Lone Ranger comic book

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Dynamite Entertainment presents

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A legend is reborn

By Joe Southern
The Silver Bullet
From out of the past comes a bold, new tale of one of America’s most beloved
heroes – The Lone Ranger!
Dynamite Entertainment has taken a daring step to bring back to the pages of pulp
the iconic masked avenger of the Old West. Beginning in September 2006, the story
of how Texas Ranger John Reid surrenders his identity to become the masked rider
of the plains unfolds in the pages of a new comic book. The creative team of Brett
Matthews, John Cassaday, Sergio Cariello and Dean white has produced what is
arguably one of the hottest and most controversial comic books on the market today.
The story strays from the established origin of the Lone Ranger in that it mixes
elements from the various incarnations over the last seven decades while adding
new elements, characters, relationships and situations. It holds to the basic storyline
of six Texas Rangers being ambushed in a canyon with all dying but one. After that, it’
s a whole new adventure.
Issue No. 1 begins in 1869 with a group of Texas Rangers on the trail of an outlaw
named Collins. (In past versions Collins was guiding the Rangers on the trail of Butch
Cavendish. Either way, Collins is leading the Rangers into a trap.) The band of
Rangers consists in part of John Reid, his older brother Dan and their father, who we
later learn is named James.
Along the way and during the ambush we are taken back to various points in young
Reid’s life. The first is 13 years earlier as the young boy questions his Texas Ranger
father about killing an outlaw he was pursuing.
As the massacre of the Rangers begins, we flash back nine years earlier to a time
where Dan coaxes John to jump a ravine. Trust is built when Dan catches his
younger brother.
The slaughter of the Rangers continues until all are presumed dead. The outlaw
gang circles up and the unnamed leader sends Collins off to “collect your thirty
pieces.” The rest of the gang is ordered to “mask up” with hoods.
We then flash back to one year earlier with a now-grown John Reid returning to
Texas on a train. After some time back home, his father grants him his wish and
makes him a Texas Ranger.
Moving back to the present, one of the hooded outlaws inspects the bodies and finds
one Ranger still alive. He draws his weapon to kill him when an arrow pierces his
neck. The next page shows Tonto mounted on his horse.
The story is told in a very minimalist way without a lot of narrative and dialog. It flows
quickly. The artwork is very detailed and edgy. The flashback scenes appear like
worn and scratched images. The comic has a wonderful blend of earth tones
accented by vibrant colors when needed.

Issue No. 2
The story begins with Tonto finding a lone survivor among the massacred Texas
Rangers. The badly wounded John Reid pulls his gun on the Indian, but is out of
bullets. He passes out and the darkness gives way to another scene. This time it’s
Collins, who led the Rangers into the ambush, seeking a man named Parsons. Only
instead of Parsons, he finds Julius Bartholomew, a.k.a. Black Bart. Parsons’ hide
hangs as drapes in his office. Black Bart pulls his gun on Collins and gets him to
confess to his role in the Rangers’ deaths and then kills him.
We then jump back to the canyon. Reid awakens from a nightmare to find that Tonto
has patched him up. Tonto also tosses him a rope made of the scalps of the men
who ambushed the Rangers. The next scene is in Utah. A man named Winthorp
stops outside a door and reports of the Rangers’ demise to an unseen man. The
next page has Black Bart tire of waiting for his men to return and decides to go after
them.
The next day Reid awakens, his fever broken. He asks Tonto to show him the graves.
Tonto says he will when Reid is ready. Reid says he is ready. Breaking down in tears
at the graves of his father, brother and friends, Reid admits he wasn’t ready. Tonto
agrees. “You were able. There is a difference,” he says.
He asks the Indian to dig one more grave. He then plots to go after Collins, whom he
believes to be the last of the men responsible for the ambush. In the meantime, Black
Bart spies the rotting corpses of his men being gorged on by vultures. Nearby are
the graves of the Rangers. He rides into town to get a shovel and a newspaper. The
issue ends with Tonto offering to help Reid track down and kill Collins. He hands Reid
a bundle of items salvaged from the rest of the Rangers, including a bullet-riddled
piece of vest.

Issue No. 3
Black Bart labors in the hot sun as he digs up the graves of the fallen Texas
Rangers. He discovers one grave is empty. We then flash over to John Reid, who is
speaking to his deceased mother while he whittles a bullet mold, melts his Ranger
badge and forges a silver bullet. He then goes to his mother’s grave, where he asks
for forgiveness for the murder he is about to commit.
Tonto comes up behind him and places a hand on his shoulder and reassures him
he is not alone unless he chooses to be. Reid turns around and is wearing a ragged,
full-face mask made from the remnant of his brother’s vest. He peers through twin
bullet holes. Choosing to be alone, he pistol-whips Tonto, sets the Reid home ablaze
and takes off on the stolen Scout.
Back to Black Bart, we see him identifying the dug-up remains (where we learn the
elder Reid’s name is James) and leaves the corpses to the vultures. Next we see that
Reid has broken into a saloon and swigs a drink before smashing the bottle against a
wall. He rides to Collins’ home, loads the silver bullet into his gun and opens the door.
Inside he finds Collins’ body slumped in a chair, holding a gun with a note pinned on
him that says “God forgive me for what I done.” Half of his head is splattered on the
wall behind him. Tonto breaks down the door behind him, pins Reid to the floor with a
knife to his throat and threatens him for stealing his horse. He punches Reid,
knocking the mask off. Reid picks up his gun and Tonto draws his knife.
Reid then dumps out the silver bullet and lets it wobble on the floor. Tonto picks up
the money scattered on the floor, which Reid initially refuses because it’s blood
money. Tonto points out that it’s enough to buy a horse.
We next move back to what appears to be Utah. Butch Cavendish is giving a political
speech, touting the coming railroad. After his speech, Winthrop hands him a
telegram that says, “Five Rangers dead. All contractors dead. Lone Ranger
remains.” Cavendish instructs Winthrop to round up some men.
Moving back to Black Bart, he goes to the house of what appears to be the widow of
a Ranger and kills her. As he walks away, a baby cries. Black Bart turns around and
returns to the house.
The last scene is a cowpoke talking about some horses he has for sale, including a
giant, untamed, white stallion that was injured fighting a buffalo. The last frame shows
Reid saying, “I’ll take him.”

Issue No. 4
John Reid buys the white horse and then tells the cowpoke to "let him go." The horse
races off, but then comes back. In the meantime, Black Bart continues to hunt down
and kill the relatives of the Texas Rangers. Reid and Tonto return to the burned
remains of the Reid home, John refusing to ride or even saddle the horse because
"he's not ready." At the home they find a hidden lock box that contains the wedding
bands of his father and brother and the deed to some land.
Butch Cavendish explains to an unseen person his frustration with the Rangers and
his desire for Texas to be federalized. He gets angry at Winthrop, who interrupts with
no new news from Black Bart. Reid and Tonto find the land and discover a mine.
While Reid works the mine, Tonto goes to town for supplies. The two work the mine
while Black Bart continues on his murderous trail. Eventually, Reid makes a huge
silver strike. While Bart heads off to Wyoming, where Reid's sister-in-law and nephew
live, Reid realizes that Collins couldn't write, so he didn't leave the suicide note. He
determines to go after the killers. On the last page we see Tonto handing Reid a
mask.

Issue No. 5
Tonto rides back to Bryant's Gap, stopping to drink from a flask. Reid tells him that
his nightmares have stopped, but notices Tonto's have not. Tonto takes Reid's shirt
down to the stream and dyes it blue with berries.
We next see Black Bart arriving at the Reid home in Wyoming. He is unusually polite
as Dan's widow invites him in. She said she was expecting him.
Next up is the moment we've waited for. John Reid returns to his mother's grave. He
talks about doing what he should have done from the beginning. As he talks, he
loads silver bullets into his gunbelt. We see him from behind as he puts the mask on.
He adds the hat and on the next page turns around and we get our first look at John
Reid as the Lone Ranger! He comes to Tonto and tells him he is ready to follow his
plan. Tonto tells him not to seek out evil, that evil will seek him out. Throughout
Tonto's talk, we see the Lone Ranger stopping crimes, capturing bad guys and
leaving silver bullets.
Back to the Reid home, Bart and Mrs. Reid (presumably Linda) share some polite
conversation over coffee or tea. Daniel Jr. comes into the room with a telegram for
Bart that arrived two days earlier. He gives it to Bart, who reads it and says, "I believe
we're all but through ..."
The Lone Ranger and Tonto continue to go after bad guys. At one point in a fight
Tonto is about to scalp one when the Lone Ranger shouts NO and shoots the blade
off. After the fight the Lone Ranger finds a newspaper with news of the slayings of
the Ranger families. He scolds Tonto for knowing about it and not telling him. Tonto
reminds him that he wasn't ready and that by not telling him he helped protect Reid's
family. He asks Tonto what he sees in Reid, and Tonto answers, "I see nothing." The
Lone Ranger leaves Tonto and takes off riding on Silver.
We move to Butch Cavendish, who is talking to himself in a mirror. Some men show
up at his door and ones says, "The man says prove it." As they leave, Cavendish
promises he will.
It's night and Tonto is sitting around a campfire and pokes his finger with the sharp
edge of an arrow.
The Ranger rides hard, pulls Silver to a stop and says "no" as he sees a pillar of
black smoke rising on the horizon.

Issue No. 6
  Back at Bryant's Gap, there is a showdown between Tonto and Black Bart. Tonto
shoots and destroys Bart's rifle.
  In Wyoming, young Dan watches as the masked rider approaches. Dan's mother
has a huge bonfire going. The Lone Ranger pulls up and asks if Mrs. Reid is all right.
While Dan tends to Silver, Mrs. Reid recognizes John. She gives him a telegram.
Reid says his goodbyes and gives Dan a silver bullet for watching after Silver. He
mounts up and rears silver, giving his first "Hi-Yo Silver!"
  Back at Bryant's Gap, Black Bart has beaten Tonto and tied him up, but not before
Tonto stuck Bart in the shoulder with a knife. Tonto awakes two days later to find he
is staked out to the ground. Bart tries to get him to say where the Ranger is. Just as
Bart is about to shoot him, the Ranger arrives and shoots the gun out of Bart's hand.
Bart flees and the Lone Ranger arrives to help Tonto, only to find that Tonto has
already freed himself.
  Bart races to a train and climbs aboard. The Ranger climbs on after him and they
fight. Bart removes his glasses and reveals a gouged-out eye. While the Ranger is
off guard, Bart throws him over, only to have the Ranger land on Silver. The Lone
Ranger chases the train and shoots the lever to switch the track, causing the train to
crash.
  The Lone Ranger finds the injured Bart in the debris. Bart tells the masked man
about how his eye was gouged out for saying hello to a white woman, how he lost
friends in the war and how he did what he did for money.
   Just as he expects the Ranger to shoot him, he doesn't. Instead he tells Bart
"What I am isn't you." He demands that Bart tell him who hired him. Bart tells him it's
Butch Cavendish. He then gives the Lone Ranger his guns and asks that the Ranger
show his face. The Ranger tells him "The mask is my face." He leaves and Tonto
appears. Bart Recognizes Tonto as a killer. Tonto tosses his knife next to Bart and
says "Yes. I used to know it myself."
   At the golden spike ceremony, Winthrop interrupts Cavendish with a telegram that
says C, Keep your money. He's coming for you. B." Winthrop then quits.
   Back at the Reid homestead, the graves of two brothers and a father join that of
the mother. The Lone Ranger tells Tonto he's going after Cavendish. Tonto asks to
join him. The Ranger agrees, as long as their is no more killing. They partner up and
ride off into the sunset.

Sample pages
from Issue No. 1.
Click to enlarge.