More Of The Same, But That's OK

The Lone Ranger Vol. 2 1-2
Dynamite Entertainment
Ande Parks, writer
Esteve Polls, artist

The cover for the first issue of this series, at least on my copy, is a beautiful rendering of the Masked Man and Tonto by Alex Ross which evokes the spirit of the late Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. That's certainly "my" Lone Ranger and Tonto as I grew up watching reruns of "The Lone Ranger Show", but it might be a tad misleading if you were picking up this series for the first time.

Brett Matthews, Sergio Cariello and John Cassaday did a spectacular job and took their time reimagining the origins of the Lone Ranger in the 25-issue Volume 1 of this series. The story they wanted to tell is done, so Dynamite chose to end that series and start over with a new No. 1 and a new creative team. However, this new series picks up where the first left off. John Reid is still new to his masked role as a bringer of justice to the West, and Tonto is still his often silent, but very wise and sarcastic partner in his quest. Polls' art even mimics the depictions of the two men that Cariello and Cassaday created for the first volume, helping to ease the transition for readers of the first volume.

This incarnation of the Lone Ranger and Tonto is certainly not Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, but it is not impossible to envision these two men getting used to each other and their mission one day growing into that pair. And especially in the case of Tonto, and the depiction of other Native American characters in the series so far, the change is for the better. In this series, Tonto is by far the more experienced fighter, quite possibly a little older and definitely a little wiser and more even-tempered than his companion.

These first two issues are the opening chapters in a story arc called Hard Country. In the first issue, the Lone Ranger and Tonto come to the aid of a rancher and his children being attacked by thieves set on stealing a "secret stash" of money. The second issue, picking up where the first leaves off, deals with a famous lawman and gunslinger facing his own mortality. So these two comics provide nice done-in-one stories that are rare these days while still providing a continuing arc that is telling another story about the realities of life on the frontier.

Overall, these first two issues provide a nice opening to what I hope will be a long and prosperous run for this title.