Jonah Hex V2 #54 "Shooting Stars"

 Jonah Hex V2 #54 June '10

"Shooting Stars"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet - art & cover

Jonah is outside, reclining against a large boulder, finishing off a bottle of something that makes him feel a lot better. Suddenly a bullet smashes the bottle to bits, bathing Hex in liquor. He wipes his face, snarls and unfurls his pistol, shooting towards the rocks the shot came from. He strikes a rock, sending shards into a gunman's eye and the man panics and starts wandering around. His two companions decide to make tracks as the injured man topples over the edge of the rocks.

Hex sees him fall and soon is standing over him. The man tells Hex to go ahead and shoot him but Jonah says he thinks someone has a bigger beef to settle. The man looks down to see a disturbed rattlesnake poised to strike towards the man's crotch. Jonah lights up a smoke and we hear a scream. Then we see Jonah dragging the large man away towards a horse.

Jonah drags the man into town behind his horse and pulls up in front of the sheriff's office. The banker and the sheriff stand outside and the banker notes that three men robbed the bank, but Hex has returned with inly one. Jonah notes that is one more than Sheriff Kane, there, managed to bring in. Kane is none to pleased at the comment but Hex doesn't care. Jonah tells the banker to get the reward. There is a sack on the horse that contains all the gold that was purloined from the bank and he really only needs the bounty from one man rather than all three, so he let the other two go.

Kane asks if Hex let them go or they got away. Jonah doesn't take the sheriff's tone lightly and quickly draws when the sheriff draws his weapon. Hex tells him to calm down, the banker saw him draw first and he just wants his money. 

Later Hex is drinking his reward money when a woman comes up and asks him to help her celebrate her birthday. Hex turns and recognizes Chula! He asks what she is doing so far north and she explains that her brother ran off with the woman who has no lips and she was sent to stay with "sister espinoza" who is upstairs making a prospector happy. Chula says she thought she saw Jonah on a white horse with a black spot on her face and Hex says that is Sally, he won her in a bet a few weeks ago. Chula says someone just rode off with her.

Hex runs out the door and can only find a poor jackass tied up to the hitchin' post and offers to buy it for $10. Chula says she was willing to sell it for $5, but whatever. Hex pays up and manages to get on the jackass and finally gets it to take off utilizing an old joke. Sadly the jackass is uncontrollable and eventually tosses Jonah into the brush far outside of town. 

Hex, unable to stand soberly, passes out where he lies and falls asleep.

Some time later a shadowy figure arrives, recognizes Hex and places a blanket over him. The man then rides into town to finish some business. 

The next morning Hex is awakened by gunfire as two men ride up on him. It's the other two bank robbers and Hex quickly grabs his pistols and shoots both men just as Starman rides up. As they start talking, one of the robbers is slowly dying is a very loud fashion and Jonah deals with a distraction by tossing another bullet into the man. Hex asks if Starman is now collecting bounties. Hex notes that there is still a price on Starman's head and Jonah ain't none too pleased with him. Starman replies with the fact that he led the two robbers right to Jonah so they might be even if he cuts Jonah in on the reward.

Hex observes that nobody 'cuts' him in on anything and Starman relents that they'll be even if Hex buys him dinner at the saloon. Hex agrees saying he'll take the bodies in but Starman should lay low because the sheriff in town is a piece of work. Starman already knows about Sheriff Kane.

As Hex rides into town, dragging in the two fresh corpses, the town is gathered around the jail where folks are cutting down the noose around Sheriff Kane's neck. There are other lawmen there and the banker brings Hex to their attention. The head lawman, Dunn, asks where Hex was last night and Jonah says it's none of his business. Suddenly Hex is staring down the barrels of several firearms and ends up in jail.

Hex tells the lawman to talk to Chula, she can back up his story and why the hell would he come back to a town where he killed the sheriff? The lawman says maybe he was trying to be smart and collect the bounty on the two robbers and since the banker says that Hex and the lawman's brother-in-law (Sheriff Kane) had words....

Jonah is pretty ticked off at how things are going down and the lawman says that HE will be judge, jury and executioner and then asks the others ask if they heard Hex confess to killing Kane. Every one, to a man, sides with the lawman. Even the banker. Jonah, behind bars, grumbles that they are all making a big mistake.

Meanwhile, in the saloon, Chula and the Starman are sharing a drink at a table. She asks who the third glass at the table is for and Starman says it is for his friend Jonah. She replies that first he tells her that Hex saved his life when he was a kid, next he asks her to get Hex drunk so he can set up Hex and now they are going to have dinner with Hex? Starman says it's no problem, just a nice dinner. Just then a man runs in the saloon and says that Jonah Hex has been captured for the killing of Sheriff Kane and there will be a hanging tonight. Starman is caught off guard and tells Chula there is a change of plans and he needs a favor from her.

Four deputies are out front of the jail. They talk about getting their money from the banker, and being sure that the punch Hex in the mouth several times so he doesn't rat them out. Just then a runaway horse comes racing down the street with Chula mounted atop it. She is screaming that she cannot stop the horse. The deputies being men, jump out in front of the horse, stop it, and then help Chula dismount. They continue to fawn over her, not paying any attention to the jail or Hex within.

Starman sneaks up to the cell window. He gives Hex his pistols, explaining that he did give Hex the bounties but he didn't expect Dunn to get back to town so quickly and now that Hex has his pistols, the two of them are even. Hex replies that they haven't begun to be even. Starman chuckles and agrees, leaving.

The deputies are still oogling Chula when one, Jim, gets instructed to rough up Hex and then bring him out. Jim goes in, unlocks the cell and Hex draws down on him then smashes Jim's mouth with his pistol. Hex calmly walks out, greets the three remaining deputies surrounding Chula and swiftly guns them down, leaving Chula unharmed.

Dunn and two other deputies are in the bank, getting paid by the banker, and they hear the gunfire. Dunn tells his men to go see what is going on. As they exit the bank, Starman guns them down, sending them falling backwards through the bank windows. Hex rides up and asks about Dunn. Starman says he is still inside. As Hex approaches, Dunn grabs the banker and uses him as a human shield. Dunn holds a pistol to the banker's head and tells Hex to back off or the banker is dead. Everyone knows Hex doesn't kill innocent men.

Jonah replies that's true because he ain't that bad of a shot and then plants a single round right between Dunn's eyes.

Later in the saloon, Hex and Starman are sharing a bottle. Starman explains that Kane had hired a few men to rob the bank he was 'protecting'.  He would show the town what a good sheriff he was by quickly capturing the 'crooks' and he would skim off some of the loot. Dunn and others with him had this scheme going in about eleven towns. Starman knew that he had to get Kane away from his home town and if Dunn got into a fix, then Kane would show up. But then Hex showed up.

The banker walks in with payment, I assume for Hex, and asks if he can interrupt. He asks if Chula must be there and she asks if he doesn't like girls. She kisses Starman and he tells her to wait upstairs. She glances at Hex and says some men must know how to treat a woman. Hex says that her parents should be so proud. 

After the banker leaves, Starman and Hex stand outside in the night. Starman notes how clear the sky is, so many stars. Hex says that they all got lucky. Starman says that the banker cleared Hex's name but he himself will need to head south to Mexico for a bit. Hex asks him that Starman's obsession with his father's death at the hands of authorities is going to end, and then stops with a realization. Starman says things are fine.

He notes that Hex is a killer too. They both fulfill a need, taking up the chores that lesser men are too afraid to do, too afraid of losing what they have. Their common trait is that they don't care what happens to themselves. Starman lights a cheroot and thanks Hex for worrying about him. Once they care for something, someone takes it all away. Hex mounts up, tells Starman he talks too much, and rides off.

Chula appears at the saloon doors and asks Starman if he is coming up, is he okay. He says he is just thinking and for her to go inside, he'll be there in a minute. After a time he glances up at the room's window, Chula outlined in the lamp glow and next we see him riding away from town, underneath a massive moon and a sky full of stars.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Six
Running Total - 884 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 382 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Thrown from a mule.
Timeline - Possibly two days.
Rape Percentage -  20% (11 of 54)

I enjoyed this one. While Palmiotti and Gray specialized 'one & done' stories, it is always nice to see Hex stumbling across folks from other tales. It makes it unexpected and adds to the lore of Jonah. Bernet's artwork, is rough and scratchy, perfect for the old west. It reminds me of Sam Glanzman's work in the DC Army books.

I'm still not sure why Hex had this reaction. Maybe because I'm not seeing a parallel between Starman and Hex. Jonah doesn't have an obsession. Turnbull does, Bruce Wayne does... Jonah? Not that I can recall.

Starman, however, looking up at Chula and then leaving, left a lot to ponder. Did he leave because he loves her and doesn't want to lose her to death and misfortune? Did he recognize that he had no attachment to her at all? So many possibilities.

Next Issue: Hex gets into trouble when he takes a young boy under his wing.

Jonah Hex V2 #52 "Too Mean to Die"

 Jonah Hex V2 #52 Apr '10

"Too Mean to Die"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet - art and cover 

Night, a downpour in a swamp, possibly on the Gulf coast. Jonah Hex is bleeding and eventually comes upon a cabin with light issuing forth. As he approaches, he hears the cry of an infant and spying through the window he sees the mother put the child to her breast. He gently knocks on the door, stating he is alone and wishes nobody any harm, looking only for shelter and food. After some silence, he says he is leaving.

 

The door opens, a rifle barrel extends and the woman states she is well skilled in the use of the rifle. She lets Hex in and puts the baby to bed. Jonah shows her his empty pistol and hands it to her. He asks where her husband is and she states he is dead, she guesses. He left to look for gold after the war. She starts examining Hex's wound, asking who shot him. Jonah says it wasn't anyone special. She doesn't have any liquor to dull the pain and is not much of a surgeon so Jonah tries to guide her through it. He offers a knife and stitching supplies in his saddlebag that he brought.

 

They exchange names, she is Maisy Rae and she eventually extracts the bullet and sews Jonah up. She offers Jonah some beans on the stove and then picks the child back up. She notes that Jonah fought for the Confederacy  and mentions she lost her two brothers in that war. She also lost her parents, her mother to 'the cough' and her father to consumption. Folks don't seem to live long around her. Jonah says that the same predicament surrounds him as well.

 

Maisy asks about Jonah's family and he says he doesn't think about them much, his wife left with their boy not long ago. Maisy says that since she saved, or extended, his life he could relate a tale of his life since he appears to have many in store. Jonah says that since she asked who shot him, he will go with that one....

 

Jonah is riding through the swamp when he spies a crow or a bird of prey tangled in a string on a stick. The bird is trying to free itself. Jonah dismounts and approaches the bird when he is ambushed and falls to the ground. A young man, possibly a teenager, emerges from the brush, unties the bird, who hops onto his arm, and then approaches Hex. As the boy rolls Hex over he finds himself staring down a pistol barrel. The kind punches Jonah in the wound. Jonah gets off a shot that goes wild and the two wrestle on the ground, with five more shots being fired, none finding their mark. The kid starts gouging out Jonah's eyes and Jonah grapples for a rock and swings it against the boy's temple, killing him. 

 

Hex, groggy and bleeding, pulls himself out from under the dead boy and hears shouts of "JAMES! JAMES!" from off in the swamp. Jonah grabs his saddlebag and shoos his horse away and takes off into the swamp. Three brothers, Elliot, another wearing a bowler, and a third with an overbite, arrive upon James' corpse. They realize that they must avenge James death and they see through Jonah's attempt to distract them with the horse running off. They know they are tracking a man on foot through the swamp.

 

Jonah continues through the swamp, shedding his jacket, crawling through the roots of ageless cypress trees. Bowler and Overbite follow the trail as far as they can, noting that the blood in the water will draw gators. They ponder where Hex might be holed up, observing there are two spots, the Whillacker's place and the widow. They decide to take James home, get the dogs and return to dish out their wrath.

 

Hex surfaces from the swamp, covered in leeches. As he stops to pull them off a gator makes his move. Jonah dodges the initial attack, rassles it down and then takes off.

 

Maisy is aghast and orders Hex from the cabin instantly. Hex says he isn't going to hurt her but she says that he has put her and the baby in danger. Those three are crazy and if they think she helped him... The baby starts crying and Maisy opens the door for Jonah to leave but the brothers are standing on the porch holding a coil of rope. Maisy said she had no idea what had happened but the order her to grab her baby and come outside. They start escorting Jonah through the door and when he protests Maisy's innocence he gets a punch in the gut from Bowler. Bowler takes Overbite's rifle and orders him to drag Maisy and the brat outside. Bowler gives Hex a kick to the gut and we hear a rifle shot from the cabin. Overbite screams and Bowler and Elliot head into the cabin, stupidly ignoring Hex.

 

Maisy tells them to stay outside, Overbite is alive, but won't be if they enter. Hex rises up behind Elliot, sneaks his pistol from the holster and shoots him in the back of the head. Bowler turns and catches a slug in the eye. Jonah drops the pistol and enters the doorway, holding his side. Overbite is holding the child by the neck and Maisy has the rifle trained on him. Overbite tells Hex to leave or the child's neck will be snapped. Jonah doubts the threat, asking if Overbite is a robber and a baby killer? If the baby dies, it won't be Maisy what finishes Overbite.

 

Overbite responds that if he lets the baby go Hex will shoot him anyway. Jonah says it doesn't matter how it goes down, it isn't his kid. Maisy is astonished, after how she helped Hex. Jonah says he ain't dead and that is all that matters. Jonah reaches out for the rifle, saying he is fed up with her yapping. Meanwhile Overbite is trying to get their attention, saying he will kill the kid. Jonah and Maisy wrestle over the rifle when it suddenly goes off, killing Overbite with quick efficiency. 

 

Overbite lies dead, the baby sitting alive on his chest. Maisy stutters ".... you.... we shot my...." Jonah takes the rifle and says that when a man like that comes in the house, you don't wound him, you kill him. Maisy says the choice wasn't as simple as that. Hex observes that deep in the swamp there ain't that many people to rob, those men just liked the killing and things are making sense. A beautiful woman like Maisy left alone in the swamp is an easy target, but here she is, unharmed. 

 

Maisy tells him to leave, Jonah only cares about killing. She can see why his wife left him. Jonah tells her to cast judgement if she must. He exits, and standing in the rain he turns and tells her to bury her kin.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Four
Running Total - 864 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 362 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Shot and beaten.
Timeline - One day. After Mei Ling has left, so probably 1877
Rape Percentage -  21% (11 of 52)

Jonah has had a few run-ins in swamps and all of them were full of murderous families. At least this one didn't have a huge waterfall. This story, overall was pretty good. I enjoy Jordi's artwork and he has a knack of making people have a unique look so they are easy to identify from page to page. The interaction between Jonah and Maisy was a delight, both were wary of each other, not wanting to let their guard down and the reveal at the end where Maisy is married to Overbite was really icing on the cake. The whole issue flowed very nicely and had a good atmosphere. One small point I noticed is that Jonah showed compassion to the 'trapped' bird, leading to his ambush. Jonah has feelings for animals because they are innocent (except for bears and gators and sharks and wolves and anything else that attacks him) and has had ever since he was a kid.

Next Issue: A saloon girl, a train, and a double cross.

Jonah Hex V2 #42 "Shooting the Sun"

 Jonah Hex V2 #42 May '09

"Shooting the Sun"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet - art and cover

Colorado, We see three men standing in the street, sun to their backs. Hex is facing them, a chain on his wrist, and an old drunk looks onward from a nearby porch. The viewpoint whips around and we realize that Jonah Hex is chains to two large iron balls, each dragging his hands to his sides, unable to reach his pistols.

We flash back a few decades to Woodson Hex learning young Jonah how to be fast with a gun. (I just had a flashback myself to when my dad would ask if I wanted to be taught or learned. I asked what the difference was. He explained that being taught was a lot less painful.) The method Woodson is using is to have Jonah reach for a pistol on the table and Woodson tries to smash Jonah's hand with a wooden rod before he grabs the gun. Ginny starts to reprimand Woodson and he tells her to be quiet and she leaves. Then Woodson has Jonah try again with the other hand.

Later that night, Woodson is sitting on the porch with a bottle speaking to Jonah who is out in the yard. He tells of his own father being a real bastard, and the day Grandpa Hex died, Woodson went into town and tied one on. That was the day he met Virginia. We see that Jonah is standing in the dark, a large rock tied to each wrist and he is having to stand with his arms straight out from his sides. Virginia stares out the window and when Woodson falls alseep, she goes out in the dark, unties the rocks and holds Jonah close, her tears falling in his hair.

Cut back to present day. Hex stares at the three gunmen and the old man sits on the porch, lighting up a smoke. Flashback to the past and the next morning. Woodson awakes and asks Jonah how he is doing. Jonah is still holding the rocks aloft and Woodson goes out to him. He then notices the tracks in the dirt and realizes what Virginia had done. He goes into the house and commences to beat her. 

An unknown time later, Jonah and Woodson are riding into town. Woodson says that Virginia needs to learn her place and that he never wanted children. Now that he is saddled with Jonah, he is gonna be sure Jonah ain't no daisy. As the wagon rolls into town, a man is being assaulted in an alley and Woodson points out that the man is a daisy. Jonah says that the men are killing him. Woodson responds "So whut?"

They pull up in front of a saloon, Woodson tells Jonah to mind the wagon and then goes inside. Four local toughs show up and start hassling Jonah. He talks back and they pull him off the wagon, dragging him into an alley as a storm starts. They beat him with a large stick (possible an axe handle) and knock him out. Woodson shows up with a case of whiskey as Jonah comes to. Once again he tells Jonah to mind the wagon and he goes off to find the toughs.

He finds the four youths in a different alley and when they lip off, he smashes one in the teeth with the butt of a pistol and then proceeds to beat the ever-lovin' livin' hell out of all four of them. Leaving them lying in the mud he says "Never look for trouble with a Hex." Woodson returns to the wagon, coming up to a smiling Jonah and states "Now ya'll learn ta mind ME once we git on home."

Back at the farm, Jonah is forced to plow the field in the rain as his father lectures him about being weak, how he'll become string, and when Woodson thinks Jonah is ready, they'll go back to town and Jonah will sort those boys out, because a man should never have his father fight his battles.

Later that night, Virginia is asleep in bed and Woodson asleep at the dining table. Jonah is outside in the outhouse, urinating in his dad's whiskey bottle. He sneaks the bottle back to the table as Woodson asks what he is doing. Jonah says he was thirsty and got some water. Woodson says that whiskey will help him sleep better but Jonah turns him down. Woodson takes a long pull on the bottle, glares at Jonah, wiping his mouth. Jonah stares back and Woodson tells him to get to bed. Jonah obeys, with a happy smirk on his face.

Present day and the three men say they are gonna get on with it, to which Jonah starts laughing. They want to know what is so funny and Jonah points out that years ago, his father beat them senseless in that alley over there. They acknowledge that fact and that is exactly why they are doing this. They put out word about a fake bounty to lure Hex here so they could kill him and since his pa ain't there to save him....

The three men draw and fire and Jonah falls to his knees, the irons balls crashing into the dirt. The shots go over his head and with the chains slack, he draws and shoots all three men. 

He shoots the chain off his left hand and then gets up, holstering his pistols. He walks over to the men, bleeding in the street and as the ringleader raises his pistol, Jonah starts swinging the remaining ball and chain. "Never look fer trouble with a Hex." he says and then crushes the man's skull over and over again.

Jonah walks out of town, into the sun, ball and chain dripping blood into the sand. The old man on porch muses to himself "That boy is a mean son of a bitch."

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Three
Running Total - 753 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 251 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - As a kid, beat up by some kids and a lot of hand whacking by his dad
Timeline - Present day, probably just a few minutes, in the past, probably several days.
Rape Percentage -  24% (10 of 42)

This was a real good one. I always enjoy getting to see more of what drove Jonah to be what he is and so much of it was his abusive father. Not that I like seeing the abuse, but I appreciate the creation of the motivations of Jonah. 

Now I had to do a little bit of research on this one, just because Palmiotti and Gray write the way they do. First off, "Shoot the Sun.", I never heard this phrase before and it means to try something impossible because, well, it is impossible to actually shoot the sun. So what was the impossible task here? Was it trying to outdraw three men while your arms are shackles to a ball and chain? Was it surviving the abusive father?

Next up, one of the kids asks Jonah, "What's yer name, puke?" to which Jonah replies "Ah ain't no Missourian. Name's Jonah Hex." Which is a weird reply because Jonah IS from Missouri. I dug around as much as I could and could find no correlation as 'puke' being a specific slur for Missourians.

Then, during a conversation one of the thugs asks if anyone has a 'lundstrom' to which another asks 'A what?' EXACTLY!!! Is it a candy? A cigarette? Only thing I could find was a bookcase manufacturer. Guess I'll need to ask Justin and Jimmy to explain these last two.

On to the Hex family... the compassion that Virginia shows for her son is horribly gut wrenching. She tries to stand up to Woodson and when she can't she circumnavigates him, helping Jonah the only way she can. Her tears flow over him in the dark but none of that can wash away their pain.

And Woodson...what can be said of such and evil man who would beat his son and wife ruthlessly? And to top it off, I'm sure that Woodson knew that Jonah pee'd in the whiskey and either appreciated the subterfuge enough OR was so addicted to the bottle, that he drank it anyway. I also wonder what kind of man was Grandpappy Hex that would end up siring a reprobate such as Woodson. I'm sure there are some stories to be had there of the OG Hex around the time of Revolution. One more thing, on rereading this story, it dawned on me that the old man on the porch is actually Woodson himself, just sitting there, watching three men try to murder his son. True to his word, he doesn't intervene, watching the handiwork of his years of abuse play out.

Bernet, as always, has some top-notch work with this story. I would put this one on the Must Buy list. Also, this issue has a sneak peek of the Power Girl book, written by Palmiotti and Gray.

Next Issue: Jonah has a method of acquiring real estate in tough times

Jonah Hex V2 #38 "Hell or High Water"

 Jonah Hex V2 #38 Feb '09

"Hell or High Water"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet - art and cover 

We see a bloodied Jonah taunting an unknown man. The man kicks Jonah in the teeth and punches him once again. We go to the splash page with the man standing over the prone Jonah, out in the desert. He takes a big drink from one of his two canteens and starts waxing poetic about democracy and the frontier. 

Hex croaks a question about what the hell the man is talking about and the man explains that Hex, and his kind, are an infection to civilization and the world will soon be better once Hex departs from this realm. Jonah states that he has no idea as to who this man is or what turned him against Jonah.

The man calmly segues into his explanation, rolling back three years prior, to his days as a sheriff in the Dakotas in a town named Holsten but given a moniker of High Water, painting an idyllic picture with the purplest of prose. Jonah requests that the man just shoot him as opposed to talking him to death. The man explains that Hex WILL listen to the entire story before he is dispatched.

Back to the explanation, the sheriff recounts how Drew, the deputy, drops by and says that Pablo is at the saloon, waving his gun around. The sheriff tells of how he and his wife came to the gold town, were abducted by plains Indians for six months, how they escaped and how she subsequently never recovered from the ordeal, dying in shortly after bearing him a son that was not his own... Pablo. The sheriff walked into the saloon and tells Pablo to put away the gun that he is holding on a saloon girl. Pablo chuckles and continues pressing himself onto the woman and the sheriff backhands his son.

Pablo levels his pistol at his father and they have a staredown that ends with Pablo holstering his weapon. They leave together and the sheriff tells Pablo to change his ways otherwise he will run into someone who isn't afraid of him or his mouth. Pablo starts to tell his father something as five women ride up. The women, Rose, Daisy, Iris, Violet, and Magnolia, are bounty hunters and they produce a wanted poster for Pablo. The poster is for murder but they acknowledge he is also wanted for bank robbery and horse theft. 

The sheriff asks if this is true and Pablo he was driving cattle up from New Mexico. The sheriff takes his sons word for it and Rose indicates that he had better hand Pablo over to them. The sheriff refuses and after a furtive glance, both he and Pablo open fire, killing the five women. The sheriff quickly turns and shoots Pablo in the shoulder so as to lend credence to their alibi that the women shot first.

As townsfolk come running, the sheriff recounts the tale of how the women tried to rob them and has his son taken to the doctor. 

Hex interrupts the sheriff and gets a boot to the mouth for his trouble. The sheriff knew it was wrong but he couldn't let his son die, it would be like losing his wife all over again. Jonah still doesn't know how he fits into this puzzle, unless HE killed Pablo and doesn't remember. The sheriff confesses it wasn't Hex that felled his son, Pablo caused his own demise. Hex, lying in the sand, notices a snake under a nearby rock, and asks why, then, has the sheriff stalked him across the desert. The sheriff asks that Hex really doesn't remember him?!?!?

Back to the tale and we learn that Pablo is sent to his uncle Mort's but Pablo stopped in Red Mesa, got a drink and tried to rob the bank and was gunned down trying to escape. The day Pablo left High Water was the same day that Jonah came riding into town with three maimed men thrown over the back of a horse. These men were victims of the Klarkson sisters and Hex humiliated the sheriff in front of the town. The town leaders called for a vote and the sheriff was voted out with swift speed and driven from town just as quickly. 

Back to the present, the sheriff, taking another large drink tells how he heard more about Hex, going where he likes, doing whatever he wants with no repercussions at all and Jonah starts chuckling. The sheriff asks what is so funny? Hex will die of thirst and the sheriff will watch. He has tried to uphold civilization, lost his wife and child, his star and his town, while Hex went on his way. Jonah replies it is a good thing that the sheriff doesn't own a dog.

Jonah continues to laugh and that enrages the sheriff even more, grabbing Hex up and knocking him down again and again. With Jonah in the dirt, the sheriff decides to draw his pistol and finish the job, but Jonah reaches under the rock, grabs the rattlesnake and throws it at the sheriff.

The snake, doing what snakes do, bites the sheriff directly in the groin. The sheriff is able to extract the snake but the reptile slithers loose and strikes the sheriff in the face. Jonah struggles to his feet and takes a drink from a canteen. Jonah explains that he and the sheriff are directly entangled because Jonah encountered Pablo in Red Mesa after Pablo fell from his horse fleeing the bank. 

The sheriff of Red Mesa had told Jonah that Rose and the others were gunned down in self defense but Jonah was well acquainted with Rose and the "Wild Flower Bunch" and there was no way they would have lost a fair fight. Jonah knew they were after Pablo and Hex started questioning Pablo and Pablo ratted out his father in a flurry of confession. Jonah had tried to track down the sheriff to avenge Rose and the others, but he was long gone by the time Jonah got to High Water.

Jonah sits next to the dying sheriff as the vultures descend and comments that he normally hates scavengers but a bird has to eat like everyone else.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Two, the sheriff and obviously Pablo.
Running Total - 740 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 238 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Beaten to a pulp.
Timeline - With the flashback, three years all told.
Rape Percentage -  26% (10 of 38)

This was a very good tale, harkening back to the fallout of issue #26, addressing what happens to a town in the aftermath of Jonah. Once more, the dialogue is wonderful and evocative and drawing a good contrast between the sheriff, a man who sees everything as a tapestry, and Jonah of few words that cuts to the chase and uses action instead to make his point. Jordi gives us great art with the cover giving us an actual scene from the book (including the snake). The only downer is that I would have loved to see more of the Wild Flower Bunch (thus named because all the women are named for flowers), they were taken from us much too soon. But that testifies to the power of Palmiotti & Gray's writing that we want so much more from secondary characters.

Next Issue: A prison break, a temperance movement and there is a new sheriff in town.

Jonah Hex V2 #37 "Trouble Comes in Threes"

 Jonah Hex V2 #37 Jan '09

"Trouble Comes in Threes"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet - art and cover

Night, and Jonah is sitting in a mine with an old miner who keeps talking long after Jonah is done listening. The miner describes his family and all the dozen kids he has and that is why he is working so hard in the mine. Jonah quickly tells the man to lay down and be quiet as Jonah kills two men coming forward with guns drawn. Jonah hollers into the mine that the men behind him need to get back into the mine to continue working and for the rest of the bandits to come out. 

The men inside are discussing their problem and that all the gold they have ain't gonna do a lick of good if they are dead. Cully, the ringleader, gets an idea and hollers back to Hex that the brains behind the heist ( and who killed a Pinkerton earlier) is already dead and that they are surrendering. Hex tells them to throw down their arms and step out and they obey.

Three women; Daisy, Annie, and Kimiko, are trying to get their back pay from Clayton, the man who owns the circus (?) they work for. They try sweet talking and reason but Clayton grabs Daisy by the hair and slams her face into the desk. Annie draws her pistols and puts one bullet through Clayton's hat and the other through his sleeve. Daisy throws an uppercut to his jaw and Kimiko has her eagle attack just as Clayton draws his sidearm. His shot goes awry, shattering an oil lamp and setting the tent on fire.The ladies raid the cashbox before hightailing it out into the night.

Hex has delivered the three men from earlier to the local sheriff, but the sheriff explains that he hasn't got the bounty, it should be in on tomorrow's stage. Hex states he ain't patient and that he better have the money by morning and heads down the street. We see Betsy crossing the street to the jail and she is delivering food for the prisoners. The sheriff inspects the tray of food and gets a little flirty with her. As she hands the tray to the prisoners, Cully grabs the knife that was taped underneath the tray, grabs Betsy and holds her as a hostage.

The three men and Betsy then grab horses and take off out of town. As they are riding away, they come across the three female performers from the circus. They take note of each other when one of the men makes a snide comment. The women arrive at the jail and find the sheriff gagged and tied to a chair. They untie him and he explains what happened and how Hex brought them in once already. He is gonna get a posse together to retrieve the escapees. Daisy asks if he has a picture of the crooks and the sheriff produces a wanted poster. Daisy said they just saw them headed east. The sheriff says he is gonna grab Hex and head out but Daisy offers to get Hex while the sheriff gathers the posse.

Kimiko wonders why Daisy lied to the sheriff about the direction the men were headed. Daisy explains that the bounty on these men would put them in tall cotton but Annie knows about Hex and he wouldn't fall for an easy deception. She has a better plan to keep Hex occupied.

Annie strolls into the saloon with a very revealing top and starts flirting with Hex. Shortly thereafter, we see them in Hex's room upstairs having, ahem, finished round one. Just then there is a knock on the door and a man tells Hex that the prisoners have escaped and the sheriff took a few hours ago. Annie keeps clinging to Hex, trying to drag him back to bed, but he is having none of it. Annie finally has to resort to cracking him on the skull with an oil lamp.

Some time later Hex comes to, gagged and tied to a chair. He smashes the chair and confronts the man from earlier in the hallway. The man tells Hex he saw the woman heading south and Jonah heads out of town. 

Cully and his two men are robbing a stagecoach. His partners aren't wanting to add murder to their list of offenses and the family on the stage say they'll keep quiet if Cully leaves them with the stagecoach and some cash. A lawman on board explains that he will testify that they were robbed by Indians and they took the family and the coach (explaining why they are no longer around) and he'll do it for half the money the lawman has on him. Cully ain't keen on the plan, but his partners are trying to sway him with some money is better than all the money weighed down with murder. 

High above on a cliff is Daisy and Kimiko, watching on with binoculars.They are trying to figure out a plan of action to save the folks down there when Hex shows up with Annie bound and gagged and tossed over his shoulder. Kimiko tells Hex to put her down or her bird will kill him. Just then the eagle attacks Jonah from behind causing Jonah to discharge his shotgun. Everyone in the valley below hears the blast and Cully and his men decide to take off.

Kimiko calls off her eagle and Daisy unties Annie. Annie, enraged, rushes Jonah, he sidesteps and she tumbles over the edge. She ends up catching a tree sticking out of the cliff face but they can't reach her with rope or a whip. Finally the two women and Hex team up to form a human chain and along with the whip, pull Annie to safety.That's when Jonah looks into the valley and sees the bandits riding off.

Jonah and the women arrive in the valley and the family explains...

Jonah and the women part company.

Some time later we see the miner holding a lantern aloft when he encounters Jonah in the mine. Jonah explains that what happens in the mine doesn't leave the mine and he lifts a blanket to display several pouches of gold? Money? and asks if that would help the mans family. The miner states that it certainly would and Jonah walks off, reminding him that he can't say a word to anyone, EVER.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 2 

Running Total - 738 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 236 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out with an oil lamp.

Timeline - Two, maybe three days.

Rape Percentage - 24% (9 of 37)

I'm torn on this one. I really enjoyed Annie, Daisy, and Kimiko (would have liked to have seen more of Kimiko) and Jordi's artwork was a joy but the surrounding storyline with Cully, his men, and the miner was confusing and not very understandable. I have no idea what Jonah gave the miner, the money from Cully's stagecoach heist? Not sure. A better idea bookending the tale of the women would have put this one a notch higher on the enjoyment list.

Next Issue: A sheriff decides that Hex has to pay the final price.

Jonah Hex V2 #32 'The Matador'

Jonah Hex V2 #32 Aug '08

"The Matador"
Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet- art and cover

Spectacle of Blood and Sorrow 

Jonah is sitting at a bullfight in Mexico with Esteban and his wife, Rosa. Esteban states that he wants Hex to kill the man who "Stole my wife's heart and tasted her sweat". It is the matador, Carlos Rocca, the best in Mexico and who is about to face his adversary in the ring at that moment. Hex refuses and Esteban says he can't find anyone in Mexico that is willing to kill the most famous bullfighter in the country.

We watch the fight as Carlos spears the bull repeatedly and it finally expires. The crowd starts chanting for the bear to be released against a bull. Esteban explains the thrill of this conflict to Hex, and what the stakes are for the bear and how she is fighting to protect her cub from the bull. Hex wonders what all the fuss is about. Esteban got his woman back so why revenge?

Esteban's wife's veil falls revealing her face and that her lips have been cut off, leaving a gaping mouth of teeth.

Hex asks if the Matador did that and Esteban says "No" and shows Hex a knife.

In the ring, the bull charges the bear to the delight of the bloodthirsty crowd. The bear bites and slashes at the bull and they both die in the short contest. As the ring is cleaned up, Hex rises to leave. Esteban asks him to reconsider for if a gringo kills the matador, Esteban can rally his countrymen to fight back against the Americans that are invading his country. Hex refuses again and leaves.

Deaths Dancing Maidens

That night, Jonah stumbles into a graveyard, drinking. Suddenly he is surrounded by dozens of women in black shawls and they start dancing around him, finally pulling staffs from their cloaks and beating him. As he falls, a few pull pistols just as Jonah strikes his head against a tombstone and lapses from consciousness.

When You Mess with the Bull


Jonah awakens to find himself stripped and tied to a large target on the wall of the Bullring. Esteban is there, giving him one last chance to accept the offer. Hex tells him to get things over with because Hex is gonna get loose and kill him and all his bitches. Esteban laughs and tells Hex that he has prior commitments for Dia de Los Muetros, but Hex will be dead soon.

  Esteban and the women leave and a speared bull comes charging into the ring and crushes Jonah against the wall. The Bull backs up and hits him again.

Just then, Carlos, the matador, appears and lures the bull away. Carlos is about to kill the bull when Jonah asks him to stop.

Chula Maria Espinoza

Three weeks later...

Jonah is taking some target practice, left handed, against a suargo cactus, shooting off spines one at a time. A woman stands in the doorway of an adobe house, telling Jonah how watching him excites her. Jonah tells her to get back inside out of the heat. She keeps taunting him and we learn that she is Chula Maria Espinoza, the sister of Carlos, the matador. She continues to taunt Jonah and he keeps telling her to keep her distance. Finally he has to shoot at her feet to get her to back away. Hex grabs her and she fake swoons so Hex slaps her and threatens to tie her to a chair.

Carlos rides up with an extra horse. Jonah gets his gear assembled and mounts the horse. Carlos asks what Hex will do now and Jonah draws his gun and aims it at Carlos. Carlos stammers back that he saved Jonah's life, surely Hex can't turn on him now. Carlos said he didn't discard Rosa, Esteban has too many men for Carlos to kill himself. Hex tells Carlos that if someone cuts the face of the woman you love, you do something. Carlos offers to purchase Hex's services and Jonah refuses and rides off.

The Last Bullfight

A pack of wild dogs battle against a speared, bloody bull as Hex walks up and sits down next to a startled Esteban. Hex tells him he should have stuck around to make sure the bull finished things and Jonah stabs Esteban with his own knife. Esteban dies and Rosa hands Hex a bag of money. Hex tells her to keep it, this one is on him. Hex asks if she wants the bloody knife as a keepsake and she refuses. Hex gets up, turns to walk away and says "For whut it's worth, the matador still loves ya."

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - One, Esteban.
Running Total - 695 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 193 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Beaten over the head by the 'maidens' and his head strikes a tombstone. Then he is, well, not gored, but is crushed by a bull, twice.
Timeline - A day and a night, then three weeks recovery so let's say 22 days.

I liked this one a lot. Bernet's artwork added quite a bit to this one and one small thing was the gutters between the panels changed color, white for day, murky brown for the graveyard, blue for the night with the bull, and dark red for Esteban's death. It added the passage of time and an emphasis on what was happening. Nicely done.

I also enjoyed the characters, each one was unique and even Esteban's wife, though she said nothing, Bernet's portrayal of her spoke volumes. Even Chula, with her odd comedic interlude, was a joy to behold. All in all, an issue worth seeking out.

Next Issue: A hunting trip gone wrong, evil Mounties (but I repeat myself) and Darwyn Cooke

Jonah Hex V2 #30 "Luck Runs Out"

Jonah Hex V2 #30 June '08

"Luck Runs Out"
Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet- art and cover


Jonah is passed out on the desert sand, whiskey bottles spelling out his name. We are given a two-page sepia flashback of Jonah's life, leading us to this moment. His birth, his mother leaving, the abuse by his father, being sold to the Apache, the Civil War, his scarring, bounty hunting, meeting Mei Ling, Jason being born, Mei Ling leaving in the night with Jason, and finally, Jonah drinking himself into a passed out stupor in the town of Desperation.

Last Stop for the Damned

Desperation, population 10 6. The train pulls into the station and everyone in town perks up from their dreary lives. The people that get off the train are not the regular workers, they are Lucky Dave and his outfit. They kill the engineer as the train stops and Dave tells the station master to get everyone in town into a safe place where he can keep track of them.

  Dave tells Samson, Whitey and Belle to secure the townsfolk. Chuck and Gary will help Dave open the safe on the train. Dave figures they have a few days to get out of town before the Texas Rangers show up. Dave demands of the station master information as to how many horses are in town. He tells Dave that there is an old mare and then the horse that belongs to the fella sleeping off a drunk in the hotel. Just two horses.

  When Dave had scouted the town, there was a working stable. Now they are rethinking having killed the engineer.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

 Whitey, Belle, and Samson herd everyone over to the hotel so they can gather up the drunk. Samson heads upstairs and when he enters the room, he finds it empty. Jonah jumps out from behind the door and plunges a broken whiskey bottle into Samson's throat.

All Things in Moderation

  Back at the train, Chuck and Gary are questioning the amount of dynamite that Dave has placed around the safe. Dave assures them that he learned safe cracking from Wilcox Monroe (whom Gary remembers as missing fingers on his right hand). They back off a safe distance and light the fuse and blow the entire train to hell and back. The engine is damaged and all the boxcars are on fire.

  Dave hurls his hat to the ground in disgust, cursing a blue streak and Gary and Chuck start chuckling. Dave takes umbrage and guns them both down. Standing over their warm corpses, Dave states that there are two horses in town, one for him and one for Belle (which doesn't bode well for Whitey or Samson)

  Speaking of Samson, upstairs in the hotel, blood is spurting from his throat through the neck of the bottle. He pulls out the bottle and throws Jonah on the bed, strangling him. Jonah reaches up, into Samson's throat, and pulls out as much tissue as he can. Samson falls dead to the floor. Jonah stands up, finds a bottle, drains it.

  Downstairs, Whitey and Belle are getting nervous. Dave walks in and Whitey wants to know if the safe is open. Dave wants to know where Samson is. Whitey says Samson is still upstairs and Dave orders Whitey upstairs.

  As Whitey leaves, Dave whispers to Belle that Chuck and Gary used too much dynamite and destroyed everything. They have to grab the two horses and get out of town. Just then they hear a scream and Whitey's mutilated body crashes to the ground outside. Dave grabs Belle and heads outside. The smoke from the burning train can be seen for miles, drawing the Rangers straight to this town.

  They arrive at the stable and find the old mare....dead. Dave loses it and kicks the dead horse, only to have the side cave in and he gets his foot stuck in the rotting carcass. The townsfolk show up and grab Belle and Jonah enters the corral, gun drawn. Jonah wants to know who named Dave 'Lucky'. Dave states that it was his Mom, since he was the only kid to survive birth.

  They trade barbs back and forth and finally Dave demands to know who is holding a gun on him.

  Belle starts entreating Dave to shut up, but Dave continues to berate and insult Hex. Jonah tells the townsfolk to help Dave up and put a gun in his hand. The station master obliges and tells Dave just who Hex is but Dave is having none of it. He shoves the station master aside and stands his ground.

  Dave pulls his pistol and gets off three pulls of the trigger....

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Three, Samson, Whitey, and Lucky Dave
Running Total - 673 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 181 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Strangled
Timeline - Three days. The station master mentions that Hex showed up three days ago. Spring of 1876, right after "The Haunting."

  This is one of the funnier stories, what with all the 'luck' that Lucky Dave has. One thing about being lucky, you have to know if you have good luck or bad luck. I think that Dave was blessed with the latter. Bernet's artwork sets a nice tone here and the town itself reeks of bad luck itself. All in all, plusses all the way around for this tale.

Next Issue: Jonah encounters the Red Hood... Mask

Jonah Hex V2 #27 "Star Man"

Jonah Hex V2 #27 Mar '08

"Star Man"
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray - story, Jordi Bernet - art and cover

A man walks towards us, light blasting all around him, streaming from him, blurring all details. Hex is tied to a tree and the man offers Hex some water from a canteen. He bends forward and explains why he didn't kill Hex when he had the opportunity even though he KNOWS what Hex did all those years ago....

New York Harbor

A young man named Victor and his father, who has a wooden leg, disembark from a ship into the teeming mass that is New York City. They locate lodging and inquire as to possible employment. The hotel clerk gives them directions and then adds "You'll find slim pickings since after the war ended this week,"....... We'll come back to that later.

The two go to the room and the father instructs Victor to stay put and hide the rest of the money and he'll be back soon. The father locates an employment line that is for hiring policemen. When he gets to the head of the line he tells the men at the head table that he was a peace officer in his old country. They insult him and say he will be needing both feet to work. The father explains that he also taught literature until he went into the military and that he also will not stand for being insulted. One of the men, a New York Sheriff, shoots the father's wooden leg in two. Laying on the floor, surrounded by lawmen with their pistols pulled, the father eyes a priest sitting at the head table and asks if he condones this treatment of an unarmed man.

The priest replies that they don't have time for this, kill the cripple and take him outside as a warning to others. As they ready to shoot him, they ask if he has any last words. The father explains that he has a boy. The Sheriff states that he now has an orphan.

We see Victor waiting the rest of the day, all night, and then at daybreak he inquires of the hotel clerk. The clerk states he has been at the desk all night and not seen him. He does tell Victor where he sent the father for work and Victor takes off through New York to find his dad.

Victor finds the corpse of his father hanging from a statue of a saint outside a church.people casually pass by as if it is an everyday sight. A drunk in the gutter spins the tale of what transpired and points Victor in the direction of the employment line. Victor spies a pistol on the hip of a man, pulls it, walks past the line and exacts his vengeance upon the priest, a sheriff, and another man at the head table. He is about to kill another sheriff when he is pistol whipped on the back of the head.

Cut to.... Jonah Hex is speaking to two men in an office and they are instructing him to sign the proper papers in order for the funds to be transferred to him. Hex signs and leaves the office and walks through the streets of New York. He stops to ask directions to the train and then heads out to follows the directions. Suddenly we see Victor steal Hex's sidearm and run into the employment office. 

Hex gets into the office and we realize that it was Hex that knocked Victor out. He tells the Sheriffs that the boy is no relation and he only wants his pistol back. The head man doesn't believe him and they have a stare down with Hex winning. Hex picks up his gun and the Sheriff says the boy is staying with them. Hex doesn't care and the Sheriff states they'll beat the boy within an inch of his life, 'have some fun with him', and then hang him. Hex walks out holstering his pistol.

  Walking down the street Jonah remembers his own childhood at the hands of his father Woodson. He stops, pulls his firearm and next we see him killing every last man standing in the employment office.

Jonah takes the limp form of Victor to a Catholic orphanage and leaves him in the care of the nuns.

Back to present day, the man of light stand over Hex and we realize he is Victor. Victor postulates he has been tracked by Hex for three days and Victor is now worth four hundred, maybe six hundred dollars? Jonah states the amount is now one thousand dollars and asks if Victor is gonna kill him or just blind him with that coat? We then see that the light coming from Victor are Sheriff badges from lawmen he has killed over the years. He has been gunning down crooked lawmen as he roots them out after learning of the  corruption back in New York.

  Victor tells Hex that Hex's horse is tied up a few hours north along with all of Hex's supplies. Victor is going to head South and finish what he has started. Hex will be able to get out of his bonds and the next time the two meet Victor will not just sneak up and knock him out, he WILL kill Hex. Victor explains that he does 'private' bounty hunting for folks seeking justice and are unable to obtain it through conventional means. He has eight hundred dollars he has saved. He gives the money to Hex, thus appeasing Jonah's sole motivation in this encounter.

  Jonah snarls that he isn't the only one hunting Victor, and Victor is two hundred short.Victor rides off, the money scattered around Hex.

  An unknown time later, Hex comes upon a campfire in the night. Victor is stripped, gagged and died to a tree. Three Indians sit nearby when a lawman, Sheriff Pete, comes riding up.  He ask why the Indians have ripped off his clothes seeing as he only told them to capture him and tie him up. They explain that Victor killed one of their men. Pete replies that they get to split the hundred dollars three ways instead of four, then.

Pete explains that a man Victor recently killed, Christopher Casey, was Pete's brother. Pete pulls a knife. Pete asks if Victor has anything to say and pulls away the gag. Victor shouts for Hex to save him and take him into custody. Hex steps from the shadows and guns down the three Indians as Pete hotfoots it out of there. Hex unties Victor who grabs a knife and runs off into the dark, we hear a scream and Victor returns covered in blood and tells Hex to take him in.

Next day Hex wonders why they have to go all the way to Yuma when they were closer to Sterling. Victor explains that he killed the Mayor's Brother-in-law in Sterling. In Yuma, Hex turns Victor over to Sheriff Dokes. Victor asks Dokes if he remembers a family named Michaels that lived on the land Dokes now owns. Dokes tells Victor to shut up or he won't get a fair trial. Victor taunts Dokes, asking if it would be like the fair trial Mrs. Michael's husband and children got when Dokes killed them all?

Victor snatched Dokes' gun and holds it on both Hex and Dokes. Dokes says he won't get away with it, but Victor states that he will, he was paid handsomely to kill Dokes. He instructs Hex to drop his gunbelt and lock himself in the cell.

Later we see Hex killing time in the cell, reading the paper and smoking. A woman walks in to the office and frees Hex. She says that she was sent by Victor to let Hex out and to give him an envelope. Hex opens the envelope and pulls out two hundred dollars. He asks the woman's name. She is Mary Michaels. Jonah smiles and....

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Three men in New York and three Indians in Arizona.
Running Total - 670 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 178 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - None.
Timeline - This one has a wide time range, we don't know how long it took Jonah to hunt down Victor but it took about four days to ride to Yuma once Hex apprehended Victor. This is based on what information I could uncover regarding Sterling, Arizona (founded in 1865 in present-day Prescott) places it about 220 miles from Yuma. That makes it about a three-four day ride.
Rape Percentage -  33% (9 out of 27) I'm counting this one in the 'Rape Story' column because of comments made by the Sheriffs in New York.

Overall, this was a good story and Victor was a good character but there were flaws that takes this one down a few notches in my eyes.

First off, the timeline. The hotel clerk states "after the war ended this week" so that puts the tale in early April, 1865. But I did some digging and Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9th, 1865, BUT President Johnson didn't officially declare the war over until August 20th, 1866 (there was a LOT of other stuff going on.) We do know that Hex was scarred in 1866, but not exactly when. So, while I initially bristled at this timeline 'error', I guess the clerk was being factually accurate in his statement. Therefore, this story takes place in August 1866. (guess this doesn't count as a negative then)

Next up, Crazy Church People make their appearance. Yup, we have a Catholic priest that is just fine with killing a crippled man for no good reason (granted, we do get to see nuns, albeit without guns, practicing mercy and compassion). There are corrupt 'Church People' just like there are corrupt people in every facet of society (in fact, I once had a pastor that said "you haven't been screwed over until you've been screwed over by a Christian.") but the 'evil church person' is becoming a reoccurring theme in Hex V2, almost as much so as the 'rape story' trope. 

Which brings us to the comment made by the Sheriff about 'have some fun' with Victor and 'when he is spent', leads me to lean toward rape being discussed. Sigh, such lazy writing at times. By the way, for folks wondering why I DO keep a Rape Percentage Counter going, It's because Chris Sim's actually dropped this book from his reading list because of using that plot device as a crutch too many times.

The positives? Well, Bernet's artwork is a big plus on this one. At times all of his women look the same, but he usually is able to make the men in the book distinctive enough that he reminds me of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, although a very scratchy version of Mr. Lopez.

I also enjoyed Jonah's motivation for saving Victor, remembering what a hell-hole his own upbringing was AND, despite Woodson quoting the Scripture at time while beating Jonah, Hex still took Victor to a religious organization for safe-keeping.

Next Issue: I may need to start more Percentage counters as we encounter more Crazy Church People and have another tongue cut out.