Number 1149: The Lone Ranger is pure gold

You've probably seen this picture of Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp (as Tonto, no less) from a revisionist movie version of the Lone Ranger legend.

I have mixed feelings. My Lone Ranger is the Lone Ranger of the Baby Boomers, growing up with the television show starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. But the Lone Ranger franchise has been lying dormant for a while, and some movie people are betting it's ready for a reboot and new look. I might not like it, but who knows? I'm not the target audience, and for those at whom it's aimed it might be good. (I'm a bit concerned about a white guy, Depp, playing a Native American. Even in the era of white people playing ethnic minorities, at least Jay Silverheels was a real Indian.)

This story, "Gold Coin Fraud," is from The Lone Ranger Western Treasury #1 (1953). It's a thick 25¢ annual, drawn by Tom Gill and his studio staff. "Gold Coin Fraud" has an educational slant to it. I've included two text pages showing different types of gold coins of the era.

I showed you the origin of the Lone Ranger from this issue in Pappy's #1046.

Number 1148: Aaaa-eeee-aaaa-eeee-aaaa...**cough!**...**cough!**

In the early '60s Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan films were popular on TV. I had a passable Tarzan yell when I was a kid, and could scream it out in the hallway of my junior high school. A few years later I started smoking and after a time my Tarzan yell turned into a Tarzan cough. I quit smoking 35 years ago, but the damage had been done. Instead of calling the bull apes to my rescue with the yell, my croaking call now  attracts frogs.

So much for personal memoir...this story, yet another lost city tale from the team of Gaylord Dubois (writer) and Jesse Marsh (artist) is from Dell's Tarzan #14 (1950). They may have used this lost world/city theme a lot, but it's still a very entertaining story. It even has a poignant ending. (Sniff.) I like apes and gorillas, and despite Tarzan's initial problem with him, I thought Urchak was a fine fellow.

I might also mention it's Tarzan's centennial year. The big swinger has been around 100 years, and still looking good .