Jonah Hex #57 "The Debt"

Jonah Hex #57 Feb 1982
"The Debt"
Michael Fleisher, story - Ross Andru & Tony DeZuniga, art & cover

First off, welcome Ross! It's good to see ya. I always enjoyed your work.

It's night and Jonah is hitching his horse outside a saloon and we hear from inside a ruckus starting up that sounds like a woman is getting smacked around. Jonah walks in and orders a whiskey. There is a silver-haired woman on the floor with four thugs standing around her calling her a tramp.

Jonah tells the bartender to leave the bottle, politely lifts the hat off the head of thug #1 and smashes the whiskey bottle on his skull. Thug #2 starts to pull a pistol, but Jonah gives him a blow to the gut and then the jaw. Thug #3 jumps Jonah from behind, but Hex, using leverage, lifts the man and tosses him over the bar into the mirror. Thug #4 pulls a knife and tries to stab Jonah. Hex side-steps, grabs the man's arm and breaks it for him. Then, as a reminder not to mess with a Hex, Jonah busts an oak chair over his skull.

Jonah then walks over to the woman, helps her off the floor and says "Them hardcases didn't hurt yuh none, did they, ma?"

The woman is Ginny Hex! She comments that she hardly recognized Jonah under all that... but Jonah cuts her off, saying he came as soon as he got her letter. The barkeep demands payment for the mirror and Jonah forks over $500 (little over $9000 today).

Jonah lets his mom ride his horse and he walks alongside through the town. She says that she knows she has no right contacting Jonah after over 25 years, but she is in trouble and owes $2,000 ($36,000) because she borrowed some money from Dirk Jagsted, a local gambler.

Jonah asks what happened to the money and Ginny stammers that she spent it on a man who ran out on her. They head for the stable and bed the horse for the night and Ginny leads Jonah to her room in the back of the stable. Ginny offers Jonah the bed (a mattress on the floor) but he declines, saying that in the morning he'll decide how to handle Jagsted.

However, he lies awake, thinking back 27 years, to the June 1848. He had just turned 10 and had gotten into a fight with several boys who had been calling his mom a tramp. Young Jonah gave it his best shot, but the four boys took turns holding him and beating him senseless. As they leave Jonah bleeding in the grass, they remind him one more time that his mom is a tramp. Much later, Jonah hobbles home where his mom is surprised to find him bloodied.

Woodson, however, makes no bones about not coddling Jonah. He says that he has a moonshine run to make and that he'll be back home around noon tomorrow. Much later, there is a knock at the door and Jonah answers it. At the door is a traveling salesman name Preston W. Dazzleby. The salesman is a dry goods merchant that is wanting to show some of his wares. He pulls out a dress and shows it to Ginny.

Ginny, never taking her eyes off Preston, tells Jonah that it is time for bed, while she samples what Preston has in his case (if'n ya know what I mean. wink wink nudge nudge). Jonah heads off to bed, laying there, reliving the terrible things that the other kids said, thinking about terrible ways to get his revenge... eventually he hears some laughter and gets out of bed to investigate. Walking down a short hallway, Jonah finds the door ajar and peeks through.


Jonah sees Dazzleby getting dressed and his mother packing a suitcase. Jonah steps into the room with a simple "Ma?". Ginny kneels down and explains that she is leaving because Woodson beats her when he gets drunk. She and Preston are heading for St. Louis and when they get settled, they'll send back for him. Ginny & Preston load up the wagon and ride off into the night, leaving a ten year old Jonah standing in the dark, abandoned in his house.

27 years later, Jonah is roused from his remembrances by shouting outside the stable. Turns out it's Jagsted wanting his money. Jonah gets dressed and walks out of the room into the stable, facing Jagsted and his three men. Jagsted states that he has no idea who Hex is but he wants his money from that 'broken-down tramp' and on the count of three, he'll blow Jonah's head off. How far does he get? Guess.

The other three men draw down on Jonah, only to end up bleeding their life out on the straw floor. Ginny comes out and Jonah says that the debt has been paid in full. He pulls out a roll of bills, handing them to his mom. Then they part...


and we don't see Ginny ever again.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4
Running Total - 345
Jonah's Injuries - none
Timeline - 1875. Scientists have determined that 1875 was a celestial anomaly and actually had 3279 days instead of the standard 365. Scientists refer to this as a Running-Broad-Jump Year. This story covers just one evening in 1875 and one day in 1848.

This takes place a year prior Jonah's first run-in with the law and just a few months prior to his first fight. We have more than one reference to Jonah 'just' turning 10 in early '48 so I'm resigned that Jonah's birthday is NOT in November.

We have only seen Jonah's mom once before and that was not the best family experience.

This is a pretty painful story to read, even though I have not experienced any abandonment issues in my family. Ginny is constantly referred to as a 'tramp' and I'm not sure if Fleisher meant that she was just kinda 'loose' or if she was an actual prostitute. Either way, she is a very sad woman with a very sad life. Not having seeing her son for 27 years and when he shows up, he's horribly disfigured and ends up walking out of your life, must have been very painful, but it DID seem that all she was concerned about was the money.

No mention of Mei Ling, so this one could have been in the chute, waiting for a scheduling delay. Like all of the stories recently, this was shortened due a backup El Diablo feature.

Next Issue - A lost Treasure and a trick dog.

Jonah Hex #55 "Trail of Blood!"

Jonah Hex #55 Dec 1981
"Trail of Blood!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Tony DeZuniga, art & cover

The four members of the Fort Charlotte Brigade (Micah, Shenandoah, Pee-Wee, & Timmy) have just sprung forth from the tall grass to put a halt to Jonah Hex's escape from El Papagayo. Carmelita had helped Jonah escape from El Papagayo and now Micah tosses a small bag of money to her, thanking her for leading Jonah into their clutches. It turns out that Carmelita is working not only for the Mexican Army & El Papagayo, but Quentin Turnbull as well. Carmelita is chuckling at have played the winning hand when she is suddenly shot dead off of her horse by the Mexican bandit leader.

Papagayo is in the hills above them and shouts down that he intends to kill Hex and the men that are with them. In fact, Papagayo says that if they all surrender now, he will kill them quickly instead of slowly. Jonah Hex will have no talk of surrender or even of fighting. He thinks their best chance is running and he lights fire to the tall grass in order to shield their escape with the smoke.

The plan works but only delays Papagayo's pursuit of them.

The next morning, it is the 12th anniversary of Jeb Turnbull's death. In Richmond, VA, Quentin Turnbull heads out to lay flowers on the grave of his son who died 12 years ago (which was 1863, thus making this 1875. NO!!! Really!?!?!?!) . Solomon puts forth that maybe Jonah is not guilty but Turnbull gently reminds Solomon that he is a good man, but naive. Turnbull then spends some silent time at Jeb's grave.

Meanwhile, in Mexico, Jonah Hex & the Fort Charlotte foursome are breaking camp. Pee-Wee suggests killing Hex now, but Micah thinks that they will need Hex's help to get them into the US and away from Papagayo. As they head out, Jonah asks Timmy, a young man, why he is involved in this since he couldn't have been old enough to be involved in the War Between the States. Timmy explains that his dad was killed in the Fort Charlotte Massacre and is planning on avenging his father's death. Jonah explains what really happened at the fort, but Timmy will hear nothing of it and spits in Jonah's face.

Jonah grabs Timmy by the collar, but Pee-Wee has leveled his rifle at Hex, demanding he let go. During all of this, Shenandoah has dismounted and has walked forward on the trail to pick up a parrot feather. Jonah shouts a warning but it's too late, Shenandoah falls into a collapsing pit full of sharpened stakes and dies. Jonah grabs Micah's rifle and starts squeezing shots off, killing at least one of Papagayo's men.

Several of Papagayo's men ride down on the four remaining men. Jonah smashes one bandit's brains in with a rock and then kills another who is trying to kill Timmy. He hears Micah scream and heads over to help him, but Jonah is too late and can only kill the bandit afterward. Finally all of the bandits are dead and Timmy thanks Jonah for saving his life, but Pee-Wee says that Jonah was only saving his own skin and vows that he himself will kill Hex once they cross the Rio Grande.

Up in the hills, Papagayo is spying on their departure and despite a henchman's statement that they will escape across the river in a few short hours, Papagayo says that it's all... part of a plan.

Hours later Pee-Wee, Timmy & Hex arrive at the Rio Grande at a ferry crossing. They can't find anybody in the ferryman's house (because they are bound and gagged) and decide that they can navigate the ferry across the river. Once they get the ferry loaded and in the middle of the river, El Papagayo shouts from the hills overlooking the river that he is bidding goodbye to Jonah and the other two men.

Jonah starts rummaging through the crates on the ferry and finds a bundle of dynamite with a lit fuse. They all jump overboard since there may be more dynamite hidden and the ferry gets blown to splinters. Jonah swims over to Timmy, who is drowning, and drags him ashore. However, Pee-Wee is standing there with his rifle leveled at Hex.

Timmy starts protesting that they can't kill Jonah, it ain't fair after everything that Jonah has done for them. Pee-Wee says that what is fair is killing the man that killed their friends and family. Timmy jumps up a grabs a rifle but Pee-Wee guns him down before Jonah can do a thing. Jonah does however end up killing Pee-Wee with a single shot.

Timmy is sitting against a rock, gasping his last, telling Jonah how when they get back to Virginia, Timmy will tell everyone what kind of man Jonah really is so they won't keep chasing Hex. Timmy then dies.

Jonah buries Timmy and then rides off.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 5
Running Total - 338
Jonah's Injuries - None
Timeline - 1875. This story covers 2 days.

I would have liked to have seen more El Papagayo and less of Turnbull. Turnbull gets to be just one note hammered constantly on an out of tune piano, no one can reason with him and he has only one idea, kill Hex.

It was kinda nice to see Timmy coming over to Jonah's side, but since this story has a backup story, we didn't get the extra pages that could have been used to give us more of that growing relationship between Jonah & Timmy. Needless to say, this story didn't thrill me as much as it could have.

However, the last panel does make a good point moving us into the third phase of Jonah Hex, The Tragic Hex (hint hint, upcoming post)

Next Issue: Jonah ends up taking the train to crazy-town.

Jonah Hex #54 "Trapped in the Parrot's Lair!"

Jonah Hex #54 Nov. 1981
"Trapped in the Parrot's Lair!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Tony DeZuniga, art & cover

With no mention whatsoever of Mei Ling walking out on Jonah and taking Jason with her, we start our story with Jonah getting a nice hot bath at Rosie's (wherever that may be). In the midst of his bath, two hardcases walk in, threatening Hex. Jonah grabs the scarf on one, pulls him into the tub and then stabs him. Using his dead body as a shield, Jonah then grabs the dead man's pistol and pushes a couple of slugs into the other man. Then, to the amazement of women comic bloggers everywhere, Jonah stands up in the tub and comments on the pistol he stole from the dead man.

Of course, causing so much carnage and bloodshed has its consequences. Jonah gets charged $2 to have the floor cleaned and gets kicked out of Rosie's. Later riding into town with the two dead men, Jonah Hex is recognized by a bystander who races off to send a telegram to Richmond, VA.

In Richmond, Quentin Turnbull is talking to the Fort Charlotte Brigade and is asking for positive proof that Jonah Hex has been blown up by the dynamite trap laid for him. This, of course, goes against the LAST time we saw Turnbull which leads me to think that this story arc is out of order with the marriage storyline and makes me wonder why we have fill-ins thrown in here. Each story in the marriage arc were short ones (except for issue 50) so I would have thought that Fleisher could have kept up the pace. Now I know how Joss Whedon felt.

I digress.

While Turnbull is gloating that Hex is dead, Solomon walks in with the information from the telegram, stating that Jonah Hex is alive and in Clementine Springs. Turnbull assigns the four members of the Fort Charlotte Brigade to kill Hex, for sure this time.

Jonah checks into the hotel and heads up to his room after dinner. A mysterious stranger follows him and attempts to open the door to Hex's room to only be surprised by a pistol to the back of his head. The stranger turns and it is Col. Sanchez of the Mexican Army. Hex invites Sanchez into his room and Sanchez unfolds a story, explaining how El Papagayo is still alive, despite being stabbed and left for dead. Sanchez explains that the President of Mexico is willing to pay $10,000 for the bandit, dead or alive (thus allowing Jonah to dirty the floor at Rosie's 5,000 times and not be in the red.)

Jonah takes him up on his offer and heads for the border.


Much later, high on a cliff overlooking a lone rider, two of El Papgayo's men open fire on the rider. When they inspect the body, they learn that it is only a stuffed dummy and that Hex has the drop on them. Jonah ties them both up, disguises himself as a bandit and rides on into Papagayo's lair. However, all of this has been closely watched by a lookout, who quickly rides to warn the bandit leader.

Jonah rides into the old fortress and walks into Papagayo's HQ where the bandit wastes no time in unmasking Jonah and taking him prisoner. Papagayo decides that he will kill Jonah slowly but, as usual, things start with a rifle butt to the head.

When Jonah awakens, he is at the bottom of a dry well, strapped to a pole and bound with rawhide. A mule is slowly turning the pole and as it twists, the rawhide starts to strangle Hex. Jonah manages to grab his knife and cut his way loose and then use the knife to create handholds so that he can climb from the well.

El Papagayo is not an idiot, he has left a guard in case Jonah escapes and as Jonah pulls himself over the edge, the guard draws a bead and suddenly.... dies. He is knifed in the back by Carmelita, El Papagayo's main squeeze who also works for Col. Sanchez. She and Jonah escape in the cover of night.

Later, after she has shown Hex the way out, Carmelita starts to return to El Papagayo in order not to blow her cover, but just then....


Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2
Running Total - 333
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out with a rifle
Timeline - Like I said before, this one must be a filler since it makes no mention of Mei Ling (which Turnbull was aware of) and assumes that Turnbull still thinks Jonah Hex is dead. Based on what happens next issue, I place this one in 1875.

I have always liked El Papagayo and it is almost unbelievable that we have gone 44 issues without seeing him. It's a shame that the timeline was so screwed up because I could see the Parrot using Jonah's marriage to his advantage by kidnapping Mei Ling, but then, Turnbull beat him to it and to reuse that plotline would have been a poor choice.

This also had a backup story of Tejano

Next Week: El Papagayo, The Fort Charlotte Brigade, and a river ferry that doesn't crash apart on the rapids! No, really.

Jonah Hex #51 "The Comforter"

Jonah Hex #51 August 1981
"The Comforter!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Tony DeZuniga, cover

Jonah is wanting to head into town but Mei Ling is reminding him that the baby is due at any time and she is wanting him to stay home. Jonah is having the same problem I have, being alone when I'm trying to buy a surprise for my wife. Take this for example. My wife saw a ring she wanted at the store and hinted that she wanted it. While she was wandering around the mall I managed to sneak back into the store and buy the ring. I had the clerk hold it for me because I KNEW that my wife would want to swing back by, look at the ring and hint once again that she would like it. If the ring was gone, then she would demand that I empty my pockets to prove that I didn't have it. I also told the clerk to lie about me coming back in.

Sure enough, my wife wanted to look at the ring again and when it was gone she started asking if they could get another one in. The clerk waiting on us was different than the one I dealt with and she kept looking at me really weird. She finally said "A gentleman purchased the ring earlier and had it placed on hold. Let me look at the number and see if we can order another one." She brings the ring out and it HAS MY NAME ON IT! My Lovely Wife is looking at something else and I'm trying to shoo the clerk away when suddenly, out of nowhere, the original clerk snatches it out of her hands and elbows her aside. Lovely Wife turns around and the clerk who helped me says, "I'm terribly sorry, but the gentleman who put the ring on hold had us deliver it not 5 minutes ago and the paperwork won't be back with the courier for about another 2 hours so there is no way for us to determine if we can order another one of those rings."

Lovely Wife glared at me as if something was up, looked at the clerk and totally bought that lying man's story.

Wait, this is supposed to be about Jonah. Okay, I'm back on track. Jonah is trying to get into town to purchase a comforter for Ling and the baby and he finally gets his way. Meanwhile in town, a horrible hardcase shows up and starts terrorizing the local bar, saying that he's waiting for Hex in order to kill the scar-faced former bounty hunter. A bunch of kids gather at the door of the saloon to see the ruckus and one young fella, Petey, starts laughing at the idea of Hex being outgunned by this slimeball. Needless to say, said slimeball don't cotton to being ridiculed.

Jonah arrives in town and picks up the comforter at the general store and the sheriff walks in, warning him about the dirtbag at the saloon. Jonah says that he is heading home and won't have any of it. When he steps out of the store, the weasel is standing there, calling Jonah out. Hex tells him that he isn't carrying and the trashbag tosses Jonah one of his own. Hex pitches the gun to the ground and walks away, the weaselly-slimeball-dirtbag calling him a coward and the townspeople aghast that Jonah has turned tail.

Jonah spend the next hour at a cafe, not eating the meal he ordered and having a flashback.

April, 1848. Woodson Hex takes his son to the fair. Woodson, being the drunken bastard that he is, wants Jonah to enter a boy-fighting contest. 25 cent entry, $10 prize for going three rounds. Jonah says that he just turned 10 and the other kid looks a lot older. Woodson asks if he has raised a coward and Jonah gets into the ring.

At the sound of the bell, Jonah lunges for the other kid but gets the living snot beat out of himself in the first round. Woodson goads Jonah back out for the second round, even though Jonah is begging for it to stop. At the start of the second round, Jonah gets a quick one to the side of the head, an uppercut and then a ten count as he lays there, bloody, dazed and battered. Woodson drags Jonah from the ring and starts slapping him and calling him a coward. A worthless coward.

.....
Hex looks at the clock in the cafe and realizes he better be getting on home. Petey meets him in the street and asks if it's true that Jonah is a coward. Petey is beaten up and just then the weasel shows up. Jonah asks Petey if this is the guy that gave him the black eye. Petey says that it is and Jonah swiftly drops the weasel with three hard punches.

Hex turns and starts walking away but the weasel draws and shoots Jonah as he is picking up the dropped comforter. Jonah goes down and Petey sprints for Jonah's horse. With the weasel standing over Hex, ready to finish the job, Hex throws the comforter into his face and Petey tosses Hex his rifle. When the weasel pulls the comforter down, he's staring down the barrel. And, of course, it's the last thing he ever saw.

Jonah gathers up his stuff and rides back home. The doc and his wife are there and Jason Woodson Hex is snuggled in bed with his mom. Jonah apologizes for not being there and Mei Ling says that it doesn't matter. Jonah gives her the comforter and she wraps Jason in it. Jonah picks up his boy and asks if he has anything to say to his paw. Jason replies...

Statistics for this Issue
Men killed by Jonah - one.
Running Total - 329
Jonah's Injuries - Shot in left shoulder
Timeline - A few months since last issue. The snow is gone and everything around the farm is green. So it must now be 1876. Right? I'm sticking with that. Now, the flashback was in 1848 and Jonah had just turned 10. With his birthday in November, that means that he turned 10 in 1847 so he must have been born in 1837, not in 1838. So THAT means that last issue, when Jonah turned 37, it was 1874, not 75, so this story does take place in 1875.

I've read that when folks are trying to determine things like timeline and what not, they use a date that was stated most of the time and work other dates around that, determining that references to incorrect dates were just mistakes. Jonah's dates have always been 1838 - 1904, but almost all of his childhood flashbacks are when he 'just turned 10' and it's in the spring. Do we go with the bulk of flashback references or the given birth year? Or do we do what my wife suggests "It's a comic book. Let it go. Or get off your butt and find the guy that wrote these and see what HE says."?

Anyway, a nice story with a flashback to abusive Woodson. It kinda explains why Jonah was such a sadistic bastard towards Blackie and Mange and why he let the dogs eat the circus owner in Jonah Hex #1 Vol 2. My only complaint is that Pappy Hex looks different every time we see him. And we have seen him a lot. It's also a short story because of a Bat Lash backup feature.

Next Issue: kidnapping, sucker-punching, wife-slapping and it all ends with Jonah getting blown all to hell.

Jonah Hex #50 "The Hunter!"

Jonah Hex #50 July 1981
"The Hunter!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers, Tony DeZuniga, art - Tony DeZuniga, cover

The snow is very deep and Jonah is heading out to hunt some deer. Mei Ling follows him out, wondering how long he'll be gone. Jonah says he doesn't rightly know, but he has to get food so his son will grow up big & strong. Mei Ling asks "What if it's a girl?" to which Jonah replies that they would hang onto her until they got tired of her and then throw her down a well. Jonah mounts up and tells Mei Ling to take it easy and he'll be home, luckily before tomorrow, but before tomorrow night at the latest.

As Jonah rides off, Ling hopes inwardly that Jonah returns before tomorrow. Today is November 1st, Jonah's birthday and she is working on a surprise for him. Jonah has told Ling about SOME of his childhood and she wants the day to be a little bit special.

Out in the woods, Jonah spots a deer fairly early, but being upwind, he isn't able to get a good shot before the buck bolts. Jonah mearly wounds him and has to take off tracking the wounded beast. Tying up his horse, Jonah sets off through the snow on foot.

Shortly thereafter, Jonah finds the deer, dead, in a small meadow and he kneels by the animal and starts to dress it (I'm talking about cutting it up, not putting a parka on the dang thing!). But this is Jonah Hex we're discussing here and any run of good luck has to be countered with and unequal and opposite reaction of bad luck. This time, it's several Crow who decide to take advantage of Jonah's back being turned. Jonah, hears them and as he is turning with his rifle, he catches and arrow in the left shoulder and opens fire on the charging Indians.

He drops two of them before his rifle jams and he has to resort to using it as a club-upside-the-head on one Indian. Another jumps him from behind and Jonah is able to toss the brave over his shoulder so that the Indian's skull smashes on an exposed boulder. Jonah turns to see one Indian remaining, he bends over to pick up a tomahawk and he charges the Indian.

The Indian suddenly screams and drops it's blanket to reveal...

Emmy Lou Hartley of the Hartley Party, a group of settlers that was traveling through the area about 3-4 years ago. The wagon train was attacked by Crows and everyone was killed. Emmy corrects Jonah in that three women survived; herself, her sister, and her cousin. Emmy's sister turned a rifle on herself rather than be taken prisoner and the cousin was murdered for refusing to become a bride to a Crow warrior. Emmy did what she had to in order to survive.

For almost 4 years, she labored as the wife of Eagle Who Stands and just three days ago she saw a chance to escape. The four Indians that Jonah killed were a party sent to bring her back. Jonah says that he will be happy to get her back to civilization, but he has to finish prepping the deer and the snow is starting to fall.

Once they get back to Jonah's horse, he has Emmy Lou ride while he leads the horse. The trail is drifting with snow and Jonah doesn't want to take any chance getting lost. Remember what I said about bad luck? Well, it shows up again in spades. A large snow owl startles the horse who rears up and hits Jonah in the head with a hoof. Amazingly, Jonah stays conscious, but Emmy Lou panics and keeps pulling back on the reins. The horse continues to buck and then the horse and Emmy fall off the nearby cliff. Emmy jumps and manages to grab a small tree in the cliff face, but Jonah is unable to reach her.

He quickly unwraps his scarf and Emmy is able to grab onto that. Jonah starts pulling her up and grabs her hand just as the scarf snaps in two. Jonah hoists Emmy Lou up on solid ground and the storm has intensified. Jonah decides that they need to take shelter in a cave. Jonah and Emmy start to hunker down in the cave to wait out the storm when... remember what I said about bad luck? Not only does it come back in spades, but it has all the trump as well because a bear, a large, mean, fighting grizzly comes out of the darkness.

Jonah's rifle is still jammed, so he manages to bust it across the chops of the bear. The bear, returns the favor. Jonah grabs Emmy's blanket, wraps it around his left forearm, and armed with only his knife, wades back into battle against the bear. Shoving the blanket into the bears' mouth, and stabbing the bear repeatedly, Jonah is finally able to emerge victorious. However, he is ripped to shreds and Emmy quickly runs over to take care of his wounds when...

It's pretty clear that Jonah put the moves on her, but he comes to his senses and starts carving up the bear to replace the lost deer meat. The storm lets up and Jonah & Emmy head out for the McCabe ranch where Emmy can stay with the McCabes. Emmy is wanting to know what's wrong and if she did something wrong, but Jonah gruffly refuses to talk about it (and of course he doesn't tell her that he's married).

When they finally get to the McCabe ranch there are some quick explanations about Emmy, the bear, the missing gear and Jonah needing to head out. Emmy asks if she'll see Jonah again and Mr. McCabe laughingly says not if Jonah's wife has anything to say about it. Emmy is stunned and Jonah heads home.

Once Jonah gets home, Mei Ling is full of questions about Jonah's injuries, why he's riding a different horse.. Jonah explains about the bear and how it's wrapped up in that blanket. Mei Ling points out that it is a woman's shawl, Jonah explains that it belongs to Mrs. McCabe. Mei Ling says that it looks Indian and Jonah mildly blows up, saying that he doesn't want to have a fight. Ling apologizes and escorts Jonah into the cabin for his surprise.

Mei Ling is going to fix him a bear steak and then shows Jonah his birthday cake. Jonah is 37 and it's about time he got a cake. They embrace, confess their love for each other and we're left with a parting shot of the Hex farm in the snow.

Statistics for this Issue

Men killed by Jonah - I'm not sure here. 2 Indians were shot, one slmmed into a rock and one smached with a rifle. I'm not so sure that the rifle smacking would have been fatal, so I'm going with 3 Indians
Running Total - 328

Timeline - Wow, where do I begin? It's been stated several times that Jonah was born in 1838. Now we have a date, November 1st. If he's 37, then this story falls at the end of 1875. Like almost a ton of other stories. We know that Jonah and Mei Ling have been married long enough to start the farm and harvest corn, so they have been married at least since March or April. That leaves very little time for a whole ton of non-Mei Ling adventures to take place.

Regarding what happens AFTER this story, we have 42 more issues that have a well developed continuity (with the exception of probably 6 issues that have no reference to Mei Ling or Emmy Lou) until the unthinkable happens and Jonah disappears in 1875. (?!) I had postulated in other forums that the dates after this story were all wrong and that Jonah probably vanished in 1878 but I've been rethinking that.

From what I understand about dating historical occurances (which is very little) one must go with the bulk of the evidence. If a majority of people say that something happened on a particular date, then the one reference that counters that is considered suspect. This is the position that Mei Ling's reference to Jonah's 37th birthday falls. Susan Hilliwig has suggested that Mei Ling was wrong, she got Jonah's age wrong.

But trying to pry this into what we already know about the Jonah Hex timeline, just makes my head explode. We can't really be placing this one as early as 1872 because we then run into several problems regarding the dates of Quentin Turnbull and El Papagayo. I just don't know what to do. It would be easier to go with 1875 and say that the other texts are wrong.

Now about the story. I really enjoyed this tale. It gave us a new ongoing character, more tension in the Hex household but also we see more of Mei Ling's tenderness. She's pregnant and is wanting to help sooth Jonah's tortured childhood. I also enjoy Westerns that take place in the snow, probably because there are so few of them.

On a final note, my Lovely Wife recently asked (out of the blue) "Was Jonah ever unfaithful with Emmy Lou?"

My jaw hung open. "Why do you ask that?"

"Well, I was bored and read that issue you had laying around. Did he?"

I gave her a nickel explanation of what happens next, all of you, will have to wait and see what unfolds.

Next Issue: Jonah gets called a coward, Woodson slaps his son around, and a major turning point in the life of Mei Ling.

Jonah Hex #39 "The Vow of a Samurai!"

Jonah Hex #39 Aug 1980
"The Vow of a Samurai!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Tony De Zuniga, art & cover

De Zuniga is back and we have a Samurai with his vow! This issue has GREAT written all over it! But let us dive right in, shall we?

Jonah has been trailing the Blair Farrow gang and comes upon a small saloon out in the middle of nowhere. Inside, a Samurai is being taunted for :

A) Being yellow
B) Wearing a dress
C) all of the above.

And, class, we all know what happens when you taunt a Samurai?





Well, you do now. Of course, this gets the other patrons riled up and of course, Jonah walks in at that moment and decides to side with the lone defender. During the battle Jonah suggests that they need to exit the premises because he will be 37 in November and he is getting too old for this. Jonah decides to speed up their departure by shooting the chains supporting a hanging wagon wheel chandelier. Riding out of town the Samurai explains that he has come to America in search of bandits known as the Blair Farrow gang.

The Samurai recounts how last year his daughter came to America to be a lady-in-waiting for the Japanese ambassador but while traveling cross-country to Washington D.C., her train was robbed and she was kidnapped. It has taken a full year for the Samurai to get word of this horror and raise funds to come here to find his daughter and kill her abductor. If he cannot do this, he must perform Seppuku. The Samurai, noting Jonah's bravery back at the saloon, asks Jonah if he will be come the Samurai's Kaishaku.

The Samurai explains that the procedure of the Seppuku involves self disembowelment and that the Kaishaku will end his suffering by cutting off the head of the Samurai. Jonah doesn't buy into this for a second and tells the Samurai that he is out of luck finding a Kaishaku.

They continue riding for several hours and finally come upon a small farmhouse. They knock on the door, hoping to find food and maybe information about the Farrow gang. They open the door and find the entire family slaughtered on the floor. The Samurai lets out a scream and lunges into the darkness, drawing his sword. Suddenly Jonah catches a club to the face and drops to the floor like a level 33 Hunter in WoW (but he ain't faking). The Samurai kicks the door shut behind him and we are treated to two beautiful pages of East meets West.
When they are on their way, the Samurai once again asks Jonah if he will heap even more shame upon his own head by refusing to become the Kaishaku. Jonah grudgingly agrees and they continue their search.

Three days & nights later they come upon a canyon that is being guarded two men atop the cliffs. The sentries hear hoof beats but all they see are two riderless horses running into the canyon. Jonah has climbed up the side of the canyon and pitches a knife into the heart of one sentry. While Jonah is hanging from the cliff, the other lookout draws a bead on him stating that Jonah's pistols will do him no good. Jonah agrees and says that is why he brought his friend. The sentry turns around just in time for...

Jonah and the Samurai get the drop on Blair and the rest of the gang around the campfire. Jonah tells them to drop their guns and Blair quickly obeys. However, the six men with him foolishly think that they can take Jonah. Blair falls to the ground, begging his men not to do it, but it is too late, all six of them die at the hands of Jonah Hex.

The Samurai stands over Blair, holding his sword to Blair's throat, demanding to see his daughter. Blair calls into the darkness for Heejong to come out. She calmly approaches the fire, asking why her beloved has called for her and their infant son. The Samurai is astonished at the dishonor his daughter has brought upon their family by claiming to love vermin such as Blair. The Samuari is amazed and appalled and there can only be one resolution to this situation of dishonor:

As Hex finishes killing the Samurai, Blair takes his own wife and son hostage in order to escape. Using them as a shield, Blair starts to move towards his horse when Jonah draws and plants a slug right into Blair's skull. Heejong falls to the ground, mourning the loss of her husband and father. With the baby crying in the darkness, Jonah mounts up and rides off.



Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 7
Running Total - 279
Jonah's Injuries - Club to the head
Timeline - Jonah's mention of his upcoming birthday places this story in 1875. Why the mention of his age? I believe that Fleisher modeled parts of Jonah's life after his own. Wikipedia lists Fleisher's birthday as November 1st and Comic Book DB lists it as Oct 31 1942. This comic was published in 1980 and 1980 minus 1942 equals 38, fairly close to Jonah's age of 37. Could it be that Fleisher penned this story in 1979 or is the Comic Book DB wrong? The story covers four days.

Sadly, the cover gives away part of the surprise of this story by showing Heejong with a baby but still, this tale packs one helluva punch. Jonah seems almost tame compared to the savagery of the Samurai. It's great to see Jonah honoring his word and the honor of the Samurai. Other great moments were Blair realizing that he couldn't outgun Hex; the scuminess ofBlair using his family as a shield; and the ending, with Jonah riding off leaving Heejong and the baby. Why did he do that? This woman has no-one left in the world and there is nobody around to help her. Could it be that Jonah suddenly understands the Honor code of the Samurai and realizes that by aiding the woman he would help perpetuate the shame in that family? Or is it that Jonah is completely fed up with the death that comes from a strict code of Honor compared to his more flexible, self-serving code?

Tony's artwork during the Seppuku scene was incredible. Using the light from the campfire was a great touch that added a sense of eeriness to the entire book. When I think of this book, those are the images I think of.

Either way, this is one of the top Jonah Hex stories and gives us a nice foreshadowing of things to come in future issues.

Next Issue: DROUGHT! FLOODS! GLOBAL WARMING! AAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!


ok, I'm kidding about Global Warming, but the other three are true!

Bat Lash #1 "Splendor in the Sage"

Bat Lash #1 Feb 08
"Guns & Roses: Splendor in the Sage"
Peter Brandvold & Sergio Aragones, story -John Severin, art - Walter Simonson, cover

Okay, our story starts in west Texas circa 1875. 1875.

Can you hear me screaming through the screen? I actually haven't stopped to take a breath....yet.
Still screaming, I have about 15 seconds more until I get it out of my system


Okay, I think I can proceed, except for the fact that I have been rereading the Scalphunter run in Weird Western Tales and Bat Lash was an integral part of that series, a series that started in 1862. So back then we have Bat, a grown man in 1862 (in his late 20's, early 30's), now appearing to be a young man, possibly in his early 20's, 15 years later. Oddly enough, DC, the company that is rediscovering its history, can't seem to get history straight.

Okay, NOW I can proceed. Our story starts with Bat Lash pursuing Dominique Wilder, the obvious love of his life. The pursuit continues with Bat carrying a copy of Keats. Bat catches Dominique and we are rewarded with a panel that has tons of meaning.

However, their little meeting doesn't go unnoticed, Sheriff Brubaker and his men are up in the hills overlooking the scene. One of Brubaker's men has a pair of binoculars and mentions that he has just seen, Dominique, Brubaker's girl friend. Brubaker looks through the binoculars and witnesses his girlfriend with Bat Lash, the son of a family that is raising Mustangs on cattle land (a horrible offense).

Later, Bat rides off, leaving Dominique with a promise that he will be careful and that they will be together forever. Riding away, Bat is singing heartily when he is suddenly lassoed from his horse by Brubaker and his men. They are deciding if they should drag him until he's dead or hang him now. They opt for the latter and once Bat is noosed, Bat announces to Brubaker that Dominique doesn't love Brubaker and never will. Brubaker gives Bat's horse a slap on the rump. The rope pulls tight and ....

Suddenly Comanches are descending on Brubaker and his men. They ride off, taking a few bullets and the Comanches continue pursuit as Two-Moons dismounts to speak with Bat. When the Comanches return, they ask Two-Moons why he does not take the wonderful yellow scalp of Bat. Two-Moons relates the tale of two years ago when he was buffalo hunting and his horse stumbled, throwing him into the running herd. Bat appeared out of nowhere, saved Two-Moons, tended to his wounds and got him back to his tribe.

Two-Moons and Bat talk about their troubles, Two-Moons relates how Dominique's dad has dammed up the streams to water his cattle and put a bounty on Indian scalps. Bat explains how is family is getting forced off their land and may have to shut down their mustang ranch. Before Two-Moons rides off, he tells Bat that he should join the Comanches.

Dominique, unaware of all that has transpired, rides on home and sees Brubaker's horse at her house. She goes inside and overhears her father & Brubaker discussing her and Bat. Brubaker demands that Wilder keep better control of his daughter or Brubaker won't bend the law in Wilder's favor when it comes to running off the Indians, prospectors, and squatters. Brubaker recounts how he tried to hang Bat but failed. Wilder says that Brubaker will need to run off the whole family by destroying their ranch.

Brubaker asks "What about Mrs. Lash?" to which Wilder replies "She chose her fate a long time ago."

Over at the Lash ranch, Bat comes riding home, a lot worse for the wear. Bat is greeted by his younger brother, Billy, and his dad, Zeke. Bat's mother, who appears to be Hispanic, comes out and frets over Bat. Then they all head in for dinner.

Meanwhile, Dominique is riding hard and fast to get to the Lash ranch to warn them of Brubaker's plan. Night falls and a huge storm opens up. Dominique is caught in the downpour when suddenly Brubaker jumps down from an overhanging rock and knocks her from her horse. Sadisticly, Brubaker forces a kiss on the semi-conscious Dominique and then takes her to a nearby cabin (that was rendered vacant when Brubaker recently killed the family per Wilder's instructions) and once inside we see him toss aside his gunbelt in a obvious foreshadowing for raping Dominique.

Statistics for the issue

Men killed by Bat Lash - 0

Bat's Injuries - roped, drug, and almost hung

Timeline - 1875.

It was good to see Bat's family, I'm not sure they have ever been portrayed before. Severin's art is absolutely some of the best in the industry, giving a very cinematic quality to the story. A lot of folks think that art in a western has to be gritty, but I prefer the clean lines and the grittiness come from the dialogue and the scenery, not the artwork. Overall, this looks to be a top-notch book, even though there is an impending rape. At least we know that Dominique won't end up in a refrigerator.

Jonah Hex #34 "Christmas in an Outlaw Town"

Jonah Hex #34 Mar 1980
"Christmas in an Outlaw Town"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dan Spiegle, art - Luis Domiguez, cover

I teased with this cover last year and now here is the whole story. Jonah is tracking the Boley Boys through the snow and reminiscing about how his old man used to get drunk during Christmas and beating Jonah as a child. Meanwhile, 40 miles away at the home of Clarence Dooley, Mr. Dooley is getting dressed as Santa Claus as he does every Christmas for the local orphanage. Sadly, the Boley boys break into the house demanding money. Dooley points them to the open safe and as the outlaws leave, they decide not to leave any witnesses.

The next day, Jonah is at the cemetery where Dooley is being buried. Jonah is talking to a local Sister, verifying that Dooley's valet survived to identify that it was the Boleys. The Sister mentions that the kids will be very sad since Dooley played Santa every year. Jonah says that there is nothing that he can do about that, but he will bring in the Boleys.

Jonah rides off, tracking the Boleys for a full day and night. The next morning Jonah rides up to the ghost town of Willow Creek, hoping to fill his canteen from a well. When he rides into town he finds that the town is just bursting with people, and not fine upstanding citizens but several outlaws that Jonah recognizes. However, he is centered on finding the Boleys and walks into the saloon to see if he can find any information.

He finds more than information, he finds the Boleys and when he draws on them, they calmly point out the "No Firearms" sign. Jonah is flummoxed and manages to just avoid getting smashed over the head with a chair by one of the Boleys. A huge fistfight breaks out and Jonah is on the losing end when the sheriff of the town walks in and breaks it up. Jonah stands up and finds out the sheriff is...


Jonah gets arrested and gets hauled in front of the judge...


Jonah gets no mercy and in addition to getting pistol whipped, he gets thrown into jail for 30 days. Pappy Hex explains that he is running the town as a hideout for every known criminal and gets a cut of every crime that they commit in return for protection. Pappy explains that he would love to chat but he has to rob the Transcontinental Limited along with the Boley Boys. Pappy heads out, leaving the deputy in charge. (we'll see how effective THAT plan is)

No sooner is Pappy out the door does Jonah pull the knife from his back and threaten the deputy. The deputy turns to get the key and manages to trip over a spittoon, fall, and knock himself out. Jonah then has to resort to dragging the deputy over to the cell, take his gun, and shoot the peg upon which the keys are hung. With the keys on the floor, Jonah uses his belt to drag the keys over to the door and he unlocks the door himself.

Later, the Transcontinental Limited has been stopped by armed bandits. The engineer and the fireman are forced to open the car holding the gold and even open the safe. The door to the safe swings open and there stands Jonah Hex, guns drawn. Jonah guns down the Boley Boys and spares his paw. Pappy pleads for his life and Jonah says that if Pappy doesn't do exactly what Jonah says, Pappy will be in the pen for a hundred years. Pappy agrees to anything.

The scene cuts to the orphanage with a huge Christmas tree set up and a ton of kids trying to sit on Santa's lap. The Sister is thanking Jonah for finding a replacement for Mr. Dooley/Santa. Jonah states that just hearing the laughter of the children and seeing the contented look on pappy's face is reward enough. Jonah wishes his paw a merry Christmas and heads for the door. The kids are now climbing all over Pappy, pulling off his beard, knocking his hat off and Pappy is screaming for Jonah to come back or he'll get Jonah in the end. Pappy screams that he is the craftiest Hex.

Jonah rides off, shouting Merry Christmas and laughing his head off.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3
Running Total - 261
Jonah's Injuries - Beat up in a fight and pistol whipped.
Timeline - It appears that this one takes place after the last meeting between Jonah & his dad, so that would be 1875 or after.

There wasn't a whole lot to this issue and no explanation as to how Jonah managed to survive being locked in a huge safe. BUT (and that is a big but) I enjoyed this issue an awful lot. It was a pretty light-hearted story with the sheriff/judge bit and the ending page with Jonah laughing that hard (which may be the only time Jonah ever laughed. I'll have to research that one) and it was a nice change of pace in the history of a man whose story ends up being about one of the most painful and tragedy filled lives in the history of comics.

Here's hoping you and your family have a blessed Christmas. We'll be back (probably after the first of the year, but you can never tell)


Next Issue: The return of Quentin Turnbull and the Fort Charlotte brigade.