The adventures of Buck Danny which take place during the middle and late 50s are mainly related to US Naval Aviation scenario. Buck Danny, Sonny Tuckson and Jerry Tumbler partecipate in flight test of jet aircraft and top secret prototype specifically developed for the US NAVY. The three pilots are thus involved in a spy story in the Tibet area and in a long mission of pace keeping in the South East of Asia. In a couple of these adventures the international criminal organization lead by Lady X is back again.
BUCK DANNY#20 S.O.S. SOUCOUPES VOLANTES! (S.O.S. FLYING SAUCERS)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
After their adventure in Malaysia, Buck Danny, Jerry Tumbler and Sonny Tuckson enjoy a well-deserved leave. Sonny is still excited about his promotion to captain and he therefore leaves no opportunity unused to express his new grade. But their vacation will not last long.
In the hotel Buck receives a letter from the headquarters of the US Navy. He must report next Monday to the admiral at the Naval Air Sation in San Diego. That Monday the admiral has a very special job for Buck. The US Navy is currently working on a top secret project: VTOL which is a vehicle that can take off and land vertically. Because the US Navy is afraid of espionage the tests will be carried out aboard the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal (CV59). Buck takes over leadership of the group of test pilots, which includes the Captains Jerry Tumbler and Sonny Tuckson. Buck’s squadron has the nickname "Zero".
The next day the three friends travel by air to the Forrestal and are accompanied by the excellent pilot but stubborn Captain Slim Holden and the young Lieutenant Charlie Lester.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
back cover of the album S.O.S. SOUCOUPES VOLANTES!
A cover dedicated to the story S.O.S. SOUCOUPES VOLANTES! has been also published in the 1957 on the French comics magazine SPIROU
BUCK DANNY#21 UN PROTOTYPE A DISPARU (A PROTOTYPE HAS DISAPPEARED)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
After the disappearance of lieutenant Charlie Lester with the VTOL prototype, the USS Forrestal (CV59) heads for the South Pacific. Buck Danny, along with Jerry Tumbler and Sonny Tuckson, is convinced that Lester hasn’t crashed.
They don’t believe in his story about flying saucers. Lester has secretly left the squadron. The trio will try to trace the VTOL, but they don’t want to inform the admiral, at least not yet. But the time is running out and because Washington wants to send a commission of inquiry it’s urgent to take a decision. Jerry and Sonny have looked at all the options, but there seems to be nowhere an island, where Lester may have landed with the VTOL.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
A cover dedicated to the story UN PROTOTYPE A DISPARU has been also published in the 1958 on the French comics magazine SPIROU
Another SPIROU cover realated to the story UN PROTOTYPE A DISPARU
BUCK DANNY CLASSIC #9 LE VOL DU RAPIER (THE FLIGHT OF THE RAPIER)
F. Marniquet, F. Zumbiehl, A. Le Bras
During the 1951, a transport plane, carrying an American general and forty nuclear technicians, lands at sea off the coast of Ireland following an incident. But when the rescuers arrive at the landing site, they find no boat, not even a single body. Seven years later in 1958, because of new informations about the mysterious disappearance of nuclear technicians, the mission of Buck Danny and his friends is to find the missing crew because in the current geopolitical context, it is impossible to leave depositories of atomic knowledge in the wrong hands! To help him in his perilous mission, Buck can count on an experimental device capable of flying at very high altitude at three times the speed of sound: the experimental fighter XF-108 Rapier.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
in this story there are several errors in the representation of the flight equipment used by US Navy F-8 pilots during the second half of the 1950s. Other minor technical errors are also present such as the misrepresentation of the first type of ejection seat installed on early models of the Crusader. The most obvious error concerns the rank of Sonny Tuckson who in this adventure is still a lieutenant while he should have already been a captain as he was promoted to this rank at the end of the story LE TIGRE DE MALAISIE set around 1955.
BUCK DANNY CLASSIC #10 MOLOTOK-41 NE REPOND PLUS (MOLOTOK-41 NO LONGER ANSWERS)
F. Marniquet, F. Zumbiehl, A. Le Bras
1958: Buck Danny continues the secret operation supposed to deliver American atomic scientists kidnapped by the USSR in 1951. Except that nothing goes as planned, and from an anthological aerial escape to desperate reversals of situations, Buck and his friends have a hard time escaping the fearsome henchmen of SMERSH, the Red Army's counterintelligence service...
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
in this story there are several errors in the representation of the flight equipment used by US Navy F-8 pilots during the second half of the 1950s. Other minor technical errors are also present such as the misrepresentation of the first type of ejection seat installed on early models of the Crusader. The most obvious error concerns the rank of Sonny Tuckson who in this adventure is still a lieutenant while he should have already been a captain as he was promoted to this rank at the end of the story LE TIGRE DE MALAISIE set around 1955.
BUCK DANNY#22 TOP SECRET (TOP SECRET)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
The USS Forrestal (CV59) is located in the Indian Ocean. The life aboard the carrier is routinely. A few days pass. One day Buck Danny must report to the admiral.
The Indian government is considering to buy a number of American Naval jet fighters Cougar. But first they want to be fully informed and they want to see them fly these Cougars.
Because the USS Forrestal is in the neighbourhood, the assignment is for Buck Danny who Together with Jerry Tumbler and Sonny Tuckson shall demontrate the capabilities of their Cougars.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
In Germany this story has been also translate and published in the renamed serie Rex Danny with an alternative cover.
Images published on the French comic magazine SPIROU more likely dedicate to the story TOP SECRET.
BUCK DANNY#23 MISSION VERS LA VALLEE PERDUE (MISSION IN THE LOST VALLEY)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
After they have brought Jerry Tumbler to the hospital, Sonny Tuckson and Buck Danny discuss all night. On his last flight Sonny has more or less by chance seen the location where Von Brantz is held. Buck now wants on his own trying to find this location in the mountains. But Sonny is fiercely opposed. He thinks it’s madness, but Buck points out to him that Jerry Tumbler is now completely defenseless in the hospital. After he had caught the spy, this spy sprinkled pepper in his eyes, so he is temporarily blind. Finally Sonny agrees.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
The back cover of the album BUCK DANNY#23 MISSION VERS LA VALLEE PERDUE
In Italy the Buck Danny story MISSION VERS LA VALLEE PERDUE (MISSIONE VERSO LA VALLE PERDUTA) has been published by the EDITRICE CENISIO with a different cover
In Germany this story has been also translate and published in the renamed serie Rex Danny with an alternative cover.
SPIROU cover dedicated to the story MISSION VERS LA VALLEE PERDUE
BUCK DANNY#24 PROTOTYPE FX-13 (PROTOTYPE FX-13)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
It's a sunny day when Buck Danny and his pal Jerry Tumbler are en route to the Naval Air Test Center of Patuxent River. Both pilots are recovered from their injuries from their recent adventure. When Buck and Jerry were recovering in the hospital, Sonny Tuckson was on leave in Texas. He travels straight from Texas to the airbase too. After Buck and Jerry get through the security checks, they arrive at the base, where top secret prototypes are tested for the US Navy.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
In this story Charlier and Hubinon made a big logistic error placing the Naval Air Test Center of Patuxent River in San Diego California instead of the Chesapeake bay area in Maryland where it is actually located!
Probably they mixed with the other famous Naval Air Staion of Miramar which is in fact located in San Diego.
back cover of the album BUCK DANNY#24 PROTOTYPE FX-13
In Italy the Buck Danny story PROTOTYPE FX-13 (PROTOTIPO FX-13) has been published by the EDITRICE CENISIO with a different cover
In Germany this story has been also translate and published in the renamed serie Rex Danny with some alternative covers.
The SPIROU cover dedicated to the story PROTOTYPE FX-13
BUCK DANNY#25 ESCADRILLE ZZ (SQUADRON ZZ)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
Patuxent River is the major test base of the US Navy. The pilots of the squadron ZZ celebrate the victory of the prototype FX-13, as the US government has ordered a first series of this aircraft. Although the pilots are celebrating, they also commemorate the pilot who lost his life during the tests: Fred Hollman. But while the squadron ZZ celebrates the victory, a group of dubious types meet in an office in the downtown. These men are led by MacDougall and discuss the loss of the order, despite all the bribing they had done. They blame Buck Danny.
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
SUMMARY TO BE WRITTEN
back cover of the album BUCK DANNY#25 ESCADRILLE ZZ
In Italy the Buck Danny story ESCADRILLE ZZ (SQUADRIGLIA ZZ) has been published by the EDITRICE CENISIO with a different cover
The SPIROU 1127 published in 1959 with the cover dedicated to the story ESCADRILLE ZZ
Another SPIROU cover dedicated to the story ESCADRILLE ZZ
BUCK DANNY#26 LE RETOUR DES TIGRES VOLANTS (THE RETURN OF THE FLYING TIGERS )
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
The USS Saratoga carrier battle group, of which Danny is the current CAG, is abruptly ordered to Manila harbour in the South China Sea. There, the admiral and Danny are informed that the CIA has been tracing an alarming increase in arms sales (including modern warplanes) to the region, which inexplicably are not meant for any of local governments. Washington fears that an aggression is imminent, and dispatched the Saratoga for this eventuality. The carrier's planes are put on alert the same night in an attempt to intercept illicit flights in the region; while on duty, they identify, but then lose, a suspicious cargo plane flying towards Southeast Asia. The next day, Danny takes a Phantom jet and investigates some of the islands where the cargo might have landed; he is shot at above one of them and loses contact with the Saratoga. When Tumbler and Tuckson investigate, they discover an entire squadron of unidentified jets fleeing the area, with Danny nowhere in sight. A search and rescue is immediately organized, but new orders from Washington interrupt it after only two days. The Saratoga has been ordered to proceed with all due haste to the Southeast Asian nation of Vien-tan, where a revolution has just begun, supported by the same jets and heavy armament that CIA has been tracing. Despite this, the admiral allows Tumb and Sonny one last search of the area; they finally locate Danny and bring him back on board, where the admiral informs him that his general's stars may be at the end of the upcoming adventure.
In this story some interesting images of US Navy jet aircraft are depicted. Some prototypes like the F8U-1 Crusader and the F4H-1 Phantom II seem to be on board of the USS Saratoga for their carrier suitability evaluation. Being this story more likely placed during the 1959-1960 only the presence of the early variant of the Phantom II is at least reasonable being the early version of the Crusader tested some years before during the 1956-1957.
Also in this case several technical errors are present like for instance the zero-zero Ejection seat of the F8U-1 Crusader. The zero-zero capability ejection seat was not installed in the prototype and the early production versions of this aircraft which were equipped with an old capability ejection seat.
Furthermore in the story the O.S.S. intelligence service is mentioned while at that time this agency had already been replaced by the C.I.A.
In Italy the Buck Danny story LE RETOUR DES TIGRES VOLANTS (IL RITORNO DELLE TIGRI VOLANTI) has been published by the EDITRICE CENISIO with a different cover
In Germany this story has been also translate and published in the renamed serie Rex Danny with an alternative cover.
A couple of images from the covers of the SPIROU magazines probably related with the adventure LE RETOUR DES TIGRES VOLANTS
BUCK DANNY#27 LES TIGRES VOLANTS A LA RESCOUSSE! (THE FLYING TIGERS TO THE RESCUE!)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
The novel opens with the admiral briefing the pilots on the situation. A criminal cartel has orchestrated a revolution against the U.S.-allied king of Vien-tan, in order to control the vital resources in his country's soil. Since the U.S. cannot intervene officially, they have agreed to lend thirty A-4 Skyhawks and pilots to the Vientanese, who will fight under the flag of the defunct Flying Tigers. (Unknown to the admiral, one of the thirty pilots, Dave Stimson, has a family in Vien-tan living in rebel-occupied country). The new Flying Tigers land at their airbase and find themselves beset by problems. On the one hand, the rebels are well trained, well led and well informed, while on the other, the Americans are severely hindered by the incompetence of the Vientanese staff officers they serve under. To make matters worse, they eventually discover that the mercenary pilots they face are being led by an old enemy; Lady X, whom they thought to have killed a few years earlier. Danny sets the Tigers' primary goal as locating and destroying the enemy fighter base. Meanwhile, Stimson, quietly helped by Sonny and a local peasant, Thi Ba, tries to send a message to his family in the north; instead, Thi Ba is captured by the rebels, who instantly understand the uses they can make of him. With the information he reveals to them, they locate Stimson's wife and force her to write a letter meant to draw her husband into a trap. Despite his wariness, Sonny Tuckson agrees to fly into the north with Stimson and try to save his family; instead, they are captured and imprisoned by the rebels.
Very interesting in this story are the representation of the Lady X jets which can be identify as the Italian Fiat G. 91 the very versatile jet which won the NATO contest in 1956 for a light strike aircraft. Also well represented are the A4D-1 Skyhawk used by the new "Flying Tigers" even if also in this case this early variant of the Skyhawk was already obsolete during the end of 50s- begining of 60s.
Even if well drawn the story still shows the typical US pilots' equipments of the early 50s. While in the late 50s much more modern flight equipments were already supplied by the US Navy and USAF.
The back cover realated to the album BUCK DANNY#27 LES TIGRES VOLANTS A LA RESCOUSSE!
BUCK DANNY#28 TIGRES VOLANTS CONTRE PIRATES (THE FLYING TIGERS VERSUS PIRATES)
J.-M. Charlier, V. Hubinon
After her partial success in the previous novel, Lady X now plans to finish the war by crushing the Flying Tigers in one blow. On the one hand, she has the rebel propaganda broadcasts announce the capture and upcoming execution of Tuckson and Stimson; on the other, using Thi Ba, she lets false information trickle to Danny in the hopes of drawing out the entire squadron and destroying it. With tempers running high, many of the pilots call for an out and out frontal assault; but Danny, wary of another trap, organizes his own recon into enemy territory with the help of Vientanese royal soldiers. The latter manage to get in touch with the prisoners, and learn among other things of Thi Ba's treason, which they report to headquarters. With this new information, Danny puts together another rescue plan, this one in cooperation with the Vientanese soldiers rather than Thi Ba and his associates. The operation goes off without a hitch until the very end; one of the two rescue helicopters is disabled on takeoff, and the remaining one is too small to accommodate everyone. Sonny Tuckson remains with Souva, the Vientanese commander, and they make their way back to base on foot. This proves harder than anticipated, and becomes doubly so for Sonny when Souva is killed by a landmine. After being lost in the jungle for a week, he miraculously stumbles upon Lady X's airbase, a heavily protected airstrip in the middle of a mountain range. After nightfall, he steals one of the rebel jets and flies it back to the Flying Tiger base. Having finally located their enemies' base, the Tigers take off as soon as posslbe; approaching through a narrow and undefended canyon identified earlier on by Sonny, they catch the rebels unawares and destroy the entire airbase with napalm bombs. Without its aerial support, the rebellion collapses quickly; the novel concludes after the war's end with Sonny being decorated for bravery by the Vientanese king.
Even if the story was published in the 1960 thus before the US massive involvment in the Vietnam region, This story arc was heavily influenced by media censorship in France, "Buck Danny"'s biggest market, which had already resulted in the banning of the two Korean War novels. The Indochina War and its repercussions, including U.S. involvement in the region, had also been banned from French popular literature; thus Charlier was forced to draft a strictly fictional story, with no basis in international reality.
The imaginary nation of Vien-tan stands in for Vietnam; the war between the communists and the Diem regime was replaced by a palace quarrel between a king and his rebellious nephew; and the villains' backers, rather than the Soviet Union and Cina, were made to be an unnamed and therefore apolitical criminal organization.
In Germany this story has been also translate and published in the renamed serie Rex Danny with an alternative cover.
An image from the covers of the SPIROU magazine n° 1225 probably related with the adventure TIGRES VOLANTS CONTRE PIRATES