Writer: Shannon Eric Denton
Artist: Matt Triano

As a self-contained Western story, this book certainly ticked a lot of boxes. We have an iconic hero, dramatic shootouts, a tale of the blurred line between justice and vengeance, and a dramatic showdown to cap it all off. What more could you ask for?

The only thing is, I felt that the actual Lone Ranger character almost felt like a bit of an afterthought. Like he was only there to advance the story of the featured character – the mysterious ‘Devil Gun’. Granted, we got hints of the Ranger’s code of justice and his inherent nobility and honour, but it almost felt tacked-on to what (in my opinion at least) was the far more interesting tale.

The artwork was solid enough, although some of the panels lacked detail in places, giving the comic a look not too dissimilar to the kind of storyboard you would get prior to the finished article.

Overall though, there’s definitely an interesting, well-written story here that requires zero prior knowledge of the character and provides a clear beginning, middle and end. And for an annual, that’s all you can really ask for. Not without its charm, but really not my cup of tea, sadly.

Rating: 5/10.

The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson (aka Ceej)
Article Archive: Ceej Says