Now Presenting The Fourth And Final Member Of The Team -- At Last

The Lone Ranger 19
Dynamite Entertainment
Ande Parks, writer
Esteve Polls, artist

I am really liking the work Ande Parks and Esteve Polls are doing on this title. The stories go deeper than even Brett Matthews did on his incredible 25-issue re-telling of the Ranger's origin in the first volume of this series from Dynamite; Parks gets these characters and presents them as the "classic" versions despite some updating from Matthews' run. And Esteve Polls' art is fantastic for this series.

But one of my absolute favorite things about this run is the attention these two creators have paid to previously "untouched" portions of the legend. A previous arc gave a great deal of back story to the Ranger's "faithful Indian companion," Tonto. I'm not aware that Tonto's origin has ever been nailed down previously as even the tribe he belongs to seems fluid in some re-tellings.

This time out, Parks and Polls give us some details about Scout's back story, and appropriately enough, Scout's story is tied into Tonto's history in a very nice fashion, completing the transformation as Tonto becomes the man we are familiar with.

For those who don't know -- and shame on you if you don't -- Scout is Tonto's horse, and he is every bit as valued a member of this western justice team as Silver, the Ranger's steed. Both horses are often portrayed as very intelligent animals who actively assist their human companions in remarkable ways. And Silver has long had an "origin" story just like the Ranger. At the conclusion of that tale, Silver chooses to stay with the Lone Ranger just as much as the Ranger selects Silver. Now, Scout has a similar origin with a similar choosing scene.

This is an excellent done-in-one comic, and a tale any Lone Ranger fan ought to consider reading!!

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!

At Last It Can Be Told

The Lone Ranger 7-8
Dynamite Entertainment
Ande Parks, writer
Esteve Polls, artist

Most people can tell you the basic origin of the Lone Ranger: He's the sole surviving member of a posse ambushed by the outlaws they were tracking. Those are the basics even if one doesn't know some of the details like the outlaws, the Butch Cavendish Gang, ambushed the Texas Rangers at a place called Bryant's Gap or that the Lone Ranger's mask -- first a device to hide his true identity, John Reid, from the Cavendish Gang as he hunted them down and later to make him a symbol for justice, more than just a man -- was cut from the vest of his brother, one of the Rangers killed in the ambush. Other details might change from time to time with different tellings; for instance, sometimes John Reid was deputized as a Ranger specifically for this fated posse and other times he was a full-time Ranger before the posse. Even Silver has a definite origin.

As far as I know, however, there is no definitive origin for Tonto.

I have heard bits and pieces of a background for Tonto, but when such details are included, they sometimes contradict what might have been revealed in other places. That makes me think such details are the invention of specific writers trying to rectify Tonto's lack of a background. Even the specific tribe to which Tonto belongs is often ignored or contradictory from other sources when included. I know several times in movies and television programs, the Lone Ranger and Tonto are shown coming in contact with Apaches, but that doesn't mean Tonto is an Apache.  I have heard or read at least two tales that refer to Tonto as Potawatomi, and that is how Wikipedia lists his heritage.

These two issues of Dynamite's The Lone Ranger are the first installments of an arc titled "Native Ground" that attempts to give this version of Tonto a background. The very few scenes that take place in the comic's current continuity show the Lone Ranger carrying the gravely wounded Tonto in a wagon. Tonto was beaten, stabbed and shot in the last arc, "Hard Country." The Ranger is taking Tonto home at his request as only Tonto's own people would be able to save his life at this point, if such a feat is even possible. The Ranger is stopped by several warriors on the edge of Ute lands until he explains the situation. Then they grudgingly agree to escort the pair to their chief and let him decide their fate.

The bulk of the story pages deal with events from several years in the past. Tonto is not the chief or anything, but it is clear he is a respected warrior within the tribe. That means he also has his detractors among his fellows. In this incarnation, Tonto has a wife, Chakwaima, and a young son, Tacome, maybe 3 or 4 years old. His extended family also includes Chakwaima's mother and a young brave named Kahnaka. Kahnaka is old enough to have already gone through a vision quest and is considered a man in the eyes of his tribe, but is still quite young and inexperienced. The youth's father is dead, no mother is mentioned, and Tonto has "adopted" the young man, giving him counsel, guidance and, when needed, protection.

Nobody is trying to make the case that American Indians had an idyllic existence during the progressive expansion of white settlers across the country, but Tonto's tribe is depicted as being content and happy. Of course, that means that tragedy must soon strike, as Tonto surely would not abandon a still living wife and child to traipse around the frontier dispensing justice.

This was a great glimpse of an earlier time in Tonto's life. I feel for the character that it could not last.