LONE RANGER "Story of the Lone Ranger" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger to several generations of fans.

A group of Texas Rangers are ambushed and left for dead by outlaw Butch Cavendish.

Investigating the sounds of the gunfight, local resident Tonto discovers one of the Rangers, John Reid, though badly-wounded, is still alive.

Thanks to Tonto's nursing, Reid gradually recovers, and swears, not vengeance, but to bring Cavendish and his gang to justice.

To let Cavendish think no witness to the massacre survives, Reid dons a mask and, at Tonto's suggestion takes the name "Lone Ranger".

Recruiting a retired Ranger to work a silver mine he inherited and mold the silver bullets that would become his symbol, the Ranger prepares to wage war on evil...

One of the ongoing tropes of the radio and tv series was the Lone Ranger disguising himself in order to gather information, usually as an old prospector, though he also appeared as a banker, a librarian, and even a little old lady!

On tv (and the two feature films done during the show's run), the Ranger never appeared without his mask or a disguise.

In flashbacks as John Reid, his back was to the camera or his face was in shadows.

This conceit was carried over to the comics as well, as this story demonstrates.

Originally-presented in Dell's Lone Ranger #118 (1958), this tale by writer Paul S Newman and artist Tom Gill reflects the long-established history that was maintained in all the various media incarnations of the characters...except the first movie serial (which we'll be covering this weekend).

LONE RANGER "Story of the Lone Ranger" Part 1

Though the new movie is bombing at the box office...

...we're continuing our re-presenting the classic adventures of the Masked Rider of the Plains and His Indian Companion...

The Origin Concludes...

 Tomorrow!

Originally-presented in Dell's Lone Ranger #118 (1958), this tale by writer Paul S Newman and artist Tom Gill reflects the long-established history that was maintained in all the various media incarnations of the characters...except the first movie serial (which we'll be covering this weekend).

This consistency across all media is something lost to today's licensed characters, where movie, tv, and print versions all differ dramatically.

(Or, in the case of Marvel Comics, the comic books are modified to reflect the movie versions of the characters!)

Trivia: The narrator of the story is teenager Dan Reid, nephew of the Lone Ranger (John Reid) and future father of Britt Reid (The Green Hornet).

Dan will later found a newspaper in a major Midwest city (either Detroit or Chicago) called the Daily Sentinel (named after the Western newspaper mentioned in this story), which he later turns over to Britt.

THE LONE RANGER "He Finds Dan Reid" Part 1

You may know that Dan Reid is both The Lone Ranger's nephew...

...and The Green Hornet's father.

But do you know he appeared in both characters' radio shows and comic books, making Dan one of pop culture's first "crossover" characters?

Will The Lone Ranger's uncanny aim enable him to save the officer without killing the Apache?

Will he find any clues as to where his nephew is...or even if Dan is alive?

You'll find the startling conclusion, along with background info and other goodies, Tuesday, at our "brother" blog...

Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™

Adapted from a radio show episode of the same name, this story from Dell's Lone Ranger Golden West #3 (1955) was pencilled by Tom Gill, but the inking looks a lot like John Severin, not Gill himself.
This entry is part of our Retroblogs™ Masks Marathon, celebrating the new Dynamite comic series Masks which combines, for the first time, the major masked mystery men of pulps and comics including The Green Hornet, The Shadow, The Spider, Zorro, The Black Terror, The Green Lama, and Miss Fury (ok, a masked mystery woman), among others.
Though The Lone Ranger hasn't been listed as participating, The Green Hornet (and by extenssion, Dan Reid), are in the story.
(Besides, Zorro is making an appearance, so there's always a possibility...)

We'll be presenting more never-reprinted stories featuring these characters throughout the month of December.