Dynamite Entertainment 2016
Written by Michael Uslan
Illustrated by Giovanni Timpano
Coloured by Pete Pantazis
Lettered by Troy Peteri
The son of The Lone Ranger’s old nemesis, Black Bart, reveals he has been murdering
nuclear theory scientists to keep America from getting too far ahead of the Nazis in the race for the destructive power of the atom and the even greater power of hydrogen. He presents an ultimatum to The Lone Ranger , The Green Hornet and Kato: Either they sacrifice their core
principles and kill him, or he will kill Tonto. But it is Tonto who takes that decision away from his dear friends and presses the trigger, himself, dying to preserve the honor of the code of The Lone Ranger.
Dag nabbit and horseshoes this one kind of really hits ya in the feels. I mean we all know the baton was being passed but really now I guess I hadn’t prepared myself for the full extent it was going to happen. Kudos to Michael here because it’s really a spectacular story he’s written and the end of one legacy and the beginning of another. It’s been fun, interesting and logical to see play out with twists and turns that make you smile and then to the verge of tears. That’s how you know how well the story has been written when you can run the gamut of emotions like he’s done here.
Giovanni and Pete need a big hand for what they’ve done here as well. The attention to detail here is fantastic and the use of page layouts through angles, perspective and backgrounds has brought this to life exceedingly well. The facial expressions and body language have been done to add that extra characterisation you can’t get from words alone.
The fact that Michael has been able to keep the final issue of this run as thrilling as he has is amazing to see. The way it all unfolded had to be done this way, after reading this twice I’ve come to that conclusion. I had to read this multiple times because you get swept up in the course of events and miss a few more subtle moments. As you read this and begin to see what Michael’s doing you realise that you are in the presence of something you don’t want to see but ultimately have to.
By no means is this the end of the story after all it feels like the perfect opening for the Green Hornet to restart his adventures anew from this creative team. With the targeting of the scientists and the Nazi’s attempts at being the first to create the bomb it still feels like there are plenty more stories for Britt, Kato and Ness in the not too distant future. As they continue to shape the world before them it’s something that they, this creative team, leave you wanting to see.
One of the most emotional and memorable conclusions to a story that i’ve ever seen. From every aspect this story hits the notes with a perfection that any musician will be jealous of.