Sidekicks are Heroes,too.

Batman has Robin. The Green Hornet has Kato. Roy Rogers had Gabby Hayes. The Cisco Kid had Poncho.

But the Lone Ranger might have been most fortunate in sidekicks. Tonto was pretty darn cool in his own right: an expert tracker, good in a fight, proficient in several languages (despite his life-long struggle with English pronouns).

Heck, even the Ranger's horse was pretty darn cool. When I was a kid, I listened to an episode in which a bad guy had several hours head start on the Ranger. He has to spend another half-hour searching for the villain's faint trail. But despite this, Silver's speed and stamina allow him to eventually catch the guy.

Wish I could remember the name of that episode--I'd really like to listen to it again.

Anyway, few sidekicks are able to have their own significant solo adventures (though Robin has had quite a few over the years).  But the writers and artists who worked for Gold Key comics recognized the value of both Tonto and Silver as heroes in their own right. Aside from their long-running Lone Ranger comic, they gave his "sidekicks" their own opportunities to shine.


Came up with some really cool covers as well.