Dan Cooper (also known as Les Aventures de Dan Cooper) is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a fictional Canadian military flying ace and astronaut.
The title was conceived by Albert Weinberg in 1954 as Tintin magazine's answer to Buck Danny, which had become a great success for the rival Spirou magazine. It was the second of three prominent Franco-Belgian aviation-themed bandes dessinées, alongside Jean-Michel Charlier's Buck Danny (1948) and Tanguy et Laverdure (1959). Weinberg wrote and drew the strip for almost forty years, with the exception of three stories contributed by Charlier in the early 1960s.
As per Franco-Belgian comics tradition, each completed storyline would appear as a published album after first appearing as a serial in a weekly magazine.
Synopsis Dan Cooper is a test pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Early story-lines featured futuristic science-fiction themes such as piloting a rocketship to the Martian moon Deimos; however later stories were more rooted in present-day themes.
Speculative connection to D. B. Cooper
Although fairly obscure in the English-speaking world since it did not appear in English translation (apart from a short run in the UK comics Champion and Lion in 1966 under the title Jet Jordan), the comics series nevertheless gained a small measure of notoriety in 2009 in the United States as a result of speculation concerning the identity of the 1971 airplane hijacker who came to be known as D. B. Cooper, but who had actually identified himself as "Dan Cooper." Cooper boarded a flight from Portland, Oregon to Seattle, Washington, claimed to have a bomb and demanded $200,000 in cash. He obtained the cash when the plane landed for refueling, and jumped from the Reno-bound airplane somewhere near Portland. Cooper was never apprehended or identified despite decades of FBI investigations, and the only evidence recovered outside the plane was a few thousand dollars in ransom cash buried or lost on a sandbar in the Columbia River.
The Cooper Research Team led by Tom Kaye, working in cooperation with Seattle-based FBI agent Larry Carr, speculated that the hijacker may have chosen an alias based on the fictional character. Kaye and colleagues suggest the hijacker may have become a fan of the comics while on a tour of duty in Europe, or that he may have been of French-Canadian origin since the Dan Cooper comics circulated in Quebec. Some of the comics storylines seemingly match aspects of the D. B. Cooper case, including jumping out of a plane with a parachute, as well as a ransom being delivered in a knapsack. The niece of one suspect, Lynn Doyle "L. D." Cooper (1931–1999), said in 2011 that her uncle had been a fan of Dan Cooper comics.Thomas, P and Cloherty, J (August 3, 2011): "D.B. Cooper Exclusive: Did Niece Provide Key Evidence?" ABCNews.com Retrieved August 3, 2011.
Albums
No.Series Year Title (original)TitleAuthor Publisher1main 1957 Le triangle bleuThe Blue Triangle Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud2main 1958 Le maître du SoleilThe Master of the SunAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud3main 1959 Le mur du silenceThe Wall of SilenceAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud4main 1960 Cap sur MarsSet Course for MarsAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud5main 1962 Duel dans le cielDuel in the SkyJean-Michel Charlier Lombard/Dargaud6main 1963 Coup d'audaceA Bold MoveJean-Michel Charlier Lombard/Dargaud7main 1964 L'escadrille des JaguarsThe Jaguar SquadronJean-Michel Charlier Lombard/Dargaud8main 1965 Le secret de Dan CooperThe Secret of Dan CooperAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud9main 1966 3 cosmonautesThree CosmonautsAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud10main 1967 Fantôme 3 ne répond plus !No Response from Phantom 3! Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud11main 1968 Acrobates du cielAcrobats of the Sky Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud12main 1969 Tigres de merSea Tigers Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud13main 1969 Le mystère des soucoupes volantesThe Mystery of the Flying Saucers Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud14main 1970 Panique à Cap KennedyPanic at Cape Kennedy Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud15main 1970 Les hommes aux ailes d'orThe Men with the Golden Wings Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud16main 1971 SOS dans l'espaceSOS in Space Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud17main 1971 Ciel de NorvègeSkies of NorwayAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud18main 1972 Les pilotes perdusThe Lost Pilots Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud19main 1973 Apollo appelle SoyouzApollo Calling Soyuz Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud20main 1974 L'affaire MinosThe Minos AffairAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud21main 1975 Objectif JumboObjective Jumbo Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud22main 1976 Crash dans le 135Crash in the 135 Albert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud23main 1979 Opération JupiterOperation JupiterAlbert Weinberg Lombard/Dargaud24main 1979 Azimut zéroAzimuth ZeroAlbert Weinberg Fleurus/EDI-325main 1980 Le canon de l'espaceThe Space CannonAlbert Weinberg Fleurus/EDI-326main 1980 Opération Kosmos 990Operation Kosmos 990Albert Weinberg Fleurus/EDI-327main 1981 Programme F-18The F-18 Program Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi28main 1981 F-111 en périlF-111 in Peril Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi29main 1982 L'aviatrice sans nomThe Nameless Aviatrix Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi30main 1982 Pilotes sans uniformePilots out of Uniform Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi31main 1983 Navette spatialeThe Space Shuttle Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi32main 1984 Viking connectionViking connection Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi33main 1985 TargetTarget Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi34main 1985 "Silver Fox""Silver Fox" Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi35main 1986 Dragon LadyDragon Lady Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi36main 1987 L'avion invisibleThe Invisible Plane Albert Weinberg Hachette/Novedi37main 1989 La vrilleThe TailspinAlbert Weinberg Dargaud38main 1990 Pilotes fantômesThe Ghost PilotsAlbert Weinberg Dargaud39main 1990 L'otage du ClemenceauThe Hostage of the ClemenceauAlbert Weinberg Dargaud40main 1991 Alerte sur le "Clem"Alert on the "Clem"Albert Weinberg Dargaud41main 1992 L'œil du tigreThe Eye of the TigerAlbert Weinberg Dargaud1Special Edition 2004 Mystères et secretsMysteries and SecretsAlbert Weinberg Loup- main 2004 Le maître du Soleil - ÉpilogueThe master of the Sun - EpilogueAlbert Weinberg B.D. Club Genève2Special Edition 2005 Échec et Mat !Check and Mate!Albert Weinberg Hibou1Missions 2006 Les parasThe ParatroopersAlbert Weinberg Hibou3Special Edition 2006 Les intrusThe IntrudersAlbert Weinberg Hibou4Special Edition 2008 Tous azimuts!All Azimuths!Albert Weinberg Hibou5Special Edition 2010 L'île aux géantsThe Island of the GiantsAlbert Weinberg Hibou
References
External links http://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/dancooper.htm http://francejohn.pagesperso-orange.fr/dc_page1.htm http://www.ezzulia.nl/forum/viewtopic.php?f=188&t=13645