Dynamite Entertainment 2018
Written by Mark Russell
Illustrated by Bob Q
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
In the old and lawless West, truth was what a man kept in his word. Justice what he kept in his holster. Join us now in a short trip to yesteryear as the Lone Ranger and Tonto take up the cause of truth and justice and battle an evil cabal of rancher as they attempt to seize the Texas panhandle for themselves.
Dynamite has done some wonderful things with the heroes of yesteryear in a myriad of ways and I loved seeing the whole Lone Ranger/Green Hornet crossover and keeping it all in the family. But this story has me more excited than any of those. Growing up my folks used to pack us up in the family station wagon and we’d go to either New York City of somewhere in Florida and all the while to keep us entertained they’d get these old stories on tape. My dad was partial to the pulp heroes so we got The Shadow and the Green Hornet and yes the Lone Ranger to listen to on those trips. This story brings those memories back to me in a very similar yet different way.
The way the story is structured is fantastic and how Mark manges to make it flow like tumbleweed crossing the winds. Winding and traversing it’s way through the lives of men of greed and power as well as those just trying to make a living. It really feels almost like a modern story where corporate greed overcomes common decency and it causes a kind storm the likes you don’t want to get caught up in. The opening here is sensational for various reasons but mainly because it’s so wrong and preys upon the drunk Indian stereotype but then again Tonto also perpetuates it as well as the part where white folks think they are stupid by acting that way. There is a smartness to his ploy that doesn’t go unnoticed if you know how to look.
All throughout out this book the dialogue is utterly phenomenal to see. You can learn a lot about a man by the way he speaks as well as the words that come out of his mouth. When someone is in like-minded company what he says is more prejudiced and frank when trying to sway others we see scaremongering as a tactic to sway others to their side. Sounds familiar considering what the United States is going through at the moment doesn’t it. So not only are the Lone Ranger and Tonto brought to life beautifully this way but equally and opposite of this coin we those who need to be taken down a few notches also brought to life beautifully.
Bob is such an amazingly talented artist. I love the way he can take this linework and shape it so it creates these beautiful lines that look and feel soft and yet are strong like a spiders web. The attention to detail here is stunning and it doesn’t matter if it’s in their personage or in the backgrounds all of it just brings this to life so fully. I cannot stress enough just how much I think of Bob as an artist and illustrator. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a superb eye for storytelling. The way backgrounds are utilised is perfectly done to expand the moment and bring a real size and scope to the story.
The ingenuity of what happens within this issue thanks to careful planning and misdirection as well as the failed plan are things that are done in a way that feels natural and right. There is some excellent storytelling here and plot twists and turns as well revelations that make this much more personal a story for the Lone Ranger and Tonto. The layers to the story only make me love this even more and who knew the past would be so like the present in too many ways.