Chuck Dixon, Man Of Action

The Lone Ranger: Snake of Iron 1-4
Dynamite Entertainment
Chuck Dixon, writer
Esteve Polls, artist

Wow!

Chuck Dixon has written a ton of comics. Some I've read. Many I haven't. Of the ones I haven't, it was usually because I had no interest in the subject matter. Because of the ones I have, I have liked them all.

I'm guessing here that the reason this four-issue story was made a miniseries was because Dixon is not the writer of the regular Lone Ranger title; Ande Parks is doing a wonderful job writing that book. However, if Parks ever needed a break, Dixon could likely slip right in and take over. Even the look of this mini matches the main title because regular series artist Esteve Polls turns in his usual spectacular job on these pages.

This mini also offers up two stories in one as it opens with the Lone Ranger and Tonto separated. Tonto has traveled north to take care of some business while the Ranger has remained in the southern plains. The two are both headed to Texas to meet back up, Tonto by rail and the Ranger via Silver.

Taking another cue from the main series, this book does not shy away from the poor treatment of many Native American tribes by government officials. Some younger Kiowa braves defy their chief and begin raiding homesteaders. They have been particularly stirred up by the many sightings of a Spirit Horse, a huge beast whose return foretells a great change. The Lone Ranger happens upon a small band of Kiowas attacking a rancher and his son. After saving the lives of the two whites, the Ranger convinces the braves to take him back to their chief, who explains their reasons for leaving the reservations in Oklahoma. The Ranger promises to look into the mysterious Spirit Horse sightings if the tribe will stop attacking settlers. Along the way, he runs across some profiteers who are encouraging the Kiowa unrest and enlists the aid of a traveling journalist from Chicago and a garrison of soldiers from Fort Griffin. Oh, and he solves the mystery of the Spirit Horse in a most unexpected fashion.

Meanwhile, the train Tonto is riding on is ambushed and derailed by what appear to be renegade Comanches. Tonto's fellow passengers are an odd collection of characters trying to hold off the attackers and stay alive in the bitter cold wilderness. Some step up to the challenge and try to help save as many lives as possible. Others seem to be interested only in saving their own necks. One passenger in particular knows the real reason the Comanches are after the train, but even once this deceit is uncovered, there is little that Tonto or the others can do to defuse the situation. In a desperate ploy, Tonto frees his mount, Scout, from the stable car and sends the pinto to find the Lone Ranger for help. Then Tonto returns to the task of trying to keep as many on both sides of the conflict alive as possible for as long as possible.

All in all, this book was a great read filled with action and spotlighting both characters as equal partners in their cause of justice. That's comics worth reading, Kiddie Cops!