Jonah Hex #6 "The Lawman"

Jonah Hex #6 Nov 1977
"The Lawman"
Michael Fleisher, story - Ernie Chan & Noly Panaligan, art - Ernie Chan, cover

Jonah is still on the run and while he is bunked down in the middle of a thunderstorm he is caught unawares by U.S. Marshall Toby Ruster. Jonah attempts to explain his innocence, but Ruster will have no part of it. Ruster cuffs Hex and they both ride off.

After a time they come upon a river ferry and the ferry master explains that with all of the rain they won't be able to cross the rampaging river for about 3 days. Ruster offers to pay double, but the ferrymaster won't have any of it. Ruster tells the man that they will have to take turns guarding his prisoner, Jonah Hex. The ferrymaster jumps up & starts loading the the horses on the ferry. Ruster then cuffs himself to Hex to insure that Jonah doesn't try to escape.

Since this is a Jonah Hex comic & Jonah hates water, guess what happens. Yup, first of all the ferrymaster is tossed overboard into the drink and as Ruster is attempting to uncuff Hex so they can both try to pole the ferry across the river, Ruster is kicked in the head by a frightened horse and he drops dead, dropping the key into the river. Jonah, cuffed to a dead man, is unable to do anything to save the ferry and the whole shooting match ends up splintering on some rocks.

Further downstream we spy a young lady and a large young man on the riverbank (Emmylou and George). Emmy spies Jonh and Ruster in the water. George literally grabs a tree and shoves it into the river in order to drag them out. Jonah grabs onto the tree and before he can be pulled in, grabs the sheriff's badge and pins it on his coat. Once ashore, Jonah tells the pair that HE is Toby Ruster and the dead man is his prisoner. Emmy chastises George for talking to the 'Marshall' when it is obvious that he needs medical attention.

At the town doctor's office, Jonah is declared to be in fine health (Ruster is pronounced dead and is lying on a table next to Jonah since they are still cuffed together). George continues on with his talking, telling Jonah how he & Emmylou are getting hitched soon, to which Emmy stutters her agreement. Emmy continues to dote on Jonah, making sure his blanket is tucked properly & such. George tells her to leave Jonah alone since they have to see the blacksmith to get the cuffs off.

On the way to smithy, Jonah lie in the back of a wagon next to the wet rotting corpse while George rambles on about how isolated their town is, they get no visitors, no newspapers, no lawmen. Emmy tells George to put a sock in it. By now I'm not seeing a bright future for this couple. The smithy is able to get the cuffs off and Emmy tries to get some hot coffee into Jonah when a store owner runs into the smithy shop asking if it's true that there is a marshal in town. George starts in with the introductions, but the store owner tells them that the bank is being robbed and that Jonah has to stop them. Jonah grabs several sticks of dynamite (always a good sign) and heads out.

At the bank one of the outlaws is pulling a cart full of money when suddenly a lit stick of dynamite lands next to him, sending him on to meet his just reward. A couple of gunshots from the roof of the bank picks another off his horse and as the rest start to run off, Jonah tosses one last kaboom stick and kills one more robber.

Inside the bank, bank president Harold Jeffries is tied up. Emmy gushes over how great Jonah was & George says he could have done just as well. Emmy snaps back "maybe you could've, George, but you didn't." George gets hacked off & decides to talk a walk but Emmy apologizes and wants to go with him (in order to point out any flaws in the way George walks).

Down by the river, George starts telling Emmy about how he feels ignored and Emmy, proving his point, interrupts him to point out a dead horse in the river. George wades out to retrieve the saddlebag and finds a wanted poster with Jonah's picture on it. George decides to take it to Jeffries to see what should be done about the imposter in their midst.

It's nighttime by the time George gets back to town (since Emmy didn't go with him, he obviously got lost for several hours) and when he walks up to the bank he overhears Jeffries yelling at the men who tried earlier in the day to rob the bank. Jeffries says that he spent months planning the robbery & those fools let one guy with a gun & several sticks of dynamite run them off. Let me pause here and state that George earlier decided to take the poster to Jeffries because Jeffries was 'educated'. It took Jeffries months to plan a bank robbery in a bank that he is the president of and in a town with no sheriff. My opinion is that Jeffries is a moron and I'm surprised that George, who thinks Jeffries is educated, can walk & breath at the same time. Just my opinion. Now back to the story.

George is discovered eavesdropping and is murdered. The robbers find the wanted poster in George's hand and Jeffries, somehow, manages to hatch a plan to lure Jonah into the bank, have the gang kill him and then pin the successful bank robbery on a dead wanted Jonah Hex. They plan on saying that they killed him in the act of escaping but not before Jonah managed to hide the bank loot. So they are going to kill Jonah IN the bank, but somehow Jonah has managed to hide the loot? Is this the 1st national bank of Moronville?

Sorry, I'm tired & grumpy & my computer with the scanner is busted.

Anyway, Emmy overhears the robbers talking about this while they are loading dead George in a wagon. Emmy realizes that she must save Jonah and starts running all over town looking for him. She finally locates him walking down the street with Jeffries, on their way to the ambush in the bank. She shouts out "Marshal! Mr. Hex! Get Back!" and then she is gunned down. Jonah bashes Jeffries in the head and guns down the robber, which shot Emmy, on a balcony. Four more robbers appear and Jonah dives into the dirt, rolling, and shoots all four of them dead.

When he stands up, Jeffries is on his knees begging for his life. Jonah explains that if Emmy dies, he will come back & blow Jeffries head off.

The next day, a few upstanding citizens are telling Jonah that the doc says Emmy will be fine, George will still be dead, Jeffries will probably hang and that since Jonah is a fugitive from the law, they should put him in jail. However, seeing as how Jonah will probably ride off and every horse in town is lame, they can't get a posse up to chase him down. Jonah slowly rides out of town, tossing the marshal badge into the street.

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Jonah - 8

Running Total - 133

Jonah's Injuries - well, none, surprisingly

Timeline - Part of the 'Wanted man' arc. We still haven't determined when this takes place, but I'm sure that we will get a clue or two later on.

I really didn't like this story (can you tell?). Everyone seemed so stupid, the town seemed too remote to even have a bank, and if Jonah hadn't come to town, Emmy & George would have ended up married and then in a homicide-suicide on their wedding night. However, this is not the worst Jonah story I have ever read, that one comes much much later & it's not in 'HEX' or even in the Vertigo line. You'll just have to wait for it.

Next Issue: -A flashback that is part one of Jonah's origin story, it has slavery, liquor and a Frenchman. Oui!

Jonah Hex #7 Vol.1 "Son of the Apache"

Jonah Hex #7 Dec. 1977
"Son of the Apache"
Michael Fleisher, story- Ernie Chan & Noly Panaligan, art, Ernie Chan (Chua), cover

Since Jonah Hex #13 (vol2) is 'retelling' the origin of Jonah Hex, I thought I would present the first pre Superboy Prime Super Punch Retcon version (or as I like to call it "fpSPSPRv"). But first a little back story. In Jonah Hex #2, Jonah is framed for a murder and is then considered a wanted man. Other events between 2 and 6 indicate that this story takes place after WWT #30 and would place this either in 1875 or after (I will have to do more extensive research concerning time of year inidcators in those stories to see if it happens AFTER 1875).

The story opens in Hennessy, Texas with a cowboy starting to manhandle a saloon girl. At a nearby table, a gentleman in a fine suit stands and asks his table mate to excuse him. The other man refers to the gentleman as "your lordship." The gentleman interveens on behalf of the saloon girl, but teh cowboy turns and punches the man. As the man picks himself up, he tells the cowboy that he accepts the challenge to the duel. The friend of the gentleman produces a case with two sabers. When the cowboy starts to draw his pistol, the gentleman spins arouns and knocks the gun from the cowboy's hand. The cowboy takes the offered saber and the duel starts in the saloon.

The cowboy is quickly disarmed and the gentleman says that he will show compassion & not kill the cowboy. As the man turns to leave, the cowboy grabs at a gun on the bar. The gentleman sees him in a mirror and turns, throwing the sabre through the cowboy's heart.

The sheriff storms in, demanding to know what is going on. the gentleman introduces himself as Count Henri D'Aubergnon, recently from France, here in the States to hunt the most dangerous of game, man, and the most dangerous man, Jonah Hex, a wanted outlaw.

Meanwhile, on the far outskirts of town, Jonah is talking to an elderly man, Mr. Vanden, who has hired Jonah to rescue his daughter that was kidnapped by the Apaches. Vanden asks how well does Hex know the Apaches, but Jonah doesn't answer & rides off to find the young lady.

We are treatd to a flashback stating it starts "more than twenty years, to a fateful day in July, 1851. Jonah Hex was then thirteen years old." Jonah is loading a wagon with moonshine as his father sits under a tree drinking. His father, Woodson (we learn his name at another time), is an obvious alcoholic, slaps Jonah and beats him with a belt. Once the wagon is loaded and they are on their way, Woodson explains that he is gonna trade the moonshine for a few squaws and a grubstake for the California gold rush. (Ginny, Jonah's mom, left her husband just over three years prior in 1848).

At the Apache camp, the Indians give Woodson a stack of pelts in trade for the moonshine and another stack of pelts in exchange for Jonah. Jonah is flabbergasted and starts crying as his dad gets on the wagon to leave. Woodson tells Jonah that he would be better off with the Indians instead of a drunken lush like his old man. Jonah fights off two Indians holding him back and runs to his dad who slaps him down and tosses off a slim promise of coming back to get Jonah once a fortune has been made. Jonah turns to fight off the Indians but is subdued and spends the next two years as their slave.

Then one day (1853) as the chief is at a river, a large puma attacks the aging chief. A nearby brave is unable to shoot the puma for fear of hitting the chief when suddenly, Jonah leaps forward with a knife and kills the puma on the spot. The chief is so grateful that he declares that Jonah Hex is now considered a brother to the chief's son and is due all honor of a true Apache. Jonah learns to ride, hunt and fight better than anyone, even the chief's son, Noh-Tante. White Fawn, a lovely girl, even takes a liking to him. Noh-Tante cannot hide his hatred & jealousy.

Later, (A YEAR later, we learn in issue #8. 1854) when both boys turn 16, they are sent on a mission to steal the finest horses from some nearby Kiowas. That night, as Jonah & Noh-Tante sneak into the camp, Jonah kills a Kiowa guard/. Noh-Tante releases all of the ponies and then shouts a war cry to alert the Kiowas. He kicks Jonah into a rock, knocking him out & leaves him for the Kiowas. back at the Apache camp, Noh-Tante tells the chief that he saw Jonah killed by the Kiowa.

Back at the Kiowa camp, Jonah awakens to find himself surrounded by Kiowas. TO BE CONTINUED!!

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah: 1 Kiowa and one puma

Running Total - 134
Jonah's injuries: Slapped & beaten by his dad, struck on the head twice and knocked out.
Timeline: The opener is post 1875 (or post death of Turnbull in WWT #30) and the flashback takes place in 1851, 1853, and ends in 1854. This was one of the few times that we got to see Jonah's dad and he really is a filthy drunken sob. There isn't a lot of characterization on Jonah's part, we just are privvy to see the terrible childhood he had and the hardships he had to face. The five-page opening with the Count seems like a waste of space, but it does tie in with the previous issues and provides a nice framework for the flashback (the best part coming in issue #8). The cover does cause one to wonder if Hex's scar was caused by the puma attack, but no, we find out what happened next issue.

Next Issue: A rigged tomahawk fight, the Mark of the Demon, and (believe it or not) a two-headed coin.

Weird Western Tales #29 "Breakout at Fort Charlotte"

Weird Western Tales #29 July-Aug 1975
"Breakout at Fort Charlotte"
Michael Fleisher- story, Noly Panaligan - art, Luis Domiguez - cover

There is no way that I can do this story justice, but I will try. If you are a Hex fan, you have to get a copy of this, either on ebay or in the Showcase Presents. It is that good, the artwork and layouts are that rich, the story is that pivotal in the Jonah Hex saga. I understand it will also be retold in the upcoming 3 parter in the new Jonah Hex series. But, I'm getting the cart before the horse. Let's get to the story.

The story starts with Jonah riding into Red Rock Texas, 1875. As Jonah dismounts a young man calls Jonah a Judas & a traitor and starts yelling at Hex about Fort Charlotte. He says that his dad died because of Jonah being a traitor. Jonah turns and walks away, leading his horse, but the young draws his pistol and fires. He misses Hex, but hits the bit on the horse's bridle. The bullet ricochets away but the horse, spooked, rears up and accidentally kicks Jonah in the head. The doc comes rushing out and gets Jonah into his office. There, Jonah starts crying out in a delirium and the story goes into a flashback.

Richmond, Virginia, Christmas Day, 1861. Jonah, unscarred, and his best friend Jeb ride up in front of a large plantation. The black butler calls for Mr. Turnbull to come out because Jeb Turnbull & Jonah are home. Jeb explains that he & Jonah are on a three day pass. They are welcomed into the home & they present Mr. Turnbull with a present, the Eagle-topped cane that we have seen previously. Jeb mentions that they took it off a Union General.


During dinner there is a discussion about how well the war is going. Jeb, full of bravado, exclaims that within three months, the Confederacy will have won its freedom. Jonah expresses doubts because it seems that for every Yankee he shoots, six more seem to pop up. Just then, one of Mr. Turnbull's men comes in, shouting that some of the slaves have gotten loose and started an uprising by setting the barn on fire. They all rush outside to see some of the hired hands and some loyal slaves shooting into the mob, trying to calm the riot. Suddenly one of the slaves rushes up behind Jonah, wielding a large club. Jeb shouts a warning & Jonah turns and shoots the slave dead.
Jeb shouts, "YAHOO! You got im, Jonah boy! Good shot!" Jonah appears remorseful at having killed the man and mumbles a short thanks. Mr Turnbull orders his son to forget about Jonah and to "get those rebellious darkies back to their sheds so we can resume our Christmas dinner".

The next day, Mr. Turnbull personally takes it upon himself to flog the leaders of the uprising. Jonah comments that maybe the slaves had been whipped enough, but Turnbull says that slaves are like children, requiring beating to understand their master's love for them. A day or so later, Jonah & Jeb are back on the front lines, fighting the Yankees.

January 1st, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation takes effect. Even though it was written on Sept 22nd of '62, this story shows Lincoln reading it on Jan 1 '63.

An undisclosed time later, Jonah & Jeb are talking over the campfire. Jonah explains that he can't continue to kill Yankees while they are fighting for men to be free, but he can't turn & fight against his friends. His only solution is to turn himself in to the Union & sit the war out in prison.

That night, Jonah appears in the bedroom of the commander of the nearby Fort Charlotte. The Commander thinks that the fort has been overtaken, but Jonah explains that he is surrendering to the top man at the fort. The commander questions Jonah as to the location of his unit, but Jonah explains that he alone is surrendering & will not divulge that information.

The commander calls for his orderly, a black soldier, & berates him for allowing Jonah to get into the bedroom. He tells the orderly tha Jonah can have free reign of the stockade area. Jonah, mentally notes that it seems like the black man has no real home in the North or the South. Later, the orderly comes in and explains that he found red clay on the hooves of Jonah's horse. That may lead them to where Jonah's platoon is camped. The commander orders that a platoon be sent out to check a nearby marsh.

That morning, Jonah's entire platoon is captured in their bedrolls and not one shot is fired. As they are being taken to Fort Charlotte, some of the men are already blaming Hex, calling him a "sneaky, nigger-lovin'..." before being threatened by Jeb. once they are all in the fort, the commander has Jonah brought out and publically thanks him for turning traitor on his friends. Jonah punches the commander, but the damage is done, his friends believe he has turned them in. Jonah is then locked in solitary confinement.

While in solitary confinement, Jonah locates a loose board that leads to a tunnel. The jailer brings Jonah's ration of bread & water, notices the loose board and then warns the captain. The captain is overjoyed because the fort doesn't have enough supplies to feed their own soldiers, much less dozens of prisoners. The captain orders gatlin guns placed around the perimeter, ready for a breakout.

Jonah climbs down the tunnel into the prisoner barracks. He hands out some guns he stole along with wire cutters, however only a few men of the thrity five escaping are able to escape alive. Jeb dies in Jonah's arms, begging to know if Jonah is guilty of the betrayal.
Jonah later hunts down the captain and kills him in revenge. Two weeks later when the news reaches Quentin Turnbull, he swears vengence upon Jonah for the death of Jeb.

The flashback ends as Jonah awakens. Jonah asks the doctor about the young man that shot at him. The doctor tells him that the young man is still waiting across the street. Jonah walks out and asks the man if he's ready for a showdown. The young man quickly pulls his gun and guns Jonah down before Hex can get a shot off. The doctor runs out & pronounces Jonah dead. The young man, having avenged his dad, rides slowly off. Once he is gone, Jonah gets up. The doc says that Jonah took an awful chance, letting the boy take a shot, but Jonah replies that a kid that wet behind the ears couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. He then rides off as well.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2; Jonah shoots the captain and we see Jonah shoot a man in battle.
Running Total - 84
Jonah's Injuries - Kicked in the head by a horse and punched in the face.
Timeline - 1875 for the opening & closing and 1862-63 for the flashback. This is the beginning of some of the stickier points in Jonah's timeline. 1875 was a dumping ground for Michael Fleisher and it seemed that later on, when the Jonah Hex stories started having a continung storyline the 1875 stories that were told earlier were not shoehorned in. This was a western comic & people weren't paying attention to it. The errors, starting with issue #30, just kept coming.

Like I said earlier, this is probably one of the best & most pivotal stories in the Hex legend. Quentin Turnbull was a driving force in Jonah's life and that would come to a climax in the next issue.

Next Week: Disgrace, Cowardice, Yellow Paint, and Turnbull almost upchucks!!!

Note of thanks to Susan for spotting my error on the year Turnbull got the cane. It wasn't 1962 (or even 1862) it was 1861.

Weird Western Tales #27 "The Meadow Springs Crusade"

Weird Western Tales #27 Mar-Apr 1975
"The Meadow Springs Crusade"
Michael Fleisher, story - Noly Panaligan, art

Panaligan is back & the book looks much better thanks to him. We start with a women's suffrage rally in Kansas. Miss Todd is espousing how the state constitution needs to be amended to allow women to vote. Suddenly a lasso falls around her shoulders and five men wearing sheets and on horseback destroy all the signs and scare everyone away. They slowly drag Miss Todd away and warn her against causing any trouble.

After a short time they ride off, leaving the meeting in shambles. Five miles from town they ride past Jonah Hex who notes that it's a might early for Halloween and that their getup reminds him of some folks in Tennessee. When Jonah gets into town he heads for the sheriff's office where he encounters an angry Miss Todd arguing with the sheriff.

Sheriff Hillman isn't interested in chasing after men she can't identify and has no time to offer her protection. Jonah mentions that he'd like to get the $1000 reward for the dead men he has outside & they are getting pretty ripe after 4 days.

The sheriff has a brilliant idea and suggests to Miss Todd that she hire Jonah to protect her. Jonah thinks she's kidding about suffrage and comments that if women get to vote they would probably outlaw drinking. Jonah tells Miss Todd that she can buy him a steak and tell him all about the women sufferers. Miss Todd corrects him, saying that it's 'suffrage', not 'sufferers'. Jonah laughingly agrees, saying it will be the men that will be the sufferers.


During dinner, Miss Todd explains her crusade and how the men breaking up her rallies work for Curtis Thraxton, who owns a big cattle ranch. Thraxton don't want women voting since they will support a candidate for Governor that will change the water-rights policy of Kansas & Thraxton currently have control over all the water in the area. Jonah agrees to protect Miss Todd until the legislature votes the following week. Snce he hates taking money from women, he will only charge her $500.

A couple of men at a nearby table overhear everything and then report back to Thraxton. Thraxton's men offer to kill Hex, but Thraxton says that since Jonah has done nothing yet, they should kill Miss Todd.

That night they sneak into Miss Todd's hotel room and catch her asleep in a rocking chair, but it turns out to be Jonah in a shawl & bonnet.


















Jonah gets the drop on them & Miss Todd has a good idea for revenge. Jonah makes the men put on dresses & bonnets and parades them through the saloon.



















He then ties them to their horses wearing signs reading "We Support Women's Suffrage".

The men end up back at the Thraxton ranch where Thraxton devises a plan.

The next day a young boy finds Hex & tells him that Miss Todd has been hurt over at the Livery. When Jonah goes in he is ambushed and taken to Thraxton. Thraxton tries to reason with Jonah, offering him double to side with him. Jonah mentions that he only switched sides once in the middle of a fight and he has swore to never do it again. Thraxton then tells his men to take Jonah & shoot him.

The two henchmen take Jonah to a 2,000 ft cliff & as they are preparing to shoot him, Jonah jumps over the edge of the cliff. When one thug looks over the edge, Jonah, clinging to a small tree growing from the cliff-face, grabs the man's foot and pulls him over the edge. Jonah then grabs his knife and stabs the other thug in the chest who falls over the cliff as well. Jonah then notes a problem with his line of work is that he'll never make any money if he always keeps losing his knife & guns.

Back in town Jonah spends the rest of the week protecting Miss Todd until a telegram arrives giving the outcome of the legislative vote. The amendment was defeated. Jonah asks for his money which the weeping Miss Todd shove into his hands. As Jonah prepares to mount up & ride off, Thraxton and three of his men show up to draw on Hex. Jonah tries to warn them off, but they draw on him anyway. He guns them all down.

Jonah starts to get in the saddle but Thraxton is not dead. As he draws his pistol for the last time, there is a sudden gunshot and we see that Miss Todd has killed Thraxton with rifle. She tells Jonah that he owes her a favor for saving his life and demands that he wear an armband reading "Support Women's Suffrage". Jonah rides off in total humiliation.

Statistics for the issue
Men killed by Jonah - 5: 1 thrown off a cliff, 1 stabbed, 3 shot

Running Total - 81
Jonah's injuries - Knocked out with axe handle
Timeline - This one takes place squarely in 1867. The reference to the KKK and Kansas Women's suffrage dovetails nicely.

I enjoyed this story quite a bit. It is one of the more light-hearted stories involving Jonah, what with all the ribbing aimed at Miss Todd, Jonah in drag, and then the dressing of the thugs in women's clothes. I especially liked Thraxton's attempts to reason with Jonah & Jonah's response, alluding to his leaving the Confederacy.

The only thing that could have made the ending funnier would have been this:

Next Issue - Hidden Treasure, a Burning Stagecoach, and Jonah gets Crucified!!

Weird Western Tales #25 "Showdown with the Dangling Man"

Welcome to everyone finding your way here from the Jonah Hex Corral. I try to post reviews on Tuesdays (I'm late this week) with an occasional extra review on Saturday). Thanks for stopping in. This week is somewhat ironic because Jonah is involved in a hanging and the current issue of Jonah Hex starts off with Jonah being IN a hanging.

Weird Western Tales #25 Nov-Dec 1974
"Showdown with the Dangling Man"
Michael Fleisher, story - Noly Panaglian, art

A three page intro covers a train robbery that results in a boxcar of Army supplies being stolen. Meanwhile, two of the holdup men decide to liberate cash & valuables from the passengers. Sadly for them, Jonah Hex is on the train & makes short work of both of them. Hearing the shots, the two men looting rifles from the Army boxcar hightail it out of there but not before gunning down a conductor that had pulled a rifle on them. Jonah unloads his horse from the train and decides to give chase because "Men whut so rude to law-abidin' folks frequently got a price on their heads".

Later the two train robbers come to Antelope Springs Way Station, a toll booth run by a slimy man named Silas Barfrey. Barfrey asks the robbers where the rifles are and they explain what happened at the train. They mention that a scar-faced man is pursuing the,. Barfrey tells them to hide in back of the saloon. Before Jonah can get to Antelope Springs Barfrey is confronted by an old man in a covered wagon heading west on the Oregon Trail. The man refuses to pay the $10 toll ($140 in 2006 dollars) . Barfrey tells the man that he can go around the toll-gate and the town, but he had better watch out for the pools of quicksand in the surrounding marshes.

Jonah show up in town shortly after the old man leaves and is welcomed by Barfrey. Barfrey buys Jonah a drink & explains that he hasn't seen the men Jonah is after. Just then, a man runs in hollering about the old man getting stuck in the quicksand. Everyone heads out to see the action. The old man has managed to crawl from the marsh but everything he owns gets sucked into the wet sand. The man turns on Barfrey with a knife, blaming him for the loss of the wagon. Barfrey guns him down in cold blood saying all the while that his toll is perfectly legal. Jonah mentions that it may be legal, but it stinks. Jonah decides to ride to nearby Fort McPherson to report the train robbery and investigate if the toll gate is on the up and up.

On his way, Jonah encounters a covered wagon trying to outrun a buffalo stampede. Jonah tries to aid the wagon but the wagon makes a sudden turn out of the path of the buffalo and almost runs Jonah over in the process. The wagon is driven by a widow and her two young sons. Her husband died of cholera just that morning. Jonah offers help burying her husband, but she refuses and says that after they are done they'll load up supplies in Antelope Springs and head on west. Jonah leaves them and continues on to the fort.

At the fort, jonah reports the robbery & his suspicions about Barfrey to Col. Crandall. The Col. states that he will investigate. Jonah heads back to town but on the outskirts he sees the town gathered around a pool of quicksand. The widow's wagon is being sucked under along with both of her sons. Jonah manages to lasso the woman and drag her out but the entire town watches her sons as they sink beneath the sand. The woman blames Barfrey for her son's deaths and Jonah, fed up with everything, heads back to the fort to set things straight once and for all.

When Jonah gets to the fort, he overhears the Col. talking to the two train robbers about how he gets a cut of the sale of the stolen rifles. Jonah breaks in and kills one of the robbers but not before a stray bullet kills the Col. Soldiers come in and the other robber blames the Cols death on Jonah. Jonah fights his way out of the fort & heads back to Antelope Springs.

As he nears the town, he spots a piece of cloth stuck to a sign warning about a lime pit. Stopping to investigate Jonah finds the lime ravaged corpse of the widow. She has been murdered with an axe and tossed into the lime.

As Jonah contemplates his next move, the surviving train robber shows up and pulls a rifle on Jonah. Jonah turns and throws a hatfull of lime into the robbers eyes and as the lime is dissolving the robbers face, Jonah guns him down.
Jonah heads back into town to discover that the townsfolk are fed up with Barfrey and they are getting ready to hang him from his very own tollgate. Barfrey pleads with Jonah to take him in. He is a criminal so Jonah can get a reward for taking him to the fort. Jonah states that there is no reward on Barfrey's head so he ain't interested. As Jonah rides off, the townsfolk whip the horse Barfrey is on letting him hang from the tollgate. Then they set fire to the tollgate & Barfrey's corpse.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4 men shot

Running Total - 72
Jonah's injuries - 0
Timeline - The Oregon Trail was in use from 1841 to 1869. Since Jonah is scarred here, it is after 1866 but I would place this story around 1868 or 69 since he is not wearing the black hat he had in 1867. Brandon, in research, discovered that Fort McPherson was located in Nebraska and since the Oregon Trail went through Nebraska & there is quicksand along the Platte River, everything seems to jive for this taking place in Nebraska.

This is one of the more morbid stories I've seen. The rotting skeleton in the lime pit, the kids drowning in the quicksand, the faceful of lime, and then the burning corpse were all incredibly gruesome. The cover was one of the best ones that Weird Western Tales ever had, perfectly capturing the weird part of the title by having Jonah and his horse rising from the quicksand.

Panaglin's art is fantastic. I especially enjoy the layout of the title page with the circle with Jonah's name in it. The whole issue is very cinematic with the artwork flowing over the panels (like Dezuniga) and some panels not having any lines seperating them at all.

Fleisher's writing was good with some nice comedy bits giving insight into Jonah's character and even his past (when he mentions that he hates stockade food). One of the best issues in the run.

Next Week - More train robbers and a new artist

Weird Western Tales #24 "The Point Pyrrhus Aftermath"

Weird Western Tales #24 Sept/Oct 1974
"The Point Pyrrhus Aftermath"
Michael Fleischer, story - Noly Panaligan, art

Taking place two months after the attempt on President Grant's life we find Russ Cranston riding into town, looking for Jonah Hex. Russ finds Jonah lounging in a porch swing at the local Doc's. He draws on Jonah, only to have Jonah get the drop on him while commenting on the entire Cranston clan. When Jonah rolls out of the swing we see that his eyes are bandaged!

Local townsfolk gather and start complaining about how many men Jonah has killed since he has been in town and they decide to run him out of town. The Doc tells them that Jonah is gonna be blind for a least another week, they can't turn a blind man out on his own. They decide to send along a traveling actor that has been panhandling in town & amongst the crowd. The Doc tells Jonah to keep the bandages on at least another week or he'll traumatize the optic nerve & may be permanently blind.

As they leave town, Jonah tells the actor that two of the Cranston boys will probably come after them so they decide to work out a method of having the actor be Jonah's eyes. They practice for days until they come upon a ferry crossing a river.

They put their horses on the ferry and start across. The Cranston boys are hiding up in the hills and shoot both ferrymen. With the actor's help, Jonah returns fire, killing one of the Cranstons, with the other running off. Jonah & the actor now attempt to ferry across the river, but the ferry has drifted in the current and is now heading for some rapids.

When the ferry hits some rocks, the actor is tossed overboard. Jonah leaves his guns on the ferry, ties a rope around his waist and jumps into the river to save the actor. Once he reaches the actor and starts pulling himself back, the rope snaps. The horses jump from the ferry and the ferry goes over a waterfall. Jonah manages to grab a horse as it swims by and they are pulled to safety. Now with all of their supplies and weapons gone, except what was in the saddle bags, Jonah & the actor set up camp.

The next morning, Jonah starts to remove his bandages and tries to determine what they are going to do about the remaining Cranston, who will obviously be on their trail. The actor mentions that he has a plan. While Jonah's eyes are adjusting to the light, the actor strikes him in the head with a rock. Meanwhile, the last Cranston is waiting for them to leave the valley they are in. Jonah comes riding out and Cranston guns him down. Cranston walks over to the body and finds that the dead man's face is covered with colored grease. Just then Jonah walks out and throws a knife into Cranston's chest.

Jonah kneels by the dying actor who impersonated him to distract Cranston. The actor starts quoting Shakespeare, and attempts to tell Jonah what play the quote is from. Jonah stops him and answers that it is from Hamlet. The actor dies and as Jonah rides off, he confesses that when he said Hamlet he was just guessing.
And before someone asks, the guy laying off to the left has a knife sticking out of his gut. Gutterminds!!!!
Statistics for the issue
Men killed by Jonah - Shot & killed 3 Cranston brothers

Running Total - 68
Jonah's injuries - Still suffering temporary blindness from the previous issue and gets hit on the head with a rock
Timeline - 1873, two months after issue #23

I have always enjoyed this issue. Noly's artwork is gritty in all the right places. There are a few panels that look rushed but the panel where the actor is dying, Noly uses silhouette wonderfully as a foreshadowing of the actor's death. I always thought that the cover was weird. If Jonah is blind, why bother having him step on a pit of spikes. Just shoot him. But this is Weird Western and the covers have to be really dramatic.

Next issue - tollroads, quicksand, and a hanging. Sounds like a normal day in Oklahoma.