Nuclear Alert (Buck Danny)
Encyclopedia
Nuclear Alert is the thirteenth story arc in Buck Danny
, a Franco-Belgian comic book
series by Jean-Michel Charlier
and Francis Bergèse.
s. The trio of pilots is temporarily reassigned from their training exercises in the Caribbean, to represent the United States at an air show in the fictional Central American nation of Managua.
Meanwhile, Interpol
and U.S. intelligence have been observing an increase in criminal actions throughout the world, which they believe are being committed by the same people. They are revealed to be an anti-capitalist terrorist organization, which steals three nuclear weapons from the U.S. Air Force during the novel and plans to use them to wipe out an upcoming trade summit in Cancun
, hosting all the major world leaders outside of the Eastern Bloc
and China.
The two plot lines are joined at the end of the novel, when the terrorists - having hired Lady X, the heroes' nemesis - succeed in stealing two of the three F-14s in Managua, which they intend to use as a delivery system for the bombs (the F-14 being the plane best capable of penetrating the security screens that will surround the conference). Danny is ordered to Washington to give his report of the events.
) is contacted by the terrorists. Identifying themselves as the International Federation of Armed Revolutionary Groups, they demand the release of all terrorists currently held in NATO countries, or they will deliver the F-14s and nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union. Instead, the President decides to stall for time while the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
and other NATO services try to locate and neutralize the IFARG base.
Danny, however, believes the terrorists' demand may be a feint and that the terrorists could be planning to actually use the weapons on a target in the Western Hemisphere. CIA is skeptical, but Admiral Walker allows Danny and Tuckson nine days of shore leave, during which they rent a private aircraft and systematically overfly the deserted islands in the Caribbean where the terrorists may have hidden the Tomcats.
Meanwhile, there is dissension in the terrorists' ranks when one of their Mexican members, Juan, expresses his concern for collateral damage from the operation. In order to preserve cohesion within the group, the terrorists allow him to escape on a boobytrapped raft, thus Juan dies at sea far from the eyes of his friends. However, his body is found by Danny and Tuckson, who also find a message warning them of the IFARG's true plans. But one of the terrorist Tomcats appears and destroys their plane, along with all their communications equipment, leaving them stranded on a deserted cay
and out of contact with the world.
, which, made suspicious by the presence of American aviators in the area, takes them both prisoner. The Americans, in desperation, force a brig break and are rescued shortly thereafter by a helicopter from Guantanamo Naval Base. They are then put in touch with Admiral Walker of the Kennedy and report what they have learned. Walker orders them back to the ship and places it on nuclear alert, but the President is due to land in a few hours and the summit can no longer be called off.
Reagan, once informed of the crisis, arranges for the media to delay news of his arrival by one hour; this allows the Kennedy to evacuate the leaders from Cancun, and to position its fighters to intercept the terrorist planes. When the IFARG, hiding in the Exuma
islands, receive the delayed news of the President's arrival in Cancun, they launch the final phase of Operation Apocalypse, and release their F-14s carrying one nuclear bomb apiece.
The F-14s approach Cancun by using Cuban airspace for cover, but are detected by an American AWACS
. In reaction, they split up with one turning north to attack Cape Canaveral
, and one continuing towards Cancun, forcing the Kennedys fighters to split up. Danny and the squadron's F-14s shoot down the first aircraft over Florida. Tumbler, flying an A-7 Corsair, tries to intercept the second one near Cancun but his older missiles are insufficient; instead, he crashes his fighter into the enemy, barely managing to eject before the explosion.
With Operation Apocalypse foiled, Lady X and the remaining terrorists evacuate their base and flee to safety. Danny, Tumbler and Tuckson receive the thanks of a grateful President Reagan, and will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for their part in stopping the nuclear attack.
, Baader Meinhoff Gang, and Islamic Jihad Organization
. President Reagan is also a regular character in "The Pilots from Hell" and "Fire From the Sky", making him the second (and to date, last) American president featured in the Buck Danny novels, as John F. Kennedy
had previously appeared in the 1962 novel Les Voleurs de Satellites ("Satellite Thieves"). Finally, the Cancun trade summit targeted by the terrorists was an actual event, taking place from October 21 to October 24, 1981.
The three "Nuclear Alert" novels were the first in "Buck Danny" not to have been drawn by Victor Hubinon because of the artist's death in 1979. Instead, Charlier chose younger artist Francis Bergèse, who was himself a longtime fan of "Buck Danny" as well as a former military pilot, to work with him. Bergèse has provided the drawing for every novel since, and was also left in charge of the story after Charlier's death.
Buck Danny
Buck Danny is a Franco-Belgian comics series about a military flying ace and his two sidekicks serving in the United States Navy or the United States Air Force. The series is noted for its realism both in the drawings and the descriptions of air force procedures as part of the storyline. In...
, a Franco-Belgian comic book
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
series by Jean-Michel Charlier
Jean-Michel Charlier
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.-Biography:...
and Francis Bergèse.
Publication history
Like the rest of "Buck Danny," Nuclear Alert was originally published in several (three) different novels before being made into a single album during the nineties. The three novels were Mission Apocalypse, Les Pilotes de l'Enfer (The Pilots from Hell), and Le Feu du Ciel (Fire From Heaven), in 1982, 1983 and 1985 respectively.Mission Apocalypse
Most of the novel follows two separate plots, one for the protagonists and one for the villains. The former - Buck Danny, Jerry Tumbler and Sonny Tuckson - are now pilots on the U.S.S. John F. Kennedy and have recently transferred to flying F-14 TomcatF-14 Tomcat
The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
s. The trio of pilots is temporarily reassigned from their training exercises in the Caribbean, to represent the United States at an air show in the fictional Central American nation of Managua.
Meanwhile, Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
and U.S. intelligence have been observing an increase in criminal actions throughout the world, which they believe are being committed by the same people. They are revealed to be an anti-capitalist terrorist organization, which steals three nuclear weapons from the U.S. Air Force during the novel and plans to use them to wipe out an upcoming trade summit in Cancun
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
, hosting all the major world leaders outside of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and China.
The two plot lines are joined at the end of the novel, when the terrorists - having hired Lady X, the heroes' nemesis - succeed in stealing two of the three F-14s in Managua, which they intend to use as a delivery system for the bombs (the F-14 being the plane best capable of penetrating the security screens that will surround the conference). Danny is ordered to Washington to give his report of the events.
The Pilots from Hell
Following the events of the previous novel, the President of the United States (Ronald ReaganRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
) is contacted by the terrorists. Identifying themselves as the International Federation of Armed Revolutionary Groups, they demand the release of all terrorists currently held in NATO countries, or they will deliver the F-14s and nuclear weapons to the Soviet Union. Instead, the President decides to stall for time while the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and other NATO services try to locate and neutralize the IFARG base.
Danny, however, believes the terrorists' demand may be a feint and that the terrorists could be planning to actually use the weapons on a target in the Western Hemisphere. CIA is skeptical, but Admiral Walker allows Danny and Tuckson nine days of shore leave, during which they rent a private aircraft and systematically overfly the deserted islands in the Caribbean where the terrorists may have hidden the Tomcats.
Meanwhile, there is dissension in the terrorists' ranks when one of their Mexican members, Juan, expresses his concern for collateral damage from the operation. In order to preserve cohesion within the group, the terrorists allow him to escape on a boobytrapped raft, thus Juan dies at sea far from the eyes of his friends. However, his body is found by Danny and Tuckson, who also find a message warning them of the IFARG's true plans. But one of the terrorist Tomcats appears and destroys their plane, along with all their communications equipment, leaving them stranded on a deserted cay
Cay
A cay , also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans , where they provide habitable and agricultural land for hundreds of thousands of people...
and out of contact with the world.
Fire from the sky
The novel opens with Danny and Tuckson being rescued from the cay by a Cuban Koni class frigateKoni class frigate
Koni class is the NATO reporting name for a anti-submarine warfare frigate built by the Soviet Union. They were known in the Soviet Union as Project 1159. 14 were built in Zelenodolsk shipyard between 1975 and 1988. They were originally intended to replace the older Riga class frigates, but were...
, which, made suspicious by the presence of American aviators in the area, takes them both prisoner. The Americans, in desperation, force a brig break and are rescued shortly thereafter by a helicopter from Guantanamo Naval Base. They are then put in touch with Admiral Walker of the Kennedy and report what they have learned. Walker orders them back to the ship and places it on nuclear alert, but the President is due to land in a few hours and the summit can no longer be called off.
Reagan, once informed of the crisis, arranges for the media to delay news of his arrival by one hour; this allows the Kennedy to evacuate the leaders from Cancun, and to position its fighters to intercept the terrorist planes. When the IFARG, hiding in the Exuma
Exuma
Exuma is a district of the Bahamas, consisting of over 360 islands . The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma by a small bridge. The capital and largest city in the district is George Town , founded 1793 and located on Great...
islands, receive the delayed news of the President's arrival in Cancun, they launch the final phase of Operation Apocalypse, and release their F-14s carrying one nuclear bomb apiece.
The F-14s approach Cancun by using Cuban airspace for cover, but are detected by an American AWACS
E-3 Sentry
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an airborne warning and control system developed by Boeing as the prime contractor. Derived from the Boeing 707, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force , NATO, Royal Air Force , French Air Force...
. In reaction, they split up with one turning north to attack Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
, and one continuing towards Cancun, forcing the Kennedys fighters to split up. Danny and the squadron's F-14s shoot down the first aircraft over Florida. Tumbler, flying an A-7 Corsair, tries to intercept the second one near Cancun but his older missiles are insufficient; instead, he crashes his fighter into the enemy, barely managing to eject before the explosion.
With Operation Apocalypse foiled, Lady X and the remaining terrorists evacuate their base and flee to safety. Danny, Tumbler and Tuckson receive the thanks of a grateful President Reagan, and will receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for their part in stopping the nuclear attack.
Behind the scenes
The scenario of "Nuclear Alert" is filled with real-life events and characters from the 1980s. First among these is the rise of international terrorism; the fictional group IFARG was inspired by the real-life Provisional Irish Republican ArmyProvisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
, Baader Meinhoff Gang, and Islamic Jihad Organization
Islamic Jihad Organization
The Islamic Jihad Organization – IJO or Organisation du Jihad Islamique in French, but best known as ‘Islamic Jihad’ for short, was a fundamentalist Shia group known for its activities in the 1980s during the Lebanese Civil War...
. President Reagan is also a regular character in "The Pilots from Hell" and "Fire From the Sky", making him the second (and to date, last) American president featured in the Buck Danny novels, as John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
had previously appeared in the 1962 novel Les Voleurs de Satellites ("Satellite Thieves"). Finally, the Cancun trade summit targeted by the terrorists was an actual event, taking place from October 21 to October 24, 1981.
The three "Nuclear Alert" novels were the first in "Buck Danny" not to have been drawn by Victor Hubinon because of the artist's death in 1979. Instead, Charlier chose younger artist Francis Bergèse, who was himself a longtime fan of "Buck Danny" as well as a former military pilot, to work with him. Bergèse has provided the drawing for every novel since, and was also left in charge of the story after Charlier's death.
Characters
- Buck Danny: the lead character, now Commander, Air Group on U.S.S. John F. Kennedy.
- Sonny Tuckson: one of Danny's fellow pilots two best friends, who accompanies him on his private reconnaissance of the Caribbean.
- Jerry "Tumb" Tumbler: Danny's other best friend. He is wounded during the terrorist attack in Managua and spends most of the second novel in sickbay. However, he is back on his feet by the time of Cancun and personally prevents the success of Operation Apocalypse.
- Admiral Hal Walker: the admiral commanding the Kennedy battle group. Unwisely claims he will "eat his hat" if Danny's intuition about the terrorists attacking Cancun is correct; he is then forced to eat his words (and his uniform peaked cap) by the President at the end of "Fire From the Sky".
- Lady X: Danny, Tumbler and Tuckson's nemesis, who is hired by the IFARG to plan the aerial component of Operation Apocalypse. Unlike the terrorists, she has no interest in worldwide revolution and only accepts their offer to avenge herself on Danny after their several previous encounters.
- Von Grodtz: a German terrorist, who serves as chief of operations for the IFARG.
- Juan: a South American member of the IFARG. His family lives in the YucatanYucatánYucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
and would have been destroyed by the nuclear attack. This, along with his concern for "the IndiansIndigenous peoples of the AmericasThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, the poor" and the other innocents living in the region, leads him to betray his colleagues; thanks to him, Danny and Tuckson discover their actual target. - Ghazi and Havanian: two Iranian F-14 pilots, formerly in the ShahShahShāh is the title of the ruler of certain Southwest Asian and Central Asian countries, especially Persia , and derives from the Persian word shah, meaning "king".-History:...
's air force. Rescued from Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution by Lady X, they agree to fly the IFARG's Tomcats to settle their score with the United States, which they blame for abandoning them. - General Sanchez: the chief of staff of the Managuan Air Force, who dreams of overthrowing his government and ruling in its place. Von Grodtz, posing as a Western businessman, offers to fund his coup in exchange for his help stealing the Tomcats.
- President Reagan: real-life 40th President of the United States. Charlier portrays him as a capable crisis-manager, willing to listen to subordinates and not afraid to take risks in his personal safety to bring the terrorists to justice (he is on the bridge of U.S.S. Kennedy throughout the IFARG Tomcats' attack).
- O'Connor: Admiral Walker's dog, whose love-hate relationship with Sonny Tuckson serves as comic relief throughout the story.
Aircraft featured in this novel
- F-14 TomcatF-14 TomcatThe Grumman F-14 Tomcat is a supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental program following the collapse of the F-111B project...
- A-7 Corsair
- E-3 AWACS
- Grumman GooseGrumman GooseThe Grumman G-21 Goose amphibious aircraft was designed as an eight-seat "commuter" plane for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman’s first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service...
- UH-1