Daily Breakdowns 008 - The Lone Ranger Vol. 2

The Lone Ranger Vol. 2
Written by Brett Matthews
Art by Sergio Cariello and Paul Pope
Published by Dynamite Entertainment. $14.99 USD

I wrote recently about a "box that time forgot," which was a compilation of back orders sent to me out of the blue from an online comics retailer. Apparently they weren't in stock for quite some time, from five months to almost a year. This volume was one of the older ones, a collection of Dynamite's Lone Ranger #7-11. I know I liked the first volume a lot--I only gave a mild shit about the Lone Ranger before due to watching the TV reruns as a kid on Sunday mornings, since I never had to go to church, but aside from I think a Tim Truman-drawn miniseries in the '90s that I remember being okay but not as good as Jonah Hex, I didn't care all that much about the character. Oh, and I have a vague memory of seeing the Klinton Spilsbury-starring film from the early '80s at a drive-in as a kid, which I remember being a tremendous flop.

Matthews did a nice job in the first volume establishing the Lone Ranger as a man with a personal mission--to avenge the murders of his parents and in general, bring justice to the Old West, where often the law was just as corrupt as the outlaws. Sergio Cariello, an unfamiliar name to me, was a good choice as artist, as he brought a spare but intense style to the proceedings, his faces showing a heavy Joe Kubert influence, which is never a bad thing. Both creators are back for these five issues, which are essentially two separate stories with some continuing plotlines.

Matthews overtly makes the Ranger into an Old West version of Batman, right down to his headquarters being in a cave or mine, and his mask hangs over his nose in such a way that his profile is very similar to the Dark Knight's. Again, one could do worse than to have Batman as an influence. Tonto is his partner but, while not equal, is not afraid to speak his mind if he disagrees. Tonto has some mystery to him that Matthews plays with a little, teasing the reader as there's still not a lot there, but it's really well-done when Tonto tells the Ranger he's not one for stories, after a big chunk of the issue dealt with Tonto telling a story to a condemned man. Tonto may trust the Ranger with his life, but he's not going to open up any time soon.

There's another interesting character dynamic between the Ranger and his brother's widow. She obviously has fallen for him, and wants his strong male influence around for her boy, but he's reluctant, out of a sense of duty or honor. We've seen the tortuously delayed romance between two suitable people many times before, but it's always satisfying when it's done well. As far as plotting, Matthews is maybe in a transitional stage here. There's not a lot going on in the main stories, but the good stuff is the building of the three main characters, as well as the Ranger's sworn enemy Butch Cavendish eventually abandoning his respectable society disguise and returning to his overtly villainous ways. It's a little drawn out, but once it happens, it's good, and looks to be setting up some good stories to follow.

Some might dismiss this as just some more forgettable licensed work. After all, Dynamite has built themselves on licensed properties, many of which were probably not that hard to get at this point, like Army of Darkness or Red Sonja. Even their hottest property, Battlestar Galactica, is now finished as a series. But The Lone Ranger is the oldest of them, and yet had maybe the least to live up to. Those that remember the show remember the look of the characters, the silver bullets, and Silver the horse, and that's about it. No memorable stories. A barrel-chested tabula rasa for a character. And that's worked out really well for Matthews, as he has undertaken the challenge seriously to present a compelling group of characters in a violent, sexy but principled Western setting. Good work.

Christopher Allen
August 20th, 2009