Foreign Favorites: Buck Danny

Known as the oldest of the European aviation strips, Buck Danny made his debut in the Belgian comic Spirou on January 2, 1947. Scripted by Jean-Michael Charlier and drawn by Victor Hubinon, it was a high flying strip in the mold of Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates. Buck and his hot-shot sidekick, Sonny Tuckson, were pilots with the US Navy battling the Japanese at Midway in their very first episode. After the war, the flying duo tackled various adventures from Borneo to Arabia, before signing up for action in the Korea War. Later the flying aces join the Air Force to confront the many conflicts during the Cold War. Adding a strong silent type, Jerry Tumbler, as a third member later on in the series, they often got involved in counter espionage tales fighting the lovely master-spy, Lady X. Often borrowing themes from both Steve Canyon and Buz Sawyer, the strip was always a fan favorite due to the accuracy of the machines the team flew. So popular was the strip that it spawned a series of high quality beautiful reprints from Editions Dupuis which showed off the features high-flying lovely detail.