Jonah Hex V2 #41 "Sawbones: The Second Half"

Jonah Hex V2 #41 May '09

"Sawbones: The Second Half"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, David Micheal Beck - art and cover  

Jonah is naked, tied to the post in the 'Operating' shack of Sawbones. Tallulah lies dead on the table, Saawbones waxing poetic about what he saw on battlefields and how it lead him to the denial of the human soul. He pulls out Tallulah's heart and her brain, both still warm and steaming. He then approaches Hex, bloody saw in hand.

Jonah wakes up screaming to see Tallulah sitting in a chair across the room. She lights up a cigarette for Hex and explains that his hollering is not sitting well with the patrons and owners of the hotel, however, she has been running up a tab on Hex's behalf to calm their complaints. She tells him it has been two weeks and he wakes up every time screaming yet he has yet to tell her why he was almost dead in the river. He calmly tells her to be on her way.

She says that she will not leave him but she realizes that whoever visited this damage upon Jonah is not to be dealt with lightly. She understands vengeance and she has no intent of having Jonah be without aide when he brings down his wrath upon the perpetrator. He grabs her, intending to force her to leave and she slaps a hand across his mouth and starts berating him for his stubbornness. He pulls her forward and kisses her. She pushes him back unto the bed and proceeds to remove her clothing while straddling him.

Some time later, Tallulah is in the bar, talking to Ernest, trying to ascertain the location of one mad doctor. Ernest states that he has been unable to unearth the information when two men sidle up on either side, demanding to know where Jonah Hex is. One lays a hand on her, she spins and places a bullet upwards through his jaw and nails the other dead center as Ernest sneaks out the front door.

Ernest makes his way between two buildings and encounters Sawbones himself. The aproned doctor asks if they are there, to which Ernest acknowledges. Sawbones holds a pistol out to Ernest and instructs him to go back into the saloon, telling her he knows where Sawbones is at, lead her out into the woods and then kill her. Ernest hesitates, stating she is as mean as Hex. Just then Tallulah appears at the end of the alley and opens fire, with Sawbones returning shots and striking Tallulah in the neck. 

As she lies in the dirt, Sawbones slowly approaches, places the pistol in her mouth and finishes the job with a single shot. He stands and walks out of the alley, stating "I'm waiting on you, Hex."

Jonah wakes up screaming to see Tallulah sitting in a chair across the room. Jonah starts getting dressed, asking how long he had been sleeping this time. She tells him it has been four days and he says he is leaving and she ain't following along. She agree with no fight, conceding that Hex has to banish these dreams himself. She indicates there is something on the table for him, she has been busy and has located Sawbones and his location is on that paper. Jonah thanks her and leaves.

For an unknown length of time Jonah rides to get to Sawbones location and finally arrives at a barn at sunset. Inside Sawbones has a woman tied to a table, several skeletons hang from the walls and ceiling, he is giving a class to six students. Sawbones is explaining about ghost pain from amputations and that is where the questioning process is most productive.

Jonah sneaks up outside the barn and as he approaches the door, he is kicked from behind and lands inside. A henchman of Sawbones is standing on Hex's neck and holds him on the ground. Sawbones states he had been expecting Hex but he is surprised at the stupidity of Jonah's return. He orders the removal of the slave woman from the table and to be replaced by Jonah. Sawbones says that he had been searching for Hex and wonders where he had been hiding. 

Tallulah appears in the doorway and says that he was with her. She opens up with a shotgun, killing two men. She guns down another as Jonah recovers, pulling his pistols and mows down another four students. Sawbones breaks for the door but Tallulah shoots him in the leg, dropping him to the floor and Jonah picks off the final two students. Jonah tells Tallulah go up to the house and fetch something to drink, they are gonna be mighty thirsty.

Jonah straps Sawbones to the table and pulls the blood bucket from under the table. Sawbones starts bargaining, trying to come to some agreement and Hex pours the fresh blood into Sawbones mouth. Hex then reach for a lantern and says he had been thinking about how Sawbones said they are alike, but that ain't really true. Sawbones relents and tells Hex to torture him as he sees fit. Jonah shouts that he doesn't need his permission and smashes the lantern across Sawbones face, setting his head afire.

Jonah the douses the flames with more blood from the bucket, grabs another lantern and sets him alit once more. Tallulah walks in with a bottle of whiskey, stating it smells like a barbecue. Jonah pours more blood onto Sawbones and tells Tallulah to make tracks as he will busy for awhile. She says she would rather stay since watching him work makes her blood hot. Jonah relents, telling her to roll a smoke and keep quiet. He pulls a knife and says he's gonna try some new things tonight.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - six and Sawbones (eventually), so seven
Running Total - 750 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 248 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Kicked in the back and a foot on the neck
Timeline - Just under three weeks.
Rape Percentage -  25% (10 of 41)

Man o man o man o man, was this one gruesome. It was good to see a continuation of a villain, reminding me of some of the Fleisher run. Sawbones, as an adversary, wasn't really all that tough. He relied on Jonah falling into his lap in the prior issue and then Jonah getting bushwacked this time. However the  physical and emotional scars that Sawbones visited upon Jonah were almost equal to those Woodson visited upon Hex in the past.   

Again, the dialogue is top notch with Sawbones waxing poetic, and the interchanges between Hex and Tallulah is quite telling of their relationship (probably one of the top two relationships in comics. I'll let others comment on who the other pairing might be). And again, not a fan of Beck (I know that a double barreled shotgun needs to be loaded prior to a third shot being fired, something that Tallulah didn't do). The art was too dark (I don't enjoy black gutters, too hard to determine panel layout at times). All in all, not a bad story, but pretty gruesome and definitely R-rated if made into a film.

Next Issue: Speak of the Devil!!! We get some more of Jonah's past and Woodson's training up of the boy.

Jonah Hex V2 #40 "Sawbones The First Half"

Jonah Hex V2 #40 Apr '09

"Sawbones The First Half"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, David Micheal Beck - art and cover 

Hang on, this one is brutal:

Texas, 1879. We see a woman pleading for her life and someone trying to calm her but we then see a chisel hammered into her head and the top of her skull removed

The Good Doctor

Another woman is standing outside and is witnessing these actions through a window. The woman chokes back her tears and then turns and runs through the woods and into the night. Back in the building, a man with a butcher's apron is holding a bloody saw and we see his victim with her head poking up through a specially made table. Various organs in jars line the table and the man looks out the window, knowing that he has been spied upon.

To Catch a Killer...You Need a Killer

A few men are digging up a mass grave outside the house where the previous action took place. The witness and the sheriff stand at the edge of the pit. There are numerous bodies and parts in the pit and the sheriff asks the woman if she can give a good enough description for them to print up a wanted poster. She says that she will never forget that face.

The posters are quickly printed up and Jonah Hex is talking to the sheriff. The sheriff is saying that the man claims to be a doctor who travels around so that's why they called in Hex. He explains that the doc cuts people up with precision and takes out all of their organs to which replies, that sounds somewhat familiar. He never actually met that man but heard tales that had been told by freed slaves.

Some Legends Are Bloody

Kentucky, December 17, 1862

Hex recounts the tale: Back during the States War there were few doctors for the battlefields and several men stepped in with no training, some to help their fellow men, others to avoid the front line. There was one man from Louisiana, who had studied hoodoo and was with the Confederacy. He would often take wounded Union soldiers and experiment on them to extract information, further his own knowledge, and to train other so-called doctors. Some soldiers used the expertise of this doctor to gather information and would tolerate his gruesome tactics as long as he produced results.

Some of the Confederacy leaders actually noticed there was a higher mortality rate for Union soldiers in battles where this doctor was present. Several of the soldiers steered clear of him our of fear, disgust, or morals. The slaves hated him not only because of what he did but also his co-opting of their magic. The man was called Sawbones and the end of Hex's tale we see Union soldiers discovering a camp that has a pentagram made out of human limbs.

Bloodbath at Ramrod Dancehall

Farmington, New Mexico, 1879. One month later.

Sheriff Henry McClude and his deputy Jim sit in the dancehall. Jim is concerned about some men that are gunning for them. Three men come in, guns drawn, to warn the sheriff that Andy is coming and he is looking for revenge over the sheriff killing his brother. Andy barges in, words are exchanged and Andy shoots Sheriff McClude in the neck. McClude falls to the floor and Andy puts a bullet in the back of McClude's head, just as the sheriff's grown son Rick comes in. 

Rick opens fire just as the deputy steps up to stop him. Rick ends up shooting and killing Jim but continues shooting anyone and everyone he lays eyes on. A kerosene lamp bursts and the dancehall bursts into flames and Rick heads for the front door. He waits outside as men, ablaze, come running out and he guns them down in the street.

Just then Jonah Hex rides up and Rick whirls and draws on him. Hex tells him to take it easy, he is looking to talk to the sheriff. Rick, thinking Hex is with the gang that killed his father, shoots Hex in the shoulder, knocking him off his mount. Hex draws and kills Rick before losing consciousness as a crowd gathers.

Belly of the Beast

The wanted poster for Sawbones sits on a table and we see a knife being honed on a strop. It is Sawbones himself and Hex is sitting on the floor, bound to a 4x4 post. His hands are tied behind his back, and he is bound at the ankles. Several skeletons hang on the walls. Sawbones introduces himself as William Zimmerman and says that based on Jonah clothing and his scar, he must be Jonah Hex. Zimmerman says that he is happy to meet Hex because they are both death dealers, long lost brothers, if you will. 

Zimmerman keeps with his dissertation as he slices the bottoms of Jonah's feet and then cauterizes the wounds. Zimmerman excuses himself, he has 'pupils' coming to town, he gags Hex and then leaves. Jonah then starts slamming backward into the 4x4 post he is bound to and eventually cracks it and manages to make his escape. He staggers across the countryside on his bleeding bare feet, arriving at a river. 

He crawls into the river and floats downstream, finally becoming entangled in a fallen tree.

Lady in Black

and, lo, who shall come upon him and rescue him? None other than Tallulah Black.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - one
Running Total - 743 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 241 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - shot in the shoulder, feet sliced and burned and other injuries from slamming into a post until it breaks.
Timeline - This covers a month.
Rape Percentage -  25% (10 of 40)

First off, this is Beck's third shot at the art for Jonah, and it as it was before....meh. On to the story: I'm not a big fan of vivisectionists as villains, they are much too cruel for my tastes. I did like the story of how cruel some of the doctors in the Civil War were. It is pretty well known the harsh conditions they had to work under and how often they had to perform surgeries and amputations without any pain killers. Not too far of a stretch to imagine someone steeped in arcane practices to revel in the pain and draw others in with them, in the name of 'science'.

It is a trope of the villain thinking he and the hero are two sides of the same coin (or the same side of two coins) is, well, a trope and it gets a little tired. It IS nice to see a bad guy last an extra issue and we get a Done in Two rather than a Done in One. And it is great to see Jonah just have a run of bad luck that almost ends in death for him. Guy can't be lucky all the time (except in the case of waterfalls or bears in caves).

Next Issue: The return of Dr. Sawbones and probably the most brutal end to a story that we have yet seen.

Jonah Hex V2 #24 "All Hallows Eve"

Jonah Hex V2 #24 Dec. '07

"All Hallows Eve"
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray - story, David Michael Beck - art and cover

Two men are in full blown knock-down drag-out fight in a bar. One man is knocked out and a local official checks him out and announces the fallen man is dead. In the crowd observing is Jonah Hex and Bat Lash, discussing pugilism, with Bat explaining that only a trained fighter can withstand a beating from another fighter. Hex replies with, "Wanna bet?" and then sheds his shirt, but not his hat nor sidearms, to take on the winner, Bluett Boyd. 

  The fight proceeds and ends up being a two-swing affair, with Boyd missing and Hex connecting resulting in Boyd kissing the floor. A young man runs into the saloon with a telegram for Jonah and he heads out, with Lash tailing behind, uninvited.

Halloween in Hell Town

Three weeks later: Hex and Lash are riding into Coffin Creek under cover of darkness. They ride up to the local brothel and Hex encounters the madam, Crystal Ray Adercrombie. Hex asks why she hasn't asked other gunmen to help her out and Crystal explains that Bill Bradley outta Kansas came and tried to oust this man from Crystal's establishment, with no effect. Hex, Lash, & Crystal head up to room 9 and right before Jonah heads inside to evict this unwelcome guest, Crystal tells him that Bradley, right before leaving town, said that the man in room specifically asked for Jonah Hex.

Hell's Vengeful Assassin

In the room is none other than El Diablo and Jonah demands to know where Lazarus Lane is located. El Diablo unleashes his whip, wrapping it around Jonah's neck, bringing Jonah to his knees. Diablo states that the town is marked for death this All Hallow's Eve. Diablo has been imprisoned in the room so as not to interfere in the town's fate. A prairie witch by the name of Esmeralda Moorland lured Lazarus Lane away from Diablo and unless Lazarus and Diablo are reunited within three hours, Diablo will return to Hell and the entire town will die. 

Beams of unholy fire burst forth from Diablo's eyes, bathing Hex in fire.

Hunting the Supernatural

Hex steps from the room, his eyes glowing with fire and his voice twisted into that of Diablo. Hex tells Lash to follow him and they walk out into the street. We get to see the town through the eyes of Lash, everything looks normal, as well as through Hex's eyes, wherein everyone is a twisted misshapen demon. 

Walking up to the saloon, Hex demands two men produce Lazarus Lane and then he shoots both of them, rendering them both into flaming skeletons. Once inside the saloon, Lash sees Lane bound and gagged, hanging from lantern fixture in the ceiling. Everyone in the saloon, possessed by Esmeralda, is eating the raw remains of a freshly slaughtered bovine that is spread out across the bar. They all mutter the name of Hex. 

The witch commands that they all kill both Hex and Lash and the gunfight ensues. Hex's shots render the townsfolk into flaming skeletons while Lash's bullets produce only normal effects. Lash takes note of the fact and Jonah tosses a sidearm to Bat. The gun, while smoking hot from the fires of hell, only shoots regular bullets while being wielded by someone other than one possessed by Diablo. Jonah unleashes the whip and cuts Lane down, ordering Lash to take him back to the hotel. Bat is quick to comply.

Jonah and Esmeralda fight it out in the bar while Bat Lash tries to make it back across the street, but all hell has broken out  with townsfolk slaughtering each other in the street. Lash finds his way to the brothel barred by two men. He takes them out with a flourish of playing cards and a well placed boot tip and then dives through a window.

Back in the saloon, Hex and the witch continue to battle when suddenly, with a burst of flame, El Diablo appears. Using his fire whip, he entraps the witch and liberates her head from her body. Bat lash enters the saloon saying that the town is returning to normal.

Dawn the next morning finds Jonah and Bat in the company of Crystal and one of her ladies. Bat is recounting the time he saved Jonah. Finally, Jonah announces that he is hitting the hay and the lady goes upstairs with him. At the top of the stairs, Hex and his companion encounter Lazarus Lane, who thanks Jonah for his help. Grabbing Lane by the neck and driving a finger into his chest, Jonah replies with "Yer welcome."

Bat Lash invites Lane to a hand or two of cards, but Lazarus states that he has overstayed his welcome in Coffin Creek and will be leaving soon.

Statistics for This Issue

Men Killed by Jonah - We see 7 killed by Jonah, but there were probably more in the saloon. I'll stick with 7.
Running Total - 653 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 161 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Possessed by the devil himself.
Timeline - Three weeks of travel and a night or two? Let's settle on 22 days and this one takes place after "An Eye for an Eye".
Rape Percentage -  34% (8 out of 23)

  I wasn't a big fan of this one. I really enjoy Bat Lash, especially with Hex, but I have always have (and always WILL) enjoy Jonah outside of the regular DC Universe with all of its supernatural and superheroic trappings. Lazarus Lane is an interesting character when handled by J and J, but Diablo doesn't fit into my vision of Hex's world. And Beck's artwork just doesn't do it for me, something is always slightly 'off', it tries too hard to be photographic. It looks traced, maybe?

Oh well, make of it what you will.

Next Issue: We teeter on the brink of the turn of the century and get a surprise visit from the past.

Jonah Hex #11 "The Hanging Tree"

Jonah Hex V2 #11 Nov, 2006
"The Hanging Tree"
Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, story - David Michael Beck, art - Art Thibert, cover

Our tale begins at night with Jonah Hex, hands bound behind him, hanging by the neck in a tree with other hanging bodies as well as skeletons. Standing below the tree, watching Hex twitch and kick, are the freaks from the Romanoff Traveling Side Show. The freaks watch a short while longer, then pack up and move on.

  An unknown amount of time later, a rider comes along and that rider uses his whip to snap the limb that Hex is tied to. The rider?..... El Diablo. Diablo cuts him loose and gives him some water along with a warning to not tease the Devil.  Diablo mentions that Lazarus is in nearby Encita but he must leave now since he has work to do.

 Next day, Encita, California. We find Jonah Hex riding into town and proceeds to the Grand Hotel. As he approaches, a man starts to stop him, holding out a hand to stop Hex. Jonah grabs the mans fingers, bending them backwards, breaking them, and then proceeds to beat the man into submission. Hex's arm is stopped by Lazarus Lane. They have a quick, unfriendly exchange and then head into the local saloon.

 Inside, Hex is pushing down a meal and Lane is quizzing him as to why the Carny folk were after Hex. Jonah explains that he killed their boss. Lane warns Hex that things are changing, the frontier is vanishing and there will soon be no room for people that hand out their own justice. Hex mentions that at least he doesn't wear a stupid mask. Lane asks Jonah how he is going to move forward since he has no money, no guns, no horse (despite riding into town on one). Just then a cowboy walks into the saloon and Jonah stands, saying that things have a way of working out.

We next see Jonah dragging that cowboy through the street to the sheriff to collect a $500 reward.

The Carnival of Torture and Death - It's night, an unknown number of days later and an unknown distance away. The Romanoff carnival is being terrorized by about a dozen men and several of the freaks lay dead. The tattooed lady is being drug across the desert by a man who states that has broker her spirit but she should be good for a few more rides. Another man comes up and drags her off, going past two men who have tied up the Siamese twins and are trying to pull them apart. Another man has a freak tied to the wagon's wheel and is heating up a stick with which to burn him. The man says that since Romanoff ain't around to pay the Pearson Gang, they will do what they damn well please.

  The tattooed lady is begging with her tormentor to let her go and when he demands that she tell him his fortune she quotes Revelation 19:11. The man tells her that the Good Book ain't gonna help her none. Just then Jonah Hex rides up behind him and says that HE will help her and then shoots the man dead.

  Back at the camp a few men spot two pairs of weirdly glowing eyes. Thinking they belong to wolves, they shoot into the night. The eyes, however, belong to El Diablo & his horse. Hex rides into the campfire light and the men ask who in the hell Hex is. Jonah says that if they want to know about hell, just turn around. El Diablo comes into the light and snaps one man's neck with his whip. Jonah shoots two more and Diablo leaps from his horse as three other men try to gun him down.

  The campfire explodes into an inferno and consumes one man as Diablo stands unscathed in the flames. Hex's horse kicks in one man's face and Jonah guns down two more men. With all of the men dead, Diablo states that vengeance is served. Hex disagrees and goes over to the remaining freaks to get even for his hanging. Diablo whips the pistol from Jonah's hand and they argue over Jonah's right to kill them....

  The tattooed lady comes back and states that she didn't want them to hang Hex. She speaks of trying to help the children that Romanoff abused and she tells Hex that he is a freak like them. She tells Hex that she has the Sight. She can see that Hex will one day be put on display and people will pay money to see him. Hex asks that if she can truly see the future then why didn't she stop all of this from happening? And then he rides off.

The Troubled Souls of Men - Lazarus Lane is asleep in his bed and Jonah Hex stands over him, holding a pistol on him. Lane jerks awake and asks if Hex was going to shoot him in his sleep. Jonah confesses to thinking about it. Lane fixes them a drink and says that he is not adverse to Hex killing him, he drinks himself to sleep most nights and wakes up screaming.

The tale ends with Jonah riding off and the narrator verifying the Tattooed woman's prophecy.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 6
Running Total - 573 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 71 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Hung by the neck
Timeline - It appears that this takes place across two nights and one day.
Rape Percentage - 45% (5 out of 11)

I'm conflicted about this issue. Personally I have always enjoyed Jonah being apart from the DCU and this was the first 'canonical' story of Jonah interacting with a character that had some sort of super power. Being Jonah, he took it all in stride, practically staring down the Devil himself (or at least a minion). While the story may have been lacking (or not up to my liking), Gray and Palmiotti once again write caption boxes and dialogue like it's nobody's business. I find myself reading their books out loud over and over again.

Beck's art, while at time almost photographic, does come across incredibly stilted and stiff most of the time. I can't say as I'm a fan.

Next Issue - Mormon Bashing is taken to the extreme.