Lone Ranger by Brett Matthews, Sergio Cariello, and John Cassaday

This graphic novel tells a reimagining of the Lone Ranger origin story. A character that dates back to the 30s and has been dealt with in comics and radio, as well as film and television, Matthews’s version is decidedly more raw and violent than the first stories I heard on rebroadcasts while growing up. John grows up on the Texas plains with his Texas Ranger father and his brother, Dan, who follows in his father’s footsteps. Dan and John’s mother dies from illness when they are young, so their father is left to raise them according to Texas justice.

John returns from school in the East and commits to his lifelong dream of also joining the Rangers. Chasing down a criminal in the badlands one day, the crew of Rangers is ambushed. Dan and his father are killed and John is left for dead. He is found by Tonto and rebirthed as The Lone Ranger…

This was a much more complex plot than I am used to in the 20 min serials of my youth. Yet, I still felt like the authors did a lot to force all parts of the mythos into these 6 issues. The silver bullet, the costume, the horse named Silver. The cuts between actions or scenes were a bit rough. There were times when I wasn’t sure whether the actions were switching from just place or time, or both. The artwork was decent. I liked the depiction of the scenery, the landscapes, and the animals that play a big role in the Ranger’s world. The characters themselves were blocky in places and it was hard to tell what style they were going for, superhero-like or realistic.

Overall, this is one to try if your familiar with the character, but not one I will be continuing.