Taste the sand and grit in your teeth. Feel the hot wind, the sun blazing down on your back. Smell the horse beneath you and the sweat of hard-riding men by your side.

Feel the sudden pain of a bullet out of nowhere as it tears through your flesh.

The Lone Ranger is reborn in a book that brings the old story alive once more. Written by Brett Matthews and illustrated by Sergio Cariello for the still-young Dynamite Entertainment line of comics, this first volume of the series reintroduces the characters in ways that are as familiar as old saddle leather, as fresh a prairie breeze.

The story is, of course, well known. John Reid is a Texas Ranger whose entire posse, including his father and older brother, are gunned down in an ambush. Although Reid himself is believed to be dead, he is saved by Tonto, a passing American Indian of indeterminate tribe; Reid conceals his identity so the villains continue to believe he died in the ambush. And, with Tonto's help and a milk-white stallion named Silver, he sets out to bring justice to his would-be killers.

The presentation here is what matters. Any sort of reinvention is likely to ruffle feathers among the Lone Ranger's diehard fans, while a strict adherence to past incarnations would be, frankly, dull. And here, the team of Matthews and Cariello shines.

Matthews' story is faithful to the original, but it sparks with originality. Cariello's art is moody, dusty and dry, suiting the story to a tee. Together, they take a story that could have seemed tired, recycled or just plain overdone and make it shine with new life.

Hi-yo!