by Alan Rapp on March 3, 2013
in Comics
In another stand alone tale, the Lone Ranger and Tonto’s travels take them to the Northern Colorado Territory where the pair take on Melton Coy who makes his money by selling Chinese women to the discerning buyer, for the right price. After scoping out the operation undercover, the Ranger and Tonto ride into town to take down the entire operation.
Before the day is done the women will be freed and on their way with enough silver to begin their new lives far from the town which allowed such wickedness to continue and is burning to the ground behind them.
The issue works well providing a villain that almost makes the Lone Ranger loose his temper. There’s also a couple of nice scenes where the Lone Ranger earns the womens’ trust first through his badge and later through a single silver bullet. That final piece also ties into the issue’s opening scene at an Antiques Roadshow where a woman with family heirloom and a legendary story about her grandmother’s grandmother adventure with a masked man helps set the stage for what follows. For fans.
[Dynamite, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on January 27, 2013
in Comics
The Lone Ranger #12 is a fitting, if uneventful, conclusion to the “Native Ground” arc from Ande Parks and Esteve Polls. The Lone Ranger returns to the Ute tribe with their healer, a Mormon woman who spent many years with the tribe as a slave and eventually a medicine woman, after being betrayed the the Native American warriors.
By the end of the issue the Masked Man will have his faithful companion back at his side and a far better understanding of the loss which still haunts him. Although the arc doesn’t give us any more of Tonto‘s backstory, such as continuing his tale to the fateful day at Bryant’s Gap where he came upon a single surviving Ranger in the midst of a slaughter, the arc does conclude with the Ranger growing to know the person who has become his truest friend a little better.
The arc lasted a little too long for my tastes, so I’m glad to hear the comic is following “Native Ground” with a series of one-shot issues featuring the adventures of Lone Ranger and Tonto. For fans.
[Dynamite, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on December 13, 2012
in Comics
After spending several issues exploring Tonto‘s past before he met the Masked Man, The Lone Ranger #11 returns to the “present” to focus on the Lone Ranger‘s struggle to get his wounded friend the medical attention he so desperately needs.
The warriors of the Ute tribe would prefer to kill the Ranger, and the elders seem perfectly willing to turn him away, but the Masked Man argues persuasively for the life of his friend. However, to save Tonto he’ll have to work with the braves to save the Ute medicine woman from local Mormons.
What should be a relatively simple mission is complicated by the braves’ double-cross and a second twist involving the identity of the doctor the Ranger doesn’t see coming.
I was hoping the flashbacks would take us up to the first meeting of the Lone Ranger and Tonto, but with only one issue left in the arc we may not get to see writer Ande Parks’ take on the famous scene following the death of all but one Ranger at the hands of Butch Cavendish. For fans.
[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on December 10, 2012
in Comics
In the final issue of The Lone Ranger: Snake of Iron the role of Lassie is played by Tonto‘s faithful horse Scout who leads the Lone Ranger and soldiers to the stalled train which has been seized by not one but two tribes of Indian warriors.
While waiting for the Masked Man, Tonto does what he can to stop the scared travelers on the train from making matters worse. Eventually he ventures out with the young Indian boy one of the tribes has come to collect in an attempt to stop further bloodshed.
Although Tonto is only partially successful in his attempt, it does buy him enough time for reinforcements to arrive including the unusual sighting of the female reporter on her camel that stops all fighting long enough to get the situation sorted out.
Although far from perfect, the mini-series has spotlighted Tonto’s honor and skill set when separated from the Lone Ranger and the final issue manages to wrap-up the various subplots without too much trouble. For fans.
[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on October 20, 2012
in Comics
Tonto and his fellow passengers on-board the halted train try to keep the attacking Kiowa war party at bay hoping that help will arrive before they all are killed or freeze to death. Back at Fort Griffin, the Lone Ranger argues tirelessly with the garrison’s commander to ride out into the blizzard and bring peace to the local tribe with the help of Miss Travers’ camel who the braves believe is the legendary spirit horse.
When the news arrives of the train’s failure to arrive at its destination, the Lone Ranger convinces the commander to follow his lead and set out the next morning. However, to locate the exact location of the train somewhere in a 200 mile stretch will take luck, or, if Tonto is correct, the right horse to lead the Lone Ranger and Silver back to him.
The issue showcases the rising tension in both situations, but it looks like we’ll have to wait at least another month before the two storylines converge and the Lone Ranger arrives to help his faithful Indian companion. For fans.
[Dynamite, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on October 11, 2012
in Comics
Tonto returns home after killing all but one of the soldiers who attacked his people and killed his wife as the “Native Ground” storyline continues.
With so much blood on his hands, even bathing in the nearby river can’t get the Native American warrior clean. Realizing the man he left alive will tell others of his actions and put his tribe at risk, Tonto decides he must leave the tribe and give the white man another target to chase, and fear.
Back in the present, the Lone Ranger finally reaches the elders of the Ute tribe only to be told their is nothing to be done for his fallen friend. We know Tonto isn’t going to die, but it seems the Ranger will have his hands full to convince the tribe to help him as the story concludes over the next two issues.
Although the story arc has filled in quite a bit of backstory, we’re now four issues in and no closer to learning the events that brought Tonto and the Lone Ranger together. I’m hoping that part of the story will be told by the Ranger in his quest to get his companion the help he needs to survive. For fans.
[IDW, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on September 12, 2012
in Comics
The “Native Ground” storyline continues as we see further into Tonto‘s past after the death of his wife and before his days as “the Lone Ranger‘s faithful Indian companion.”
The Lone Ranger #9 certainly gives us the darkest version of Tonto we’ve seen Dynamite Entertainment (or any other publisher) present recently as he stalks and murders the soldiers responsible for the raid on his tribe. With his revenge complete, it will be interesting to see how events weigh on him throughout the rest of the arc.
I don’t know that I’m excited to see three more issues of “Native Ground,” but what we’ve gotten so far has been enough to keep my interest. Writer Ande Parks continues his use of Native American folk tales to help frame the story, which works well here given how little we get verbally from Tonto himself in this issue. For fans.
[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]
by Alan Rapp on September 2, 2012
in Comics
In the second issue of the new Lone Ranger mini-series Tonto‘s train comes under attack from the Kiowa tribe whose chief wants the return of his son. But it turns out that’s impossible as the chief’s son is dead and the child being passed off for him is nothing more than a ruse.
Meanwhile, in the other storyline, the Lone Ranger comes to the aid of Lily Travers, the troublesome reporter who got herself captured by outlaws. With an explosion, and a little theatricality, the Ranger manages to take down the outlaws, free the woman, and hold the prisoners for the eventual arrival of soldiers from Fort Griffin.
Although the issue jumps around quite a lot, and doesn’t flow nearly as well as I’d like, both stories advance forward. Given Tonto’s desperate need for aid it would be in everyone’s best interest for the two separate stories to converge in the next issue (although I’m betting it will take at least one additional issue before this happens). Worth a look.
[Dynamite Entertainment, $3.99]
