In 1994, Topps Comics produced a four issue miniseries, The Lone Ranger and Tonto, written by Joe R. Lansdale and drawn by Timothy Truman, the cover for the first issue of whcih is presented above. Though the recently (thank goodness) aborted movie update that was to star Johnny Depp as Tonto, received quite a bit of press due to planned changes to the iconic Tonto character, this series (as well as the recently concluded one published by Dyanmite) that was the first to attemtp to add some additional depth to the Jay Silverheels characterization.
One of the major changes in the Topps series was the characterization of Tonto, who was then shown to be a very witty, outspoken and sarcastic character even willing to punch the Lone Ranger during a heated argument and commenting on his past pop-culture depictions with the words, "Of course, quimo sabe. Maybe when we talked I should use that 'me Tonto' stuff, way they write about me in the dime novels. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
I came to this particular series on the back issue racks only after reading the Dynamite one, and was initially turned off by a cover that, despite being drawn my legendary Hex and Scout artist Timothy Turman, depicted a Ranger whose features seemed off for me aesthetically. The interior art and script, however, are solid and make the entire series worth picking up on the cheap.
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