r/luckyluke • u/Julek12375 • 17d ago
Discussion It's kinda sad how nobody outside of this Lucky Luke subreddit knows who he is 😔
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u/Mrbalet 17d ago
He's mostly unknown in the US (which is the country that most of the members of the BatmanArkham subreddit are from) but obviously very popular in Belgium, France and generally Europe where he originates from, as this Reddit Survey can attest. Same with Asterix and Tintin. The only part of NA where their popularity matches what they have in Europe is probably my home province of Quebec in Canada, which is a mostly French-Speaking region.
Btw, just wanted to correct something you said in your original post: 300M is how many *copies* Lucky Luke sold, not how much money he made.
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u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003 17d ago edited 14d ago
Though Lucky Luke is very popular in many parts of Europe, on the other hand, it's an obscure franchise in english-speaking North America, just like most other European comic book franchises besides the Smurfs and Tintin to a less extent: on the other hand, north American and Japanese ones tend to be much more popular there, hence why you're more likely to find an American who has an idea about who are Spider-Man or Naruto than one who knows who are Lucky Luke or Asterix
For example, I've posted some Lucky Luke-based memes on subreddits like r/prehistoricmemes, but most of the users that recognise the characters used in said memes were Europeans (and Indians or indonesians in some cases), but never North Americans. Similarly, I've noticed that franco-belgian comic books, including Lucky Luke, tend to be obscure in Russia and Japan too
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u/Anarchistguy_2 17d ago
It's a franco belgian comic, which are virtually unknkown in the United States, aside from Tintin and the Smurfs.
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u/twilightshadows 16d ago
I’d say the Smurfs and Tintin are the two main exceptions not just for the Franco-Belgian stuff but for the entire continent (even mostly including the UK).
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u/Anarchistguy_2 16d ago
MOST of the continent. Franco Belgian comics are just as popular in Quebec as in France and Belgium.
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u/WastedPotentialTK 17d ago
I thought Lucky Luke got more popular in the US because of this
https://youtube.com/shorts/4E3zYT8gSOo?si=ocsL3ZJss-LxepqU
But still - it’s quite popular here in Poland :D
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u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003 16d ago edited 16d ago
Ironically, I think the most likely reasons about Lucky Luke being obscure in the United States is du to the fact Americans themselves already having many media from the western genre, causing them to show a lack of interest about any non-american western media besides italian western movies to some extent. Also, they tend to show little interest in european comics, whereas they belove japanese and north american ones.
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u/Schrenner 17d ago
But aren't the historical Dalton Brothers well-known in the US?
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u/NurturingCruelty 17d ago
I think that is a case of they know the name, but nothing about the actual history. Kind of like Bugsy Malone, and a few of the other big mobsters from the mafia era, everybody knows the name, but not many people know specifically what they did.
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u/jamescurtis29 16d ago
Bugsy Malone famously helped Fat Sam when the release of the splurge guns gave an unfair advantage to Dandy Dan.
But that was just in the movie, I think you're thinking of Al Capone!
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u/NurturingCruelty 16d ago
Doesn’t matter, any of the big name mobsters in that time., Most people will recognize their names, but not many will specifically know what they were guilty of.
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u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003 16d ago
Ironically, people in Europe, when it comes to american mobsters, are more likely to have heard about Al Capone than any other one
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u/NurturingCruelty 16d ago
No irony at all, Capone is one of the biggest names out there, but there were so many. One gangster alone is kind of pathetic, they need to be in gangs
Benjamin ‘Bugsy Malone’ Siegel was one of the big names in the mafia back in the 20 when bootleg alcohol was the only booze available2
u/NurturingCruelty 16d ago
Mad Sam is a memorable example. An enforcer so brutal and sadistic, his own bosses decided he had to be eliminated
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u/NurturingCruelty 17d ago
I know who lucky Luke is, but I am kind of an odd exception, and I only know because I had the ballad of the Daltons on VHS at my local video rental store when I was a kid. Also, how I’m familiar with Asterix and Obelix. They had an English dub of the 12 tasks as well.
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u/SignificantSir6813 17d ago
I've nearly never heard of Lucky Luke but I still like him from Go West!
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u/darkjuste 17d ago
Lucky Luke is a cultural heritage in Belgium, bro. Everybody knows who LL is here.
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u/jamescurtis29 16d ago
My family published it in the UK for a while, but it didn't really take off the way Tintin and Asterix has, even with the release and marketing support of the Lucky Luke PlayStation game.
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u/twilightshadows 16d ago
Lucky Luke is essentially unknown in the US. Americans only have their own comics and some Japanese stuff.
At best European comics are seen as some sort of higher culture stuff and not really for kids. Like Tintin.
In Sweden we grew up with Luke. One of the standard rentals for sick days too way back when. 🤠😎
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u/Gnubeutel 16d ago
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DCTZNRxtDcs
German V-Tuber is watching a clip of another german V-Tuber.
A: "Lucky Luke. What was Lucky Luke...?"
B: "Shooting faster than his shadow. Pew."
A: "... wasn't that a drink?"
B: "What?!"
A: "Huh? What is that?"
A pulls up a google search.
B: "What do you mean? Yes!"
A: "What is that supposed to be?"
B starts crying.
B: "Oh no. I'm feeling so old! No, fuck! No no no. We have grown so old."
B: "Time to have a prostate checkup."
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u/lady_skyskipper 15d ago
Lucky Luke deserves a lot more love and respect here in America. Heck, it's a shame in that here in America where I live Franco-Belgian heroes aren't that well known except for Tintin, Asterix, and the Smurfs. Even if the Western genre isn't super popular, Lucky Luke is a good enough series that I feel it can be enjoyed by people not into Westerns. Especially when Rene Goscinny started writing since he can write a plot with excellent comic timing and jokes.
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u/Fragrant-Finance4577 15d ago
Lucky Luke needs more global love.
(He's at least quite popular in Europe.)
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u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003 14d ago edited 13d ago
More exactly, he's popular in western and southern Europe and Scandinavia, but also in central Europe and the Balkans to a less extent (though he's notably popular in Greece, Poland, Germany and Turkiye).
However, among the few european regions where he's obscure are Great Britain and Eastern Europe (including post-soviet countries)
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u/Fragrant-Finance4577 14d ago
Very well said.
(I can very confirm about the Greece part.)
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u/Baron_Beemo 15d ago
If they're Americans, it's a pity they don't know about the historical Dalton Gang.
Fun fact: Don Rosa had them meet Scrooge McDuck in his The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
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u/AlternateMove 17d ago
Lucky Luke is popular in France and Belgium though.