Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Writer: Michael Uslan
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Colourist: Pete Pantazi
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $19.99
Throughout history there have been titanic team-ups where icons meet to the acclaim of fans all over the world. Dracula and Frankenstein; King Kong and Godzilla; Superman and Batman; Ant and Dec to name but a few.
Now, in Lone Ranger/Green Hornet TP, Michael Uslan, acclaimed Producer of the Batman movies and, coincidentally, the first instructor to teach an accredited course on comic book folklore at any university, so this is a guy who knows what he is talking about, gives us probably the most jaw-dropping meeting of comic book founding fathers ever, The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet. Or did you figure that out already from the title of the book? Both The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet emerged in the 1930’s. The Lone Ranger in 1933 and The Green Hornet in 1936, both, initially, as radio shows before moving on the film, TV, books, toys and, of course, comic books.
The Lone Ranger, the sole survivor of six Texas Rangers ambushed by the Cavendish gang, sets out on the revenge trail and continues his crusade long after the Cavendish gang have been brought to justice. Aided by his faithful Native American sidekick Tonto, (the name actually means “idiot” in Spanish, but we’ll give The Lone Ranger the benefit of the doubt and assume he was using the Indian definition which is the much more appropriate, “wild one”), The Lone Ranger has been called “an enduring icon of American culture” for his efforts to rid the Wild West of bad men of all sorts. The Green Hornet, on the other hand, was a gangster fighting vigilante in the 1930’s, who, along with his partner and confidante, Kato, inspired a whole generation of masked crime fighters and continues to do so.
You might think that The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet are not natural team-mates, living as they do in different eras and in different parts of the country, but both were the brainchild of radio station owner George W. Trendle and radio show writer Fran Striker. Still not enough to make a strong connection between our two masked and hatted heroes, but wait, what if I were to tell you that The Green Hornet’s real name was Britt Reid and The Lone Ranger’s civilian identity was Seymor Reid. Actually, I made up the “Seymor” bit because The Lone Ranger’s first name has never been revealed, he is simply known as Ranger Reid. Yep, you guessed it, they are actually related! The Lone Ranger is really The Green Hornet’s great-uncle. Talk about keeping it in the family. Various ownership issues have prevented this family tie being exploited until now.
Lone Ranger/Green Hornet TP is set to lay that particular ghost with a vengeance. Beginning in 1936, The Lone Ranger, now newly christened “John Reid”, is now retired and spends his time giving horseback rides to kids and telling them thrilling stories of the old west. Britt Reid is a twenty-five-year-old playboy wastrel until the death of his father forces him to take control of the Reid business empire. With the world running helter-skelter towards war, John Reid figures it’s time for another symbol of freedom and liberty to rise up and, because derring-do runs in the family, he decides it’s time for young Britt to go into the family business in more ways than one.
Alternating between the 1930’s and the 1890’s, Michael Uslan gives us a tale of two heroes and two eras, each one defined by the willingness of a single individual to put his life on the line to confront tyranny and inspire a nation. Despite the forty-four-year gap between narratives, both tales are linked by one nefarious element; the Cavendish gang, still active and even more diabolical than when they inadvertently presided over the creation of The Lone Ranger.
Throw in Eliot Ness and the Nazi Bund stoking the fires of hatred and you have the perfect crucible from which another hero will emerge; The Green Hornet. Michael Uslan doesn’t put a keystroke wrong with a sizzling script that fuses all the myriad histories of The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet into a comprehensive and spellbinding whole and there are really no words to describe Giovanni Timpano’s artwork which perfectly captures the mood of both the 1930’s and the Old West.
If Lone Ranger/Green Hornet TP isn’t the best-collected edition of the year I’ll eat my Stetson. Saddle up Kemo Sabe, this is one ride you don’t want to miss.
Reviewer: Gary Orchard
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker