Blueberry 2: Ballad for a Coffin

Blueberry #15-16

by Jean-Michel Charlier, Mœbius

Blueberry is the legendary hero of the American West created by European comics mavens Charlier and 'Moebius' Giraud. This edition continues the adventure begun in 'Chihuahua Pearl'. The U.S. government has sent Blueberry deep under cover in Mexico to recover a half million in gold before the confederates can use it to restart the civil war. His chances grow slimmer every day as the Mexican army and rebel deserters go after the money, themselves.

Blueberry is an unusual hero, not only for being a stoic survivor straight out of Leone, but because he never comes out on top. Though he is always down, he's never out, and his ability to persevere throughout all the wars, betrayals, and machinations around him has endeared him to generations of readers.

Here, Blueberry must tangle with train robbers, bandits, and a secret plot which may go higher than our hero ever imagined. Whatever part Blueberry was meant to play in this grand game of political chess, you can bet he'll be no man's pawn.

Featuring exemplary illustrations by Jean 'Moebius' Giraud, whose evocative characters and epic western vistas are drawn with daringly experimental color, layout and action, providing a unique and masterfully-imagined setting for this grand tale of the old west.

Genres: Comics, Westerns, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Historical Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Jean-Michel Charlier was a Belgian script writer best known as a writer of realistic European comics. He was a co-founder of the famed European comics magazine Pilote.

Reviews

[Stewart Tame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! That is one doozy of a cliffhanger for the volume!

So we resolve the saga of the Confederate gold, more or less. Each adventure seems to leave Blueberry worse off than he was when he started, but somehow he always manages to pull through.

The Blueberry books are one of my gold standards by which Westerns are judged. They're rich in historical detail and feature strong, memorable characters. The action scenes are also genuine nail-biters, which doesn't hurt either.

Considering how much carryover between volumes there is in this series, I can only guess at how much richer these stories would seem if Marvel/Epic had started reprinting them from the beginning. There needs to be a complete English version of Blueberry, though I suppose this series is better than nothing at all ...

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot is ok but too convoluted to capture my interest. It's there and it keeps the story moving. The art is the real treat. Fine layouts that show you the action and detail that comes from many films of the western genre. The art is the big draw for this series, and it gets better with each volume. Recommended for comics lovers and fans of westerns.

[Sotofunkdamental · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Chihuaha Pearl", "El hombre que valía 500.000 $" y "Balada por un ataúd" componen el siguiente ciclo de Blueberry (El Tesoro de los Confederados). Nivel altísimo tanto en guión como en dibujo. Lectura obligatoria y todo un Must-Have del género western.

[John Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love that it ends with a conspiracy to assassinate Grant in Durango. French commentary on American civil society thru spaghetti westerns

[Rick Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The momentum of the Blueberry adventure that began with "The Chihuahua Pearl" is immaculately maintained through to the "Ballad for a Coffin" story. Here we follow Mike Blueberry and his companions who have been stranded in the middle of the desert following the misdaventures from "The Half-A-Million Dollar Man". Like before, this Blueberry story just has twist after twist that all land really well. The ending to this story had me completely taken aback and I'm excited to see where it all goes from here. I half expected Charlier & Giraud's Blueberry series to be filled with tried-and-true Western tropes, but the stories have all been surprisingly subversive.

The artwork is absolutely stunning. The colors and the intricate lines are all absolutely lush. If there are better drawn comics I would beg anyone reading this review for a recommendation, because I'm rather concerned I'm at the apex of quality here.

[Seven Pesos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked it. The end to the arc started in Chihuahua Pearl, and the start of a new story. Blueberry is in the slammer with a 30 year sentence doing hard labor thanks to the events of the last story arc and he wants out. A fun cowboy story, so far this series has been great.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume collects the two Blueberry albums Ballade pour un cercueil (Eng. title: Ballad for a Coffin) and Le hors-la-loi (Eng. title: The Outlaw), that is, albums 15 and 16 in the original French publication. The first one of these continues the events from the previous volume and wraps up the three-parter Le Tresor des Confederes (The Confederate Treasure), while the second one opens the two-parter Premier complot contre Grant (The First Plot against Grant).

The latter may very well be one of the finest achievement in the entire series and the short-cropped Blueberry at the opening of the arc is great visual characterisation of both where the character and the story are going.

As always, highly recommended stuff.

[Damon · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I prefer Moebius' sci-fi stuff, there's no question that his western comics are some of the best-looking the genre's seen. It's a shame his stuff is so hard to come by...

I like that Blueberry is kind of a dick. In a weird way, it makes him way easier to relate to than some generic cowboy "hero".

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps the best Blueberry story yet; things are ramping up and Moebius' art is homing in.