Simply the Best: The Thrilling Days of Yesteryear

Despite enjoying the occasional western, I'm not what you'd call a big fan of the genre. Ah, but when superhero elements are added to the western formula, that's a different story. One of the first western/superhero hybrids was, of course, Zorro (created in 1919), followed several years later by perhaps the greatest of the Old West's masked champions: The Lone Ranger.

Created by producer George W. Trendle and writer Fran Striker, the Lone Ranger made his radio debut in January of 1933 on WXYZ in Detroit, Michigan and quickly grew into a national sensation. Like many characters of the public's imagination, the Lone Ranger brand eventually branched out into toys, a newspaper comic strip, movie serials, a television series, and, of course, comic books.

Beginning in 1948, Dell Comics published The Lone Ranger for the next fourteen years, at one point spinning off solo titles for Tonto and even the Ranger's horse Silver! The stories themselves were essentially the same kinds of adventures and simple morality tales from the radio and TV series, but the real appeal of the series for a collector like me are the dynamite painted covers by guys like Hank Hartman, Sam Savitt, and Earnest Nordli. As you can see from the samples below, whether dark & moody or iconic & action-packed, the illustrated Lone Ranger covers are undeniable (albeit overlooked) masterpieces (click on the images for a larger view).

Strangely, the illustrated covers switched over to photo covers of Clayton Moore as the Ranger in late 1957, despite the final episode of the series airing about the same time. Of course, the TV show lived on in rerun glory for several more years...but still...what an odd time to dump the illustrated covers.

Of all the illustrated covers in my collection, a clear favorite remains the cover of The Lone Ranger #76 (1954)...

Why is this one a favorite of mine? A few reasons:

1. Before breaking the cover down into its individual elements, the primary appeal of this cover for me is the Civil War setting and the passions it still evokes. In this case, it's the politically-charged image of the Lone Ranger clearly fighting alongside Union soldiers against (presumably) Confederate forces. Without wading into the age-old historical debates and semantic game playing, let's just say I think the Ranger chose the morally correct side.

2. Old Glory. Can't go wrong with a flag cover.

3. Despite the chaos all around him, I love the Ranger's steely-eyed look of concentration just before he squeezes off a round at Gen. Robert E. Lee himself for all I know. This is one time when you really have to click on the thumbnail image to see a blow-up of the detail.  It's just an amazing piece of illustration by Hank Hartman (an educated guess, since the cover isn't officially credited or signed).

4. Not one, but two six-shooters a-blazing at the Ranger's Rebel targets! Tarnation!

5. One of the sharpest, most attention-getting logos to ever grace a comic book cover. Even if the cover image wasn't visible on a newsstand, the logo's stark yellow lettering against that iconic black mask was all you needed to grab a kid's attention (and hard-earned dime). Speaking of the lettering, where can I get my hands on that fantastic retro font?  I want it!

6.  One of those nifty little Rule of Three triangular formations I like so much.

7. Finally, is it just me, or is that soldier in the foreground a dead-ringer for legendary actor Lloyd Bridges? Although it would be several years before he'd star in the popular Sea Hunt TV series, Bridges was still a well-known and recognized actor when this cover was created (such as his role in 1952's High Noon). The soldier has Bridges' nose, mouth, chin, and distinctive squint...so maybe I'm on to something.

Well, whether it's Bridges or not, it's an amazing cover...and one of the high points of my Lone Ranger collection.

Comments

[Silver-Chef]

Where does the Lone Ranger take his trash?

To the Dump tida Dump tida Dump Dump Dump.

[Pat Curley]

Hmmm, the Lone Ranger was a Texas Ranger, and Texas was part of the Confederacy, so doesn't that make him a turncoat?

Silver-Chef's comment reminds me of a classic Mad bit. These kids are listening to the radio, and the announcer says that the next tune is the William Tell Overture. He adds that it's a sign of true maturity if you can listen to it without thinking of the Lone Ranger. So the kids are listening, and gritting their teeth and straining not to think of him, and their dad comes barging in with a beer in one hand, showing, "Hi-yo Silver, and away!"

[Thomas]

Very nice. Although I loved the Lone Ranger as a kid (who didn't?), I've never read any of the Dell comics. But I'm a sucker for painted covers. And, I have to agree, the ones you show are some of the nicest comic covers I've seen. I think the "Red for Danger" cover is my favorite because of the sense of mystery it invokes.

That's what I love about this blog. Sometimes it's an homage to my own favorite comics and characters; sometimes a trip down memory lane to comics I'd forgotten; and sometimes an introduction to comics I've never seen.

[Mark. Engblom]

"That's what I love about this blog. Sometimes it's an homage to my own favorite comics and characters; sometimes a trip down memory lane to comics I'd forgotten; and sometimes an introduction to comics I've never seen. "

Wow....that's exactly what I'd hoped this blog could be....so thanks for the kind words, Thomas! They mean alot.

[suedenim]

Is that a Civil War scene, or just the Lone Ranger fighting alongside dismounted U.S. Cavalry in the post-war West?

Great cover, in any case. And you allude to one of my favorite comic book factoids:

The Lone Ranger's *horse* had his own solo series for about 8 years! Which is a lot longer than many notable superheroes have ever achieved.

I'd like to see some of the stories in that title, too. From the covers, it looks like they were, yep, genuine solo stories about a horse protagonist (as opposed to, say, LR stories where Silver just happens to have a slightly-larger-than-usual role.) I don't even think the Lone Ranger himself ever appears on the covers!

[David Morefield]

That is a terrific cover. Not to spoil the fun, though, but why does it have to be a Civil War scene? The US Army fought a lot of battles on the frontier against various Indian tribes, and though I'm no expert on the subject the uniforms looked about the same in the Civil War as they did at say Little Big Horn (or, more up my alley, on "F-Troop!" LOL).

That other guy does look a bit like Lloyd Bridges, but to me it looks more like Ed Peck, the character actor who played an Air Force colonel on Star Trek:

http://www.startrek.com/imageuploads/200506/tos-021-col-fellini/320x240.jpg

...and if memory serves, was the cop who always hassled Fonzie on "Happy Days."

By any chance are any of these classic Lone Ranger tales available in collected editions?

[David Morefield]

That is a terrific cover. Not to spoil the fun, though, but why does it have to be a Civil War scene? The US Army fought a lot of battles on the frontier against various Indian tribes, and though I'm no expert on the subject the uniforms looked about the same in the Civil War as they did at say Little Big Horn (or, more up my alley, on "F-Troop!" LOL).

That other guy does look a bit like Lloyd Bridges, but to me it looks more like Ed Peck, the character actor who played an Air Force colonel on Star Trek:

http://www.startrek.com/imageuploads/200506/tos-021-col-fellini/320x240.jpg

...and if memory serves, was the cop who always hassled Fonzie on "Happy Days."

By any chance are any of these classic Lone Ranger tales available in collected editions?

[Pat Curley]

David, almost none of the Dell line has been reprinted, with the exception of Donald and Uncle Scrooge. The problem is that the copyright situation is hopelessly muddled with licensed characters like the Lone Ranger. Dell had a license to create and sell comics based on the character, but that license had a time limit. However, the copyright holders on the Lone Ranger also do not have the right to publish the Dell books; they may hold the copyright to the character, but not to the actual art and stories in the books. And the Lone Ranger is no longer a hot property, so it's probably not worth any publisher's time to bother to sort out the Gordian knot of copyright.

[David Morefield]

Hmm. Sounds like the troubles they're going through with the Batman TV show.

I think the Ranger is a bit hotter now than he was just a while ago, thanks to the new comic. But you're probably right that folks who like the new one wouldn't get too much out of the old ones.

I notice a lot of the Dell covers repeated on the Gold Key Lone Rangers. Were the contents repeated as well? Maybe those would be a bit more accessible to impoverished types like myself?