Series Lucky Luke Artists Morris Date of publication 1954 Originally published 1954 Followed by L'Élixir du Dr Doxey Date 1954 | Writers Morris Published in Spirou magazine Language French Publisher Dupuis | |
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Preceded by Lucky Luke contre Pat Poker Similar Works by Morris, Other books | ||
Hors-la-loi is a Lucky Luke comic by Morris, it was the sixth album in the series and was printed by Dupuis in 1954. The story pits Lucky Luke against a fictionalized version of the Dalton brothers. It is also the first Lucky Luke story that was based (loosely) on real historical events from the Old West.
Atypically for a Lucky Luke adventure, the villains are killed at the end, as the Dalton brothers meet their fate during the historical 1892 bank robbery at Coffeyville, Kansas. The story departs from historical truth as Bill Dalton is portrayed as taking part in the robbery while he did not operate with his brothers, and Emmett Dalton is shown as dying in the robbery while the historical Emmett Dalton survived the Coffeyville shootout, served 14 years in prison, and died in 1937.
The Dalton characters proved so popular among readers that Morris created a new version of the gang, with their four identical-looking cousins, who went on to become Lucky Luke's main antagonists.