Lone Ranger #2

Written by Brett Matthews

Art by Sergio Cariello

Cover by John Cassaday

 

When I first heard about Dynamite's plans to re-launch the Lone Ranger, I thought, "Good luck." As the star of radio, TV and cartoons, he's probably the only hero who's more played out in the public imagination than Superman. Only, unlike Supes and his super-ilk, the Lone Ranger doesn't have any sort of ongoing mechanism, like several continuously published comic book series, to keep infusing him with new ideas and energy. The character seemed completely inert.

 

Well, that just goes to show why I'm reviewing comics instead of running a comic book company, as Dynamite was able to assemble a kick-ass creative team for their Lone Ranger comic, one that has thus far been able to use the character's over-familiarity as a benefit.

 

We all know he wears a mask and that he hangs out with a Native American sidekick named Tonto. So when young John Reid finds a Native American standing over him, the moment takes on an air of destiny, like we're seeing something of historical importance about to happen. Same with the scene where Reid finds a black cloth with two holes torn into it, holes that look like they could easily be made into eyeholes (this is a portentous moment that John Cassaday riffs on).

 

Amazing how much gravity little moments like this can have when put in the right context and handled just so, isn't it? By giving us the "Year One" story of the Lone Ranger, and doing it post-Unforgiven, post-Deadwood, anti-Western Western vibe, writer Brett Matthews and artist Sergio Cariello seem to be creating an icon right before our eyes. In essence, they're reverse engineering the most well known Western hero of them all, and then telling us that story backwards.

 

In this issue, John and Tonto have their cute-meet (complete with a riff on the typical greeting horse opera's assigned to Native Americans), and we're introduced to a man I can only assume is Black Bart, one hardcore wicked villain who won't just kill you, he'll kill you and then go all Martha Stewart on your ass, decorating his office with pieces of you. (When Bart says it’s curtains for you, he doesn't mean the show's over, he's simply referring to what he's going to do with your flayed hide after he’s put a slug in you).

 

With his family killed and his own death successfully faked, young John is about to go looking for revenge, which means the series is about to jump from pretty interesting to very interesting.

 

Rating – 8