The Lone Ranger: Vindicated #3 Review

Can Kimosabe and Tonto find the scoundrels they’re looking for? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

The Lone Ranger sets out to bring justice and fireworks to the men that beat Tonto and left him for dead in the streets of Red River, but a surprising twist reveals the true greed and ambition of the men they’re chasing. Meanwhile the Lone Ranger’s feelings for Fiona Doyle might be putting him and Tonto at greater risk!

The Lone Ranger has certainly been put through his paces during the course of Vindicated, as between the awkward interaction with potential love interest Fiona, fighting bandits, and his quest to find the villainous robbers that have plagued the town, he doesn’t need to worry about leading a boring life. This continues in the penultimate issue, with the dramatic revelations, and exciting action doing a brilliant job of setting up next issues finale.

Having done a stellar job on Jonah Hex and All-Star Western, I always knew that Justin Gray would be a brilliant fit to the Lone Ranger mythos. Delivering a natural flow to proceedings, he manages to capture the awkward, innocent nature of the Lone Ranger, with the dramatic narrative allowing for spontaneous bursts of excitement. He also does a wonderful job of showing the different opinions that different character have, with there being some clear divisions in play. Above all this, Gray does a wonderful job of teasing the finale, with the culminating panels being as gripping as ever.

Rey Villegas has been doing a fabulous job on the artwork for this series, with his detailed pencils, and crisp inks being as captivating as ever. Giving a smooth, dynamic look to proceedings, the artist makes it easy to dive into this book, with each panel being exquisitely thought out. He also does an amazing job balancing action and emotion, with each working beautifully of the other. Morgan Hickman returns to work on the colours, once again creating a soft, gritty tone, that compliments Villegas art.

The Lone Ranger: Vindicated #3 delivers just what’s expected from a penultimate issue, with the mixture of drama and excitement being extraordinarily gripping. Highly recommended.