



The French-Belgian based aviation comic series LES AVENTURES DE BUCK DANNY (THE ADVENTURES OF BUCK DANNY) was created in 1946 by the Belgian journalist Georges Troisfontaines and the Belgian drawer Victor Hubinon. But after 13 pages, Troisfontaines transferred his task of scenario-writing to the Belgian scenarist and drawer Jean-Michael Charlier, who lead this comic series for about 50 years. After the first pre-publication in the French weekly comic magazine SPIROU, volume 455 from January 2, 1947, this series got its first album publication in 1948, and is still being published and reissued, with today a number of 65 different albums.



Planned are (without prejudice): LE PACTE! (THE PACT!), volume 58 in the main series (2020), SEA DART, volume 7 in the Buck Danny Classic series (2020) The main characters are Buck Danny, Jerry Tumbler and Sonny Tuckson. They are US pilots and they get involved in a series of aviation, war, international intrigues and spy stories, starting from the beginning of WWII until today. Of course in this series, the temporary logic is not considered and the main characters, for evident reasons, never aged, even if they and their stories have advanced with the passage of time. The first issues of Charlier, some minor stories by Bergese and some of the new "classic" spin-off adventures are related to WWII in the Pacific and the Indocine scene. After the war, the three pilots left the armed forces and join a "shady" private airline company in the Middle East. At the end of the 40s, the three brave pilots are again enlisted in the USAF as test pilots and then are involved in two war tours in Korea. Their second Korean war tour is shown in the first story of the new "Classic" spin-off adventures created by Jean-Michel Arroyo and Frederic Zumbiehl. After the Korean war Buck Danny and his friends joint the US Navy for a long exchange pilots program. The adventures which take place during the 50s are mainly related to US naval aviation with a variety of situations like test flights, industrial expionage, international pace keeping etc. In this period Buck Danny and his two pals meet for the first time the criminal spy and mercenary Jane Hamilton, known as Lady X. This female pilot is the chief of an international mercenary organisation, which offers it’s expionage and sabotage job to the best payer. In the adventures placed during the 60s and 70s the three aviators are protagonists of exciting and dangerous situations. Worthy to be mentioned are: the intricate rescue of a Mercury astronaut and relevant capsule, the experimental flight on the X-15, the loss and the theft of an atomic weapon, the dangerous story with the Blue Angels acrobatic team, and the fighting against an international criminal organisation involved in drug production and sale. After the death of Victor Hubinon in 1979 the series was stopped for four years. Jean-Michel Charlier restarts the Buck Danny adventures with the drawings of Francis Bergese who takes both the rule of writer and draftsman ten years later after the death of Charlier. In these new adventures which take place between the 80s and today Buck Danny and his friends alternate the exchange activity in the US Naval Aviation with their duty in the US Air Force ranks being involved as F-14 and F-18 pilots, training in the USAF Aggressors group, SR-71 and TR-1 pilots, and F-22 operative test flight. Their adventures taking them all around the world in several dangerous missions which prove their courage and brave as ardent defenders of the American ideals. The main characteristic of these comics is the high accuracy of the graphic reproduction of aircraft, ships and technical devices and especially in the last issues also of the equipment and uniforms.

The realism of the series are also enhanced by short definitions or explanations of technical material and sometimes they also contain historical and technical notes. After the Bergese retirement the Buck Danny's adventures continued in the 2013 with the script by Frederic Zumbiehl and drawings by Francis Winis and Gil Formosa.

These stories show some of the most advanced aircrafts, equipments and technology and are placed in modern international scenario Buck Danny also appears in some illustrations of the aviation comic book LES AVENTURES DE TANGUY ET LAVERDURE dedicated to the French military pilots flying on Mirage fighters. The first time he was shown alone in the adventure ESCADRILLE DES CICOGNES (THE SQUADRON OF THE STORKS) in the cantine of an USAF base in Europe talking with two Australian pilots. Buck Danny and his sidekicks also appear in some illustrations of the aviation comic book LES AVENTURES DE TANGUY ET LAVERDURE titled CANON BLEU NE RÈPOND PLUS (BLUE CANON NO ANSWER). In this story the two french pilots meet Buck Danny and his US Navy squadron of F-8 Crusader in the US Artic base of Thule. Reference to the Buck Danny adventures are also present in other two comic books of TANGUY ET LAVERDURE respectively from the story PRISONNIERS DES SERBES related to the Bosnia conflict thus connected with the Buck Danny story #46 L'ESCADRILLE FANTOME and in the TANGUY AND LAVERDURE story OPERATION OPIUM related to the Afghanistan/Iran area.

Another tribute to the Buck Danny adventures is also present at the end of TANGUY ET LAVERDURE story PRISONNIERS DES SERBES where the album DE "DESERTEUR" (Belgian version of the Buck Danny album #44 LES AGRESSEURS) is reading by Erneste Laverdure.

Buck Danny, Jerry Tumbler and expecially Sonny Tuckson play an important role in the TANGUY ET LAVERDURE album RENCONTRE DE TROIS TYPE. This adventure is placed at Nellis AFB and in the Top Secret area 51 of Groom Dry Lake during one of the periodical "Red Flag" trainig on which also the Rafale and Mirage 2000 of french Air Force were involved.

Buck Danny and his friends helps the French aviators to defuse a dangerous group of saboteurs who organized attacks against French Rafale fighters and through an accomplice journalist to disqualify the aircraft on the aviation newspapers. In this adventure also shown the dangerous Lady X who is also involved in the plot against the French aircrafts.

Buck Danny on board of the Aircraft carrier USS John Stennis is also shown in the story LA NUIT DU CARACAL in the comic book MISSIONS KIMONO n. 10 settle in the Afghanistan area as well. Buck Danny, Sonny Tuckson and Jerry Tumbler are also shown in the second volume of the serie ANGEL WINGS. They are watching USO artist Jinx Falkenburg during her concert were many squadrons (Burma Banshees, 14 AVG, ec.) were invited.

The ANGEL WINGS adventure are placed during the WWII in Burma area thus in the same period on which Buck Danny and friends were on duty with the Flying Tigers. First published in 1948 the Adventures of Buck Danny are still continuing today with modern themes.

All the albums are periodically reprinted by DUPUIS and always available in the book and comic stores. All the adventures with some new short stories are also published in the collection series "TOUT BUCK DANNY" (ALL BUCK DANNY) and in the new collection serie first issued in the November of 2010 "BUCK DANNY L'INTEGRALE" ALBUM ISSUES

Buck Danny #1

Buck Danny #2

Buck Danny #3

Buck Danny #4

Buck Danny #5

Buck Danny #6

Buck Danny #7

Buck Danny #8

Buck Danny #9

Buck Danny #10

Buck Danny #11

Buck Danny #12

Buck Danny #13

Buck Danny #14

Buck Danny #15

Buck Danny #16

Buck Danny #17

Buck Danny #18

Buck Danny #19

Buck Danny #20

Buck Danny #21

Buck Danny #22

Buck Danny #23

Buck Danny #24

Buck Danny #25

Buck Danny #26

Buck Danny #27

Buck Danny #28

Buck Danny #29

Buck Danny #30

Buck Danny #31

Buck Danny #32

Buck Danny #33

Buck Danny #34

Buck Danny #35

Buck Danny #36

Buck Danny #37

Buck Danny #38

Buck Danny #39

Buck Danny #40

Buck Danny #41

Buck Danny #42

Buck Danny #43

Buck Danny #44

Buck Danny #45

Buck Danny #46

Buck Danny #47

Buck Danny #48

Buck Danny #49

Buck Danny #50

Buck Danny #51

Buck Danny #52

Buck Danny #53

Buck Danny #54

Buck Danny #55

Buck Danny #56

Buck Danny #57 SPIN-OFF SERIE BUCK DANNY CLASSIC

Buck Danny Classic #1

Buck Danny Classic #2

Buck Danny Classic #3

Buck Danny Classic #4

Buck Danny Classic #5

Buck Danny Classic #6

Buck Danny Classic #7 COLLECTION SERIE TOUT BUCK DANNY

Tout Buck Danny #1

Tout Buck Danny #2

Tout Buck Danny #3

Tout Buck Danny #4

Tout Buck Danny #5

Tout Buck Danny #6

Tout Buck Danny #7

Tout Buck Danny #8

Tout Buck Danny #9

Tout Buck Danny #10

Tout Buck Danny #11

Tout Buck Danny #12

Tout Buck Danny #13

Tout Buck Danny #14

Tout Buck Danny #15

Tout Buck Danny #16 NEW COLLECTION SERIE BUCK DANNY L'INTEGRALE

Buck Danny l' integrale #1

Buck Danny l' integrale #2

Buck Danny l' integrale #3

Buck Danny l' integrale #4

Buck Danny l' integrale #5

Buck Danny l' integrale #6

Buck Danny l' integrale #7

Buck Danny l' integrale #8

Buck Danny l' integrale #9

Buck Danny l' integrale #10

Buck Danny l' integrale #11

Buck Danny l' integrale #12

Buck Danny l' integrale #13

Buck Danny l' integrale #14 Even if specifically dedicated to the US military aviation world the Adventures of Buck Danny are mainly published in European countries like France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Italy and Spain and translated in the relevant languages.

Buck Danny in Holland

Buck Danny in Germany >

Buck Danny in Italy

Buck Danny in Spain

Buck Danny in Norway and Denmark In Italy during the middle of the 70s some of the Buck Danny's adventures have been also reprinted in few special collection albums. In the USA The Adventures of Buck Danny are almost unknown. So far only 2 albums have been translated into English and issued by US-publishers: Mile High Comics.

- MISSION‘APOCALYSE’ by Amusement International Limited (in 1988)

- MYSTERY IN THE ANTARCTIC by AIR COMICS (in 2004).

In 2004 AIR COMICS started out with the idea of selling Buck Danny in English translation to US Servicemen, women and US embassy staff also. . The British company CINEBOOK has between 2009 and 2019 translated into English and published 11 Buck Danny albums (about 1 album per year), namely: NIGHT OF THE SERPENT, THE SECRETS OF THE BLACK SEA, GHOST SQUADRON, NO-FLY ZONE, THUNDER OVER THE CORDILLERA, MYSTERY IN ANTARCTICA and MISSING IN ACTION. They are (not in a chronogical order) volumes 45 - 52 from the original French main series, with drawings and scenario’s by Francis Bergèse, and volumes 53 - 56 namely BLACK COBRA, FLIGHT OF THE SPECTRE, DEFCON ONE, VOSTOK ISN'T ANSWERING with scenario of Zumbiehl and drawings by Winis (album 53) and Formosa. In Spain during the 70s Susaeta Editions published four episodes of Buck Danny with special covers. There are no Buck Danny albums in Portugal.

However some Buck Danny stories were (between 1974 and 1982)

issued in the Portugese comic magazine Mundo de Aventuras, printed in black & white. In some German publications Buck Danny has been also renamed as Rex Danny. After the death of Victor Hubinon on 1979 a special edition book dedicated to the Buck Danny adventures and history has been published by DUPUIS on a limited collection edition of 500 numbers. In the 2013 Zumbiehl and Arroyo create a new spin-off stories of Buck Danny published by ZEPHYR BD still placed during the late 40s and 50s. The first of this adventures titled SABRE SUR LA COREE was published in the December 2013 on limited edition (1000 copies) black and white album. Few months later the full color edition was also published.

The 2nd story of this adventure, titled DUEL SUR MIG ALLEY, was published in october 2014 also on a limited edition (1,500 copies) black and white album. A month later the full color edition has been also published. In 2014 a special box set was also published by DUPUIS. This edition includes the Buck Danny Classic Adventures issue 2 (DUEL SUR MIG ALLEY) by Zumbiehl and Arroyo. This box set also includes a linnen squadron patch. In the 2015 the three aventures by Charlier and Bergese MISSION APOCALYPSE, LES PILOTES DE L'ENFER, LE FUE DU CIEL has been re-printed by DUPUIS on a special and limited edition black and white album titled ALERTE NUCLÈAIRE.later on the full color edition was also published.

In this collection albums also a short Buck Danny story (LE LACHE) by Bergese placed during the first period of the WWII in the Pacific area was present.

The same three stories have been also reprinted in full color on a dedicated special album. In the 2016 a special box set was published by DUPUIS, DARGAUD, ZEPHYR dedicated to Buck Danny and Tanguy et Laverdure. The box included the Buck Danny classic adventure #3 LES FANTOMES DU SOLEIL LEVANT the Tanguy et Laverdure classic adventure #1 MENACE SUR MIRAGE F1 and an interesting short classical black and white crossover (LA RENCONTRE) between the two series placed in the 1965 made by Zumbiehl, Buendia and Philippe. In the 2016 a special box set was also published by DUPUIS. This edition includes the Buck Danny Adventures issue 54 (LA NUIT DU SPECTRE) and the issue 55 (DEFCON ONE) by Zumbiehl and Formosa. In the 2017 another special box set was also published by DUPUIS. This edition includes the Buck Danny Classic Adventures issue 4 (L'ILE DU DIABLE) by Zumbiehl and Arroyo.

The box set also includes several signed drawings of Buck Danny adventures main characters by Arroyo. In the 2019 a special box set was also published by DUPUIS. This edition includes the Buck Danny Classic Adventure 6 ALERTE ROUGE and several signed by Arroyo drawings of the main characters of the classic # 5 and # 6 adventures. Because of the 70 year anniversary of the Buck Danny series in 2017, two special albums are published by DUPUIS: reprinting the last and unfinished 2-part story by J.-M. Charlier: LES OISEAUX NOIRS and OPÉRATION CHECKMATE. Just 16 pages of this adventure were published in the album TOUT BUCK DANNY #14 from 1998. Publisher DUPUIS had asked Fréderic Zumbiehl and Patrice Buendia to finish Charlier’s script, and asked the retired Francis Bergèse to draw page 17 – 46 and to paint the album cover.

The second album was instead drawn by Andre Le Bras and the cover by Gil Formosa. The two albums of LES OISEAUX NOIR have been also published by DUPUIS in October 2017 on a special collection box Always for the 70 year anniversary of the Buck Danny series in Jannuary 2017 the SPIROU n. 4108 comic is issued with a commemorative cover.

The album contains some articles related to Aviation and Buck Danny topics as well as a new two pages short adventure by Fréderic Marniquet titled L'INEVITABLE RENCONTRE (THE INEVITABLE ENCOUNTER). This story is placed in the 1942 and shows few reference to Buck Danny, Sonny Tuckson and Jerry Tumbler before their encounter. In 2020 the first album of HISTOIRES COURTES is published by DUPUIS.

These special albums in two issue reprint the Buck Danny short adventures from 1946 to 2020. In the second volume a new short adventure LES DERNIERS COMBATS (THE LATEST FIGHTS) by Buendia and De Luca placed during the Korean War is published In France the adventures of the first 40 issues have been also published by Rombaldi in twelve beautiful volumes of a dedicated Buck Danny library .

In Italy the adventures published by CENISIO have been also reprinted in some beautiful volumes of a dedicated Buck Danny library .

In France in the 2011 all the adventures have been re-published by Hachette in a special collection volumes with some gadgets included in the subscription.

Buck Danny's main authors Jean-Michel Charlier Jean-Michel Charlier was born on 30 October, 1924 in Liege Belgium. After having gotten a doctorate degree in letters and criminology he worked for the newspaper SPIROU. He was very fond of aviation and got his private pilot licence reaching the qualification of co-pilot on the Douglas DC-3.

In 1947 he created the adventures dedicated to the US aviator Buck Danny and in 1959 he was one of the founders of the JOURNAL PILOTE and the succesfull comic series Tanguy et Laverdure dedicated to French military aviation. In 1963 Charlier created a company of young artists. He than collaborated with the realisation of a French military aviation TV serial based on the Tanguy et Laverdure comics.

In 1980 he restarted the new Buck Danny series previously stopped after the death of the artist Victor Hubinon, with the new talented artist Francis Bergese.

Charlier died young on July 10th, 1989 leaving a huge blank in the French-Belgian comic universe. Victor Hubinon Victor Hubinon was born on 26 April 1924 in Liege Belgium. He attended the art academy paying his studies by selling drawings and caricatures to newspapers and magazines.. After WW II he worked for some mounths as draftsman for the daily newpaper LA MENSE and in 1946 for the SPIROU. In 1947 he started the collaboration with Jean-Michel Charlier for the realisation of the Buck Danny series. He became very fond of aviation getting his own private pilot licence. Meanwhile he continued the drawings for the Buck Danny series he also wrote some biographies and comics like Fifi, published in LA LIBRE JUNIOR from 1953 to 1955, and for the young readers Pistolin. In 1959, still together with Charlier, he drew the pirate Barbarossa published in PILOTE.

In 1978 Hubinon started the series La Mouette but unfortunatly he died young on January 8th, 1979 at the age of 54. Francis Bergese Francis Bergese was born on 12 July 1941 in Crest France. After attending the local college he got his private pilot licence and then he joint the Army aviation as F.A.C. pilot on duty in Algeria from January 1961 to October 1962. Bergese worked from 1964 to 1973 for the publisher FLEURUS and for some publications like Ajax, Cap 7 and Zorro.

A very good artist, he has a particular talent to draw the aviation based scenarious and in 1980 he started the collaboration with Charlier for the new issues of the Buck Danny series. After the death of Charlier, Bergese made a Buck Danny story with De Douhet and then he continued the series taking both the rules of writer and draftsman. Very found of aviation, Bergese is often a welcome guest of French, Belgian and US military aviation flight groups. Frédéric Zumbiehl Frédéric Zumbiehl joined the French Naval Aviation at 20 years and became a fighter pilot on Chance Vought F-8 Crusader. Nine years later, he left the Naval Aviation but remains faithful to aeronautics. At age of 30, he become a professional pilot, and member of the patrol "Skytypers" famous "Writers from heaven," on MS 893. He was very found of aviation and books since young age, but he wants to go further and wishes to transmit his passion for aviation through writing. He starts as a writer with the publication of three books noticed Editions Altipresse, collection "Histoires authentiques", with a first collection: Pilotes de l’Aéronavale and the following year Pilotes de Chasse, and finally Pilotes de l’Extrême. series. From 2006, he starts the publications of another literary genre: the comics. His most famout titles published by Sentinel and edition Zephyr are Team Rafale, Airblues , Rafale Leader, Emergency and Unité Félin both created with the search for greater realism. Then he will emerge in an entirely different register, the comedy series Luftgaffe, a parody on the German fighters during the Second World War. Meanwhile, Frédéric Zumbiehl is chosen to take over the legendary series Buck Danny, published by Editions Dupuis, whose next edition, entitled Black Cobra, released in autumn 2013. And together Jean Michel Arroyo he starts LES AVENTURES DE BUCK DANNY "Classic" a new Spin-off series placed during the late 40s through the 60s. Jean-Michel Arroyo Born May 21, 1971 in Béziers, Jean-Michel Arroyo start to be passionate in comics very early. Later he discovered the great American artists of the time (Kirby, Colan, Buscema, etc. ). Then all the Franco-Belgian writers like Hergé, Franquin, Giraud, Tardi, etc. with a feel for the drawing brush, high hairlines. His passion for the sport takes over for ten years, but it is with enthusiasm and tenacity that he resumes again pencils and brushes. It will be the Joker editions in Brussels that will give him the opportunity to start learning the craft with the series "the ship of the Sands" scripted by Jacques Hiron. In 2009, Arroyo was contacted by Zephyr editions to resume the series "Airblues" scripted by Fred Zumbiehl. He discovered the aviation world with immediate favorite for the design of aircraft from 40s to 60s. Fascinated by the design of authors like Milton Caniff, Frank Robbins, Roy Crane, he finds this influence among designers as Francobelges Jijé Eddy Paape and Hubinon, the designer of "Buck Danny" and "Red Beard" for the most famous! It has at the time two albums of Buck Danny: "Ciel de Corée" by Hubinon and "Les Agresseurs" by Francis Bergèse. Already in love with the classic style of Hubinon, it also appreciate the precision of Bergèse drawing, especially on aircrafts. At the end of 2012, he made his first attempts to launch the series "Buck Danny Classic". The concept is to be inserted between the adventures of the first 40 episodes, the graphic is to try to find the style of Hubinon's albums . The first album "Sabre sur la Corée" was released in February 2014, the second part of the diptych entitled "Duel sur Mig Alley" in November. Gil Formosa Gil Formosa Born in 1959 he entered the comics world in 1977 at the age of 18, he created four short stories for Pilote magazine. He also began the heroic fantasy series Légendes du Chevalier Cargal in this magazine in 1982. The series ran until 1989. Afterwards, Formosa went to work in the advertising and animation field creating the original character design for Totally Spies. He did several commissions for Glénat (two albums of 'Tex Avery'), Marvel Comics (a Conan cover) and Semic Comics (several covers and illustrations) Gil Formosa produced painted covers for a variety of French science fiction, comic book and game American publishers. Formosa became one of France's leading commercial illustrators, with credits including film posters (Lady Hawke) and major advertising campaigns. More recently, Formosa returned to comics, illustrating three Steampunk graphic novels featuring the character of Robur created by Jules Verne: With writer Jean-Marc Lofficier, he began the Robur series at Albin Michel in 2003. With writer Corbeyran he began the " Double Gauche" series at Dargaud in 2006.

For the Buck Danny serie he illustrates the story LA NUIT DU SPECTRE and DEFCON ONE. Ketty Formaggio Born August 18, 1978 in Rovigo Italy, Ketty is a talented artist mastering in graphic coloring of comics and illustrative books. Her professional activity starts in 2002 as colorist and illustrator for the Communication Research Centre FABRICA associated to the Beneton Group. From 2004 she contributes to the Cultural Association Alex Raimond "Cronache di Topolinia" and in the 2003 her works have been selected for the illustrations for kids exibition in Bologna.

In 2005 she starts the collaboration as colorist and artist for Redwhale and the publisher Piemme. In this period she also creates some comics for the publishers Coniglio Editore and Cronaca di Topolinia. In the 2007 Ketty contributes to the coloring of some stories of the Italian comic Lupo Alberto for the McK edizioni and in the 2009 are published some of her coloring for the comic Meg in the Italian magazine Messaggero dei Ragazzi. From 2009 to today she works for several comics publisher like Rainbow, Piemme, Sergio Bonelli, Zephyr Editions, Soleil Prod and Dupuis.

Her experience in coloring the Aviation comics is related to the volumes Les Enragés, Blackbirds, Buck Danny classic adventures and the upcoming Tanguy and Laverdure classic adventures. Her personal web page with some of her works can be seen in this link Ketty Formaggio