front of the judge
* Roy Bean: Self-proclaimed "Judge", in fact illiterate, he will eventually join Lucky Luke against Bad Ticket
* Jacinto: Handyman of the judge's saloon
* Joe: A black bear, Roy Bean's sidekick, even "auxiliary justice" when he is responsible for prosecuting a convict
* Mr. Williams: Teacher, he reassures residents when they believe the false ghost stories of the judge and Lucky Luke
References
Morris publications in ''Spirou''BDoubliées
External links
Lucky Luke official site album index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juge
Comics by Morris (cartoonist)
Lucky Luke albums
1959 graphic novels
Works by René Goscinny
Cultural depictions of Roy Bean