Jonah Hex #46 "Death in the Grass!"

Jonah Hex #46 Mar 1981

"Death in the Grass!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Joe Kubert, cover

Three weeks have passed since Jonah & Ling left the town where they were married and a huge thunderstorm has overtaken them in their search for a home. They stop at a local hotel and when they attempt to check in, the clerk refuses to give them a room, constantly using the word "wife" in quotes. Jonah is about to go ballistic on the clerk when three locals walk in and explain that the hotel is whites only, not for coolies and race-mixers.

Jonah is about to increase the population of the local boot hill by three but Ling says that it is not worth it, they will find a room elsewhere. As they continue their trek, the rain stops but the mud ends up overwhelming the wagon when the axle breaks, the horse attempts to bolt and Jonah & Ling are thrown from the overturned wagon. Ling is uninjured but Jonah ends up with a severe back injury and is unable to stand or walk. Jonah instructs Mei Ling to saddle up his horse and head for a nearby town to fetch a doctor. It shouldn't take more than two hours round trip. She helps Jonah prop himself against a rock and leaves him with a pair of binoculars, then rides off.

As fate would have it, the three bigots from the previous town have decided to follow Hex to teach him a lesson on threatening good decent white folk. They spot Jonah using a telescope but Jonah sees the sun glinting off their lens. Using the binoculars, he realizes the trouble he is in and starts dragging himself into some nearby buffalo grass. By the time the three get to Jonah's location, he is well hidden in the grass so they start searching for him.

Bigot #1 finds Jonah but Jonah manages to get off the first shot, that is, he would have if his Colts hadn't jammed because of the mud in them from when Jonah took his fall. Bigot #1 starts gloating, giving Jonah enough time to grab his knife and deliver a message from Mr. Bowie himself. Jonah doesn't have time to retrieve his knife and crawls off further into the grass.

Dragging himself onward, Hex encounters a rattlesnake, manages to get his jacket off and around the rattler. Just as he finishes bundling up the viper, Bigot #2 locates Jonah. Hex whispers that if the bigot will let him go, he can have all of Jonah's money in the coat. Bigot #2, also known locally as Stupid #1, unwraps the jacket and gets bit in the throat by the snake and starts screaming.

Jonah doesn't have time to grab his rifle and drags himself off into the grass. Bigot #3 shows up and sees that his friend will soon be gone and continues tracking Hex. Jonah has located a small farm, but it is across a large stretch of open land. He decides to start a fire to cover his movement, but his matches are much too wet. Jonah uses his binoculars to start a grass fire and since the grass is wet it's gonna cause a whole lot of smoke. Jonah uses the cover to drag himself to the farm while Bigot #3 has to make tracks to keep from being surrounded by the fire.


Meanwhile, Ling has located a doctor and is heading back to save Jonah.

Jonah is now in the barn, he finds a rope, makes a lasso, lassos a rafter and pulls himself up into the loft. Bigot #3 eventually makes his way to the barn and determines that Jonah is in the loft. Bigot #3 climbs the ladder and locates Jonah but as he moves in for the kill, Bigot #3 doesn't notice the rotted boards, falls through and ....



Much later the doctor makes this diagnosis "..your fall... produced a traumatizing jolt to your spinal column, resulting in a sort of temporary near-paralysis. The fact that you've continued to experience pain...strongly indicates ...unlikely..serious permanent damage." (I've edited it for brevity) Jonah asks if the doc knows who owns the farm they are at and the doc says that HE owns it and is willing to sell since it is an investment property.

Ling is overjoyed that they have found a home and they end on a semi-painful kiss.



Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3
Running Total - 310
Jonah's Injuries - Thrown from a wagon resulting in "temporary near-paralysis"
Timeline - Three weeks since last issue.

While it was a good adventurous tale, this one really stretched my "willing suspension of disbelief".

• First off, the wagon wasn't going fast enough to throw Jonah & Ling like it did.

• I've had back pain and there is no way in hell I would be dragging myself around, climbing a rope or even sitting up. Jonah must be twice as mean as Chuck Norris.
  

• Wet grass doesn't catch fire and smoke. Green grass smokes. Wet grass doesn't burn.

These, sadly, are major points of the story and pretty much ruined it for me. It looks like the happy couple will finally be able to settle down and get to some non-violent happiness. There was also a Scalphunter backup story which caused a page crunch on the Jonah Hex tale

NEXT ISSUE: Turnbull learns that he wasn't invited to the wedding. Now they've gone and made him mad.

Jonah Hex #45 "Blood Wedding!"

Jonah Hex #45 Feb 1981

"Blood Wedding!"

Michael Fleisher, story - Tony DeZuniga, art - Joe Kubert, cover

How come you didn't buy this one? It has a Kubert cover, DeZuniga art, Hex getting married and SCALPHUNTER TOO! (did I really need to capitalilze that last part? Guess so). You didn't buy it because you weren't born yet? Stinking comic noob, sit down and let me learn ya on this one.

This is the story that Jonah's life pivots on, everything after this will never be the same. This is the dividing line, the continental divide, the equator, the 19-ft fence around the nudist colony. But enough hyperbole, we have a wedding to attend!

The story opens with Jonah & Mei Ling in the general store picking out her wedding dress. A few of the local biddies...uh ladies...uh, women are lamenting the fact that the hideous scar faced bounty hunter would publicly show his "bestial lusts" but at least he hasn't stooped to marrying a negro. Jonah leaves Mei Ling so he can go over to the bank and sign the papers on the vacant farmhouse they are going to buy.

As Jonah is heading to the bank he is called out by a brother of a man Jonah killed a few years prior. The man, Mike, shoots Jonah in the left shoulder, knocking backwards into a horse trough. As Mike gets closer to Jonah, Hex jumps out of the water and repeatedly dunks and punches the man into oblivion, all the while noting that Mei Ling would skin him alive if she found out that he had killed someone the day before their wedding.

Later Jonah and Mei Ling ride out to her brother's, Mei Wong, place. Ling asks if Jonah got the papers from the banker and Jonah tells her he ran into a fella he used to know. Ling says that Jonah should invite him to the wedding.

When they show up at Mei Wong's farm, they meet his wife and go inside for tea. Wong asks if he can speak to Ling privately and takes her out to the garden. Wong asks why an Occidental is in his house and Ling explains that they are to be married. Wong explains that he has heard of Jonah Hex and the stench of death that follows him around. He says that if Ling marries Jonah, she will no longer be his sister. Ling leaves crying.

Meanwhile, Mike has been carried by his buddy Luther back to a cabin in the woods. There Jake, the leader of the gang learns that Jonah is getting married tomorrow and they decide to help Jonah settle down.

Back in town, the local biddys have descended upon the poor banker, explaining that if he makes a mortgage for Jonah Hex, they will pull all of their money from his bank. Banker Jarvis vouches for Mei Ling, who he describes as "an attractive and thoroughly well-bred young lady", and Jonah who has stated that he is quitting bounty hunting. Nevertheless, the women add to their threat by saying that all of their friends will withdraw their funds as well, leaving Jarvis wiping his brow in worry.

Sunday morning rolls around to find Jonah getting dressed in a suit, thinking about what his paw would say, and then heading out for the church, leaving his pistols in the hotel bed.

At the church, packed to the gills, the priest (pastor?, not sure of the denomination of the church) notes that the only reason the place is full is because of the wedding of Jonah Hex (Side note: I don't know if it was customary to get married during a regular service, but I know that this wouldn't happen today).

The wedding goes off without a hitch, Jonah and Ling both exchanging their vows. However, once they are pronounced man & wife, before Jonah can kiss his new bride, a man bursts into the church shouting that Jake McCafferey and his gang have dumped kerosene on six buildings in town and unless Hex comes out, they'll burn the town down.

Jonah tells Ling that he'll keep his promise and won't fight but the townsfolk are up in arms. Their town will be destroyed because of his promise. Hex is adamant and even shows that he has no pistols. The messenger produces the pistols because he stopped by the hotel to pick them up. Jonah tells Ling that he won't fight is he can't help it, but he can't let the town be destroyed just because of him. He straps on the gunbelt and walks out of the church.


Outside, the gang starts heckling Jonah but he explains that he just got married and is in a good mood. Therefore they have five minutes to leave town. Since the gang has a major stupid gene, they start insulting Mei Ling, calling her a coolie, a cheap saloon tramp, and that she has round heels. Finally one of them says they were mistaken, it was Jonah's MOTHER that was the tramp. Then....Four men dead and Jonah covered in mud, Mei Ling nevertheless runs out to be sure her husband is well. Jonah apologizes to her as she tells him she loves him anyway. Banker Jarvis walks out and Jonah says that he would gladly take the keys to the ranch they were going to buy, but Jarvis, under the gaze of the biddys, states that one of his associates sold that place earlier. Jonah starts to go off on him, but Ling says that it isn't important. Jonah agrees and they head out of town, Jonah saying that he never wanted to live around there anyhow.


Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4
Running total - 307
Jonah's Injuries - shot in left shoulder
Timeline - Well, we'll have to come BACK to this once we get some more information, but it appears to be 1874-1876. This story covered two days. (this becomes important later on when we try to count backwards to place some dates.)

A really good story with several nice elements. First we have the prejudice of the women of the town, judging Jonah and Mei Ling both by their appearance, next we have the prejudice that Mei Wong displays to the extent of disowning his sister. Is it narrow-mindedness or pride on their parts? Probably both, pride in the their town and pride in the family name of Mei. Oddly enough, Mei Ling is now an outcast in to worlds, the west and her family, not unlike the outcast that Jonah Hex himself is.

Jonah tries to keep his promise and actually does the honorable thing trying to save the town. Ling doesn't go off on Jonah, she realizes that this is his past dogging him, not Jonah actively pursuing the violence (that will happen later). It was a short 17 page story (there is also a SCALPHUNTER backup story) but it was well crafted.

One last thing, Chinese names put the surname first, so Mei Ling's family name is Mei and her first name is Ling. I will probably refer to her as Mei Ling (mostly to help searches land here) but most of the time I'll refer to her as Ling.

Next Issue: The happy couple goes house hunting, so somebody is gonna end up dead.

Jonah Hex #44 "Showdown of the Century"

Jonah Hex #44 Jan. 1981
"Showdown of the Century"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Joe Kubert, cover

Part 3 of our epic (and the start of basically an almost 50 issue run) has Jonah Hex and Marshall J.D. Hart pulling themselves out of the river and the Spast boys are drawing a bead on them. Hart is hit first and Jonah runs over to him, throws him over his shoulder and heads back to the river. Before Jonah can make it to the safety of the water, he too, is hit and crashing through the cat-tails before they both sink below the surface.

The Spast boys search for the bodies which never surface so the brothers leave, convinced they have killed both the lawman & the bounty hunter. However, Hex and Hart have both survived by breathing through the broken cat-tails that Hex grabbed as they went down. Hart, with a head wound ends up getting carried by Jonah for several miles before they can find a farmhouse.

The farmer treats Hart's head wound and Jonah's shoulder wound. He also tells Hex that both of their horses showed up a couple of hours earlier. Probably because the Apache thinks it is bad medicine to keep belongings of those that escape. Jonah writes a note and tells the farmer to give it to Hart when he comes to. Jonah then mounts up and heads for Feldon's Gap.

Meanwhile, Mei Ling is leaving the farmhouse where she has been recovering and she is heading for Feldon's Gap as well to check on Jonah. Her leg, badly sprained and not broken, is only slightly bothering her to the point where she has to use crutches to get around. She drives a buggy into town and hobbles into the saloon asking about the whereabouts of Jonah Hex.

Sadly, the Spast brothers are at the saloon and they inform her that Jonah Hex is dead and that they are supposed to 'take care' of any women that come asking about Hex. Mei Ling starts crying and demanding that they release her when Jonah walks into the saloon. The Spast brothers grab Mei Ling, using her as a shield but she ends up biting the hand of the brother holding her. Jonah shouts for Mei Ling to hit the floor. She hits the floor, crying "Jonah, please".

Jonah opens fire, shooting over Mei Lings body and killing all four of the Spasts. Jonah tells Mei Ling that he has to clear himself of the murder charge and then he'll be done with the gunfighting.

J.D. Hart has come to and is having dinner with the farmer and his family. Suddenly a lit lantern comes crashing through the window and sets the cabin on fire. Hart tells them to smother the flames and the farmer explains that he is being run off of his property. Hart has the farmer help him up the chimney with a rifle.

Outside, several men on horseback are firing into the house, waiting for the family to come out. Hart makes it to the roof and jumps off the roof, knocking out two of the men. He punches out another one, clubs a fourth on the head with the rifle, knocks out a fifth and shoots the rifle out of the hands of the last man. he takes them all into custody and they head off for Feldon's Gap.

Back in town, Mayor Bilgewater is worrying. Worrying about the plan to run people off their land before word leaks out about the railroad coming through, worrying about getting rid of Jonah Hex, worrying about J.D. Hart possibly learning about everything. His cohort walks in and tells him that Hart is in town and is gunning for Hex, so all of their worries may be over.

Out in the street, Hart has called Hex out and is arresting him. Hex protests that he has been framed but Hart is having none of it. Hart pulls his gun and Jonah pumps three quick rounds into him. A doctor runs out into the street, leans over Hart and announces that he is still breathing. Hex kicks the doc in the ribs, stands over Hart and coldly plants another slug into the downed lawman.

Bilgewater's cohort, having witnessed the entire thing, runs back to the mayor and explains that everything has gone to hell. Just then Hex walks in and sits down. Jonah tells them that he is on to them and since he is getting married, he wants whatever cut that Sugar Wallace was getting, plus a third of the bank loot. They tell Jonah their entire plan, including killing Jeffries and that's when Jonah asks if J.D. heard everything.

Hart walks in and Jonah states that they have just done the greatest performance since the Booth brothers played Hamlet. The entire shootout was a ruse to make the banker and his bunch think that Hart was dead and then confess to framing Jonah. Hart arrests the men and takes them to jail.

The next day, Jonah and Mei Ling are strolling and talking with Hart. Hart says that he's glad the shootout was fake since he didn't want to go up against Jonah. Jonah states that there will be no question as to who will be the fastest gun since he will be hanging his pistols up. Mei asks Hart to stay for the wedding, but J.D. has trouble up in Lincoln county that he has to handle. Jonah mentions that they may settle here since Mei Ling has a brother in the area.

Jonah and Mei Ling ride off in a buckboard and J.D. Hart, watching them leave, ponders at the strangeness of Jonah hanging up his guns. He knows that some men get settled down "but other men, and I think Jonah is one of them, well, it seems like the good Lord above just did not mean for them to be happy."

More ominous words were never written.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4
Running total - 303
Jonah's Injuries - Shot in left shoulder
Timeline - This one spans two days with the bulk of the action taking place in the first day and then the next day Jonah & Mei Ling riding off. What year does it happen? No clues here but we'll probably have to come back and retrofit a year in here somewhere.

Of the three issues in this arc, I enjoyed this one the best. The art was better and we didn't see so much of Hart's homelife, so it wasn't so sappy goody goody where he was concerned. I do wonder about the fake shootout that has no blood. How believable could that have been, especially since Jonah shot Hart at point blank range after he kicked the doctor outta the way?

Next Issue: "Blood Wedding"! What else do I hafta say?

Jonah Hex #43 "Death by Fire!"

Jonah Hex #43 Dec 1980
"Death by Fire!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Gerald Forton, art - Joe Kubert, cover

Part 2 of our 3 part epic opens with Marshall Hart looking at the body of Banker Jeffries while the murderers explain that Jonah Hex is the man that robbed the bank and killed Jeffries. Hart makes special note of the bullet wounds and then heads over to the jail to check in on the killer, Spast, that he caught last issue.

While at the jail, Spast tells Hart that his three brothers will be gunning for Hart. Hart shrugs it off and leaves the jail, only to find the aforementioned brothers waiting outside for him. They draw on him and Hart shoots all three of them in their gun hands and then loads them up in the jail.

Meanwhile, Jonah has taken the doc to the house where Mei Ling is. The doc announces that Mei Ling is only suffering from a sprain and bruise and that she'll need to use crutches for a few days.
Once the doc leaves, Jonah goes in and he and Mei Ling talk about their love for each other. Mei says that she will stay with Jonah forever, only if he gives up a life of violence. Jonah agrees but he says that he has a commitment to hunt down the killer of banker Jeffries.

Hours later, Jonah is searching for tracks but can't find any (probably because there are none, since the killers are still in town). Suddenly he has a lariat thrown over him and he is pulled off his horse. Marshall Hart got the drop on Hex and makes him drop his gunbelt and inspects his pistols. Seeing that Jonah only has his .44 Dragoons and his rifle, Hart mentions that the bullet wounds were of a smaller caliber. Jonah states that it's obvious that someone is trying to frame him. Hart decides to take Jonah in anyway to sort things out.

Meanwhile back in the jail with the Spast brothers one of them reveals a hollow heel in his boots and shows his brothers that he had gunpowder. They put the gunpowder in a cigar, tie the cigar to the bars in the window and manage to blow a hole big enough for them to squeeze through.


Back to Hart & Hex. Jonah is handcuffed and he and the Marshall stop at a river to get some water for themselves and the horses. They are suddenly set upon by several Apache. hart ends up shooting one in the head and Jonah battles one in the river, drowning him. Hart & Hex are overpowered and the Apache recognize the Mark of the Demon that Jonah bears. There is a three page recap of issue 7 and issue 8 covering Jonah's past and his scarring.

When they arrive in the Apache camp, the chief orders them tied up and burned at the stake. The Indians club the two men unconscious and tie them to a stake. Hex and Hart come to when the fire is blazing pretty well . Hart comes up with a way for them to escape. They gouge each others wrists until they bleed and the blood causes their rawhide bonds to stretch. Suddenly freed, Jonah & Hart beat the living tar outta the Indians with Jonah saving Hart's life.

The two run from the camp and jump off a cliff into the river below. Jonah ends up hitting his head on a rock, knocking himself out. Hart pulls him to shore and the issue ends with the Spast brothers drawing a bead on Hart & Hex.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2 Indians
Running Total - 299
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out 3 times. ouch!
Timeline - Well, it is right after the prior issue, so until we can determine when that was exactly, I'll have to leave this one blank.

Once again, Forton's artwork is so jarring that I have not been able to get into this book at all. The character of Hart hasn't aged well either. Hart is the stereotype of the TV cowboy hero, he only shoots the gunhand, he has a sweet aunt, he has some sort of younger brother. I'm convinced that the man doesn't have blood, he's so sweet he has syrup in his veins! I'm guessing that he was supposed to be a polar opposite of Hex, but fans wanted Jonah Hex,, the hideous bounty hunter. If they wanted J. D. Hart they could have picked up old copies of Gold Key westerns for crying out loud.

Boy, I'm liking this story arc less and less.

Next Issue: Jonah's dead, Hart's dead, Mei Ling is crying on a saloon floor and the Booth brothers (John Wilkes & Junius Brutus) get involved. Oh, and DeZungia is back. YAY!

Weird Western Tales #33 "Day of the Tomahawk"

Weird Western Tales #33 Mar-Apr 1976
"Day of the Tomahawk"
Michael Fleisher, story - Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, art - Joe Kubert, cover

For starters, we get a Joe Kubert cover, the first of half a dozen that Joe did for WWT & Jonah Hex. Inside, the tale starts with where we left off, with Jonah being held at knifepoint. There is a quick recap and Jonah is tied to a large log. Jonah asks Bigfoot when did brave Paiutes start kidnapping women. Bigfoot explains that Haynes has been lacing the watering holes with strychnine to drive the Indians from their land. Bigfoot plans to use the ransom money to get guns and ammo to start a war against the whites. Jonah tells Bigfoot not to do it because he will do nothing but lose that war. Bigfoot then Indian Pimpslaps Jonah. For a warrior, Bigfoot is really into slapping people around.

The next morning, Bigfoot instructs his men to tie Jonah to the nearest mound of flesh-eating ants. Jonah, not wanting to wait until he is taken to South America to die, decides to goad Bigfoot some more by calling him a mighty kidnapper of women. Bigfoot says that if Jonah wants to fight like a warrior, he will die like a warrior. Jonah accepts, figuring that anything is better than the anthill.

Each man is given a tomahawk and a 12 foot rope is tied to their right ankle, joining them together. Bigfoot demonstrates that by snapping his right leg, he can pull Jonah off balance to gain the advantage. The fight starts with Jonah unsuccessfully trying to pull Bigfoot over. Bigfoot counters by yanking Jonah over but Jonah rolls away. While Bigfoot taunts him, Jonah jerks Bigfoot's leg out from under him and throws his tomahawk. Bigfoot rolls to the side, grabs the rope with his hand (a violation of the rules?), toppling Jonah and then readies to bury his tomahawk into Jonah's head. Only the shout of one of the Indians stops Bigfoot. The Indian shows that Jonah's tomahawk hit a rattlesnake that was about to strike, Jonah saved Bigfoot's life.

Jonah explains that he would get $5,000 for bringing Bigfoot in alive, he couldn't let the snake kill him. Jonah takes Debbie & gets on his horse. Bigfoot warns that his debt to Jonah is now paid & if he sees Jonah again, Jonah will die.

Jonah returns Debbie to Haynes and when Haynes inquires about Bigfoot, Debbie tells how Jonah saved the Indian's life. Jonah questions Haynes about the poison and he denies it. Jonah then rides off to bring Bigfoot in alive. Haynes sends some of his men to follow Jonah and when Jonah leads them to Bigfoot, kill Jonah & bring the Indian in alive. Then he'll let the men divvy up what he was going to pay Hex.

For three days and nights, Haynes men follow Jonah. On the fourth day, Jonah is looking down into a valley containing a cave. Haynes men ride up and threaten to kill Jonah, but he explains that they would never be able to get Bigfoot out of that cave. Jonah says that he might be able to talk Bigfoot into surrendering. Haynes men agree to the plan and let Jonah walk down to the cave, waving a white handkerchief. But they are planning on using some dynamite to kill Hex and Bigfoot both.

Hex makes it to the cave and Bigfoot comes out, threatening him. Jonah tries to explain the situation to him, how Haynes men are wanting to kill them all, but Bigfoot thinks it is a trick. Bigfoot posts his men as guards at the mouth of the cave and he and Jonah go deeper inside to talk. By this time, Haynes goons have gotten the dynamite ready and they light it and toss it in front of the cave. The explosion kills Bigfoot's men and seals the cave closed.

Inside, Bigfoot shows Jonah a back way out and they use it to sneak up behind Haynes men. Two of them draw on Jonah and Bigfoot but Jonah finishes them off. The other men quickly confess to poisoning the water holes at Haynes direction. Jonah ties them all up and then tries to take Bigfoot's rifle in order to take him back for kidnapping Hayne's daughter.Bigfoot quickly knees Jonah in the gut & takes off running. Jonah grabs his pistol and fires several times, missing Bigfoot every time. In the last panel, two of Hayne's men, being led back to town by Hex, consider the possibility that Jonah let Bigfoot escape on purpose.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2
Running Total - 92
Jonah's Injuries - slapped twice & kneed in the gut
Timeline - Not a lot to go one here. Just a general Jonah Hex story.

This is a great multi-part Jonah Hex story, mostly because of the Lopez art. Sure seeing Jonah fight a bear and the tomahawk battle were great, but it was the Lopez art that keeps me flipping through the book again & again. I'd like to scan the whole thing and post all of it, but I have a life & it doesn't cost much to get a copy on ebay. The story had enough twists to warrant two issues even though the multipage recap ate up a lot of space.

And finally, because I completely forgot about Beefcake/Cheesecake week, I offer this: Beefcake & Cheesecake together.Next Week: A Dime Novelist, a competing bounty hunter, a noose for Jonah, and the Death of a Bounty Hunter!

Weird Western Tales #12 "Promise to a Princess"

Weird Western Tales #12 June-July 1972
"Promise to a Princess"
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art - Joe Kubert, cover.

Jonah is having breakfast when two gunmen walk into the saloon and threaten to shoot him. Jonah kills both of them without leaving his seat by shooting under the table. The townspeople, led by Mr. Craig, decide they have had enough of the dangerous Hex and plan on lynching him.

Just then a horse comes into town with a dead rider that has an arrow in his back. Jonah leaves town during the confusion. Now the townspeople have to decide what to do about the Indian problem.

The next day, while Jonah is bathing in a stream, Little Fawn, a Pawnee princess (who appears to be about 9 or 10), grabs Jonah's gun and kidnaps him. With the help of her wolf, Iron Jaws, she directs Jonah back to her tribes location. While they are crossing a bridge, the brigde breaks and Little Fawn accidentally shoots Jonah in the left shoulder. Jonah rescues her from the river and takes her back home.


At the tribe's village, Jonah learns that Mr. Craig has delivered blankets treated with small pox to the tribe. Craig is just waiting for the tribe to die. While Jonah & the chief are talking, Little Fawn faints from small pox. Jonah decides to find a doctor & get some medicine. While leaving the village, Jonah kills at least two of Craigs men that are watching the village.

It takes almost two days for Jonah to catch up with the doc, but he gets some medicine & goes back to the village. The entire village is dead but it's unclear if it is the work of the pox or Craig's men. Jonah finds Little Fawns body and then makes a vow over her grave that he will make Craig pay.

Jonah rides back to town to discover that the town is infected with small pox and that Craig is dying. Jonah gives Craig the medicine and just as Craig is about to drink it, Jonah shoots the bottle in Craig's hand, thus dooming him to die from the pox. Jonah gets on his horse, General, and takes Iron Jaw the wolf & leaves town.



Stats for the issue
Killed by Jonah:
Shot - 4
Doomed to die by smallpox - 1
Running Total: 17
Jonah's injuries:
Shot in left shoulder
Timeline: Since the Pawnee Indians were moved from Nebraska to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in 1874, this would be one of the earlier stories taking place between 1866 & 1874.

A good issue with Jonah showing compassion for the helpless and those being treated unfairly.There were several large panels in the artwork with two splash pages. He was pretty ruthless by allowing Craig to think he was saved and then destroying the medicine in front of him. The terrain didn't resemble Nebraska, but some folks don't bother to research where various Indian tribes lived. This issue also had an El Diablo story, a Bat Lash story, and a Pow-Wow Smith reprint.

Next Issue: The Prodigal Son goes absolutely stark raving bananas.