tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post1712530707864607844..comments2024-03-28T15:10:11.645-05:00Comments on Western Fictioneers: NOT YOUR FATHER’S LONE RANGERWestern Fictioneershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01683314579075461026noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-52535515396773066062011-09-30T07:11:47.384-05:002011-09-30T07:11:47.384-05:00the book has since been canceledthe book has since been canceledLary Leminnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-43279471244328456232011-02-26T21:57:05.603-06:002011-02-26T21:57:05.603-06:00Troy:
Rightfully so you laud the current version ...Troy:<br /><br />Rightfully so you laud the current version of the Lone Ranger published by Dynamite Entertainment, but as you pointed out, the character was shaped by decades of radio programs and comic books. These comic books are still just a moment against that history.<br /><br />In the 1980s, a public radio station out of Albany re-broadcasted the original WXYZ radio program and I remember my enjoyment listening to it. I can be genre-fixated, that is I will read a book, watch a movie or listen to a radio show regardless of quality and simply because it belongs to a genre that interests me. However, while it was the genre that got me to listen to the program, there was a sincerity and honest quality that gave the program for me its own distinct caliber.<br /><br />Moreover, while a character‘s passages to other mediums can been uneven, the Lone Ranger, as I have experienced him, has retained some of that original value from the radio show. As a youngster in the late 1960s, I remember the barber shop copies of the Gold Key comic book. A little over half a decade later, when I was a teen and still did not perspective to put it all together, I met at a 1975 New York City comic book convention a courteous, older gentleman who sketched a Lone Ranger in my program book and signed it, Tom Gill--whose art I later learnt filled Lone Ranger comic books for two decades. Concurrently, I was reading the paperback reprints of the Fran Striker novels, also enjoyable on their own merits. Soon afterwards, I began watching on an independent television station the 1950s’ Lone Ranger program, where the episodes went down smoothly as long as I did not chew them over too long.<br /><br />The Dynamite Entertainment carries the character into the 21st Century. We shall see how long it lasts, since it is uphill haul to carry a character where the factors that lead to his creation happened so long ago. Meanwhile, while satisfying our genre need, we get a quality work.<br /><br />Daryl S. HerrickDaryl S. Herrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08970050445665329086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-660372803337657982011-01-30T05:47:09.283-06:002011-01-30T05:47:09.283-06:00I will have to read these. Lone Ranger and Tonto w...I will have to read these. Lone Ranger and Tonto were two big heroes of mine growing up.<br /><br />Great post, Troy.David Cranmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04749857752139212888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-53167004196456573272011-01-27T18:51:04.874-06:002011-01-27T18:51:04.874-06:00I'm glad to know the Lone Ranger and Tonto sti...I'm glad to know the Lone Ranger and Tonto still ride. Thanks for an interesting article, Troy.Marsha Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15389060049107102815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1409887812566625284.post-17993607765863017062011-01-26T11:23:38.470-06:002011-01-26T11:23:38.470-06:00WF member Jim Meals had a comment that refused to ...WF member Jim Meals had a comment that refused to go through for him, so I'm posting both it and my reply here:<br /><br /><br /><br />The article was very much appreciated. I was unaware of the Dynamite comic and will now be able to catch up via the trade paperbacks.<br /> <br />But I thought you were a tad unfair to a writer who has already been brushed off too many times. Two books written about the origin of The Lone Ranger radio program, WHO WAS THAT MASKED MAN by David Rothel and WYXIE WONDERLAND: AN UNAUTHORIZED 50 YEAR DIARY OF WXYZ IN DETROIT by Dick Osgood credit Fran Striker with being the primary creative mind behind The Lone Ranger. Old time radio historian Terry Salomonson also names Striker as having the major hand in creating the old west's most enduring and famous hero.<br /> <br />By all accounts, Striker never feuded publicly with George Trendle. In 1934, Striker was pressured by Trendle to sign a release to whatever rights he may have owned to any of the characters he created while working for George. Fran signed the paper and never looked back.<br /> <br />Not everyone at WXYZ was so gracious. Several people eventually resigned in anger claiming that George Trendle was hoarding far more money and kudos than he deserved. Fran Striker stayed and created The Green Hornet, Challenge of the Yukon and many other shows that were produced in Detroit and sold to the networks.<br /> <br />Fran Striker has been described as a humble man. I think it is time that this humble man received the recognition he is due for his remarkable contributions to American popular culture.<br /> <br />Thanks again for the fine article!<br /> <br />Jim Meals <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Thanks, Jim!<br /><br />I realize there were reams to be said about the Lone Ranger's creation, but I just wanted to touch on it in order to get into the new comic series- I regret if I gave Striker short shrift in my effort at brevity, because I think just about anybody would agree that the Masked Man was his baby.<br /><br />Troy D. SmithJim Meals and Troy D. Smithnoreply@blogger.com