The Lone Ranger #19 – Review

By Brett Matthews (writer), Sergio Cariello (artist), Marcelo Pinto (colorist), Joseph Rybandt (editor)

Some Thoughts Before the Review: I started reading the Lone Ranger after discovering an interview podcast of the series’ writer Brett Matthews. His enthusiasm on old westerns and on the Lone Ranger specifically convinced me to try it.

The Story: Someone is framing the Lone Ranger by killing people with silver bullets. The feds are coming for the Lone Ranger and they find him with the local sheriff, which gets him in trouble. In the meantime, the Lone Ranger’s life a vigilantism is taking its toll on those who care about him, leading to a surprising ending.

What’s Good: This is not your dad’s Lone Ranger and Tonto. Matthews has reimagined the character and made him grittier and more modern. The mood is grim and the emotions are real. The plot by Butch Cavendish to frame the Lone Ranger is bearing fruit and is tearing apart the Lone Ranger’s allies. What is Cavendish trying to do? I don’t know yet, but his emerging instability is increasing his creepiness and making him scarier. The federal lawman is another obsessive character that is fascinating to watch.

Cariello’s art is moody and effective (apparently when they began the series, Matthews told Cariello to watch the 1969 movie Once Upon a Time in the West to get the feel for the setting Matthews wanted to work with). The action scenes are quick and Cariello has a very effective stacked panel layout that works well to communicate tension in a scene. Cariello has the habit of very sparce panels, focusing on one important piece of the plot.  For example, on the first page, we start with a single twisted silver bullet in the Lone Ranger’s hand. Pages later, when loneliness and abandonment are the dominant moods, Cariello shows a single house on wide prairie. When obsessive tension is on order with the federal lawman, we see repeated panels of framed waiting and clock-checking. It all works very well.

What’s Not So Good: Little to complain about in this issue, except that it was over too quickly.

Conclusion: The Lone Ranger is definitely worth buying. It takes a great heroic idea and does it right.

Grade: B

-DS Arsenault

 

Serenity: Better Days #1 – Review

By: Joss Whedon & Brett Matthews (story), Will Conrad (art) & Michelle Madsen (colors)

Once more, I can watch Serenity fly again. It’s been a while, but the wait was worthwhile. Joss Whedon’s involvement makes this story official canon, setting it after the TV series and before the movie. And just like the TV show and movie, it delivers!

The story starts with the government (I presume) presenting an advanced flying robot prototype that can police the streets. It can be used for apprehension or elimination, plus it can nearly adapt to any terrain or situation warranted. This thing reminds me of the now imfamous debut of ED-209 from Robocop. You just know it’s going to get messy and something is going to go wrong.

This flying machine’s first test, is, of course, the Serenity crew after they’ve completed what seems to be a clean art heist. A high speed chasing ensue, leaving it up to Kaylee to save the day (as usual). From here, we get to see a steamy scene with Inara and an Alliance official, which ends in an exchange of steamy and revealing dialog. Later, the crew is doing business trying to sell the flying robot, but they’re forced to do the dirty work and fetch the money from elsewhere, they literally get a lot more than they bargained for.

The book gives a lot of references to the series, which is a good thing for fans. It’s magical how I can still hear the voices of the actors while reading the comic. It’s a testament to how well written the dialog is here. There’s an interesting feature at Dark Horse’s website, showing the different stages of the creation of this issue. Check it out! (Grade: A)

-Daniel Yanez

A Second Opinion

Love the paper stock! It’s thick, vibrant, and heavy. This book screams “high quality”. And that, we get. From the story to the art, everything is pretty much dead on faithful to the Firefly universe. This first issue alone is loads better than the combined entirely of the last series released by Dark Horse. It’s not just the silly predictaments the crew seems to always get themselves into, it’s the subtle traits of their characters that make this book so darn entertaining.

Too bad Adam Hughes didn’t do the interiors, because his cover art is just spot-on perfect.  My only complaint is the coloring. I hate it with a passion! Skin tones are too red, and a lot of the colors seem flat and dull. Someone please get a new colorist on board this series. It’s just painful. (Grade: B+)

– J. Montes