Bane of Kings writes  a review of the first Lone Ranger Omnibus by Brett Matthews , published by Dynamite Entertainment with art from Sergio Cariello, Paul Pope and the cover from John Cassiday. Whilst the graphic novel collects 25 issues, my review copy only collected 100 pages (Issues #1-5) , so my review will be based on those issues. 

“An awesome western tale that was very entertaining to read, with spectacular artwork.” ~The Founding Fields

Writer: Brett Matthews | Art: Sergio Cariello, Paul Pope | Cover: John Cassiday | Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment | Collects: The Lone Ranger #1-25, FCBD #0. 

A FIERY HORSE WITH THE SPEED OF LIGHT, A CLOUD OF DUST AND A HEARTY HI-YO SILVER. THE LONE RANGER! With those words, fans young and old grew to love the Lone Ranger and now, Dynamite proudly presents their Eisner nominated take on the beloved character! Featuring the all-star creative team of Brett Matthews, Sergio Cariello, Paul Pope and John Cassaday, this is a must-read for long-time fans of America’s favorite hero of the Wild West! And now, for the first time ever, all 25 issues plus The Lone Ranger: Creed #0 FCBD story are available in one amazing, 632 page collection! Read the complete story of how John Reid was transformed into the Lone Ranger, and, along with his partner Tonto, set a new standard of justice in the Old West!!

I love a good old Western drama, yet it’s probably the genre that I read/watch the least of, in fact – my Western on the big screen doesn’t stretch beyond The Magnificent Seven and its subsequent sequels, and Back to the Future III if that counts. My family have a copy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid though, so I guess I’ll have to check that out at some point. Oh, and the Red Dead Redemption game. Novel wise, it’s probably only Lee Collins’ Cora Oglesby novels that I’ve read in this genre, and that was mainly due to their supernatural bent.

However, the first volume of The Lone Ranger series was an absolute cracker to read, and I found it very entertaining, and it was great fun to read even if my review copy didn’t collect the whole 25 issues. It’s certainly got me interested to check out more, especially with the excellent artwork provided by Sergio Cariello and Paul Pope which really enhances the story provided by Brett Matthews. It’s also important to note that there are a lot of similarities with Batman as well, despite the fact that the setting is not in the DC Universe. It isn’t connected in the way that All Star Western shared a similarity with Scott Snyder’s Batman from the New 52, but you can spot certain elements – the cave, the disguise adopted to strike fear into man, you get the picture.

I’m guessing The Lone Ranger is a character that’s more widely known in America than England, as before this and the Johnny Depp upcoming film I’d never heard of him. However, this is a strong comic installment nonetheless, with some pretty heavy stuff included alongside some nice action scenes. The lack of info-dumping and texts allow room for the artwork, which is where this book really shines. Seriously, the best part of The Lone Ranger is the artwork. It’s very atmospheric, nice and entertaining. The story is familiar, one of revenge, but that doesn’t make it any less compelling and engaging, and the copy that I received ended on a pretty awesome cliffhanger as well so I am fairly certain that I will be checking out the entire collection when I can if this is anything to go by. I initially gave this collection a 3/5 star on Goodreads when I reviewed it, but on reflection, I’ll probably have to bump it up to a 4.

VERDICT: 4/5