Jonah Hex #72 "Tarantula!"

Jonah Hex #72 May 1982
"Tarantula!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Ross Andru & Dick Giordano, cover

Jonah, disguised as El Papagayo, in order to save Emmie Lou Hartley, who has been kidnapped by the aforementioned Mexican bandit, has broken into the palace of the President of Mexico in order to steal the necklace of Queen Isabella and having gotten his hands on the necklace attempts to escape but is suddenly stopped by the palace guards. (whew!)

Jonah shouts out but then...

Ouchie!

The following afternoon the dead body of Jonah Hex/El Papagayo is laid out for viewing as an example of all those who would oppose the mighty Mexican government. The captain of the guards makes mention of the horrible scars that El Papagayo has, but chalks that up to the dangerous life of a bandit band leader.

Two men viewing the body are visibly shaken and leave rather quickly. Turns out they work for El Papagayo and rush back to tell the bandit leader what has happened. Emmy overhears and is heartbroken that Jonah is dead, but Papagayo sees it as a golden opportunity. With the Mexican government thinking that he is dead, there will be very few guards escorting the necklace back to Spain. Papagayo will swoop down like the beautiful Mexican parrot and steal the necklace!

Several nights later, the two thugs we met earlier are in the graveyard digging up the body of Jonah Hex in order to cash in on the matching Dragoons that Jonah was buried with. They finally remove the casket and break open the lid to find...



Jonah Hex has turned into a pile of STONES!!!!!

Nope, he has turned into a vengeful monkey and swinging from a tree kicks the holy living crap outta both of them. But he's not done! Jonah's fists, seeing what fun his feet had, want in on the action as well.

Jonah subdues the two thugs and then Col. Sanchez appears out of the darkness to take the men captive. The Col & Jonah are congratulating themselves on their wonderful plan to make Papagayo think that the necklace will be unguarded tomorrow and when he attempts to steal it, they shall capture Papagayo (remember the telegram that Jonah sent last issue? Good!). However, the keeper of the graveyard overhears everything and goes rushing off into town.

In town he tells an man named Emilio everything he heard in order for Emilio to ride to Papagayo and warn the bandit leader.

The next day, Hex & Sanchez are leading the troops guarding the necklace as it makes its way to the ship that will take it back to Spain. Sanchez has several hundred men riding just 10 minutes behind. Once they spot Papagayo, Sanchez will fire his pistol twice as a signal for the men to come rushing in. Just then, Sanchez's hat gets shot off his head.

Papagayo and his men are on a hill overlooking the small wagon carrying the necklace. He shouts down that he knows all about the plan and if any signals are attempted, Sanchez will be dead. Papagayo shouts that he has his own bag of tricks and has his men produce that bag. He cuts the bag open and out tumbles Emmy Lou, bound hand and foot. Now, Papagayo makes his demands. Hex must bring the necklace to Papagayo or Emmy gets a bullet in the head.

Jonah quickly clubs Sanchez unconscious and draws on the wagon guards. He takes the strongbox, unlocks it and grabs the necklace. Papagayo and his men ride off with Emmy, leaving Jonah with the necklace to follow.

An hour later, the bandit reigns in his horse at a covered pit. Jonah is clubbed unconscious and tied up then he and Emmy are lowered into the pit. Just as Jonah comes to, Papagayo orders a huge basket of tarantulas dumped into the pit then he and his men ride off.

Back in the spider filled pit, Jonah tells Emmy to cut her ropes on his spurs. She keeps working until she is free, unties herself and Jonah and then promptly feints. Jonah tosses her over his shoulder and climbs out of the pit.

Later that night, Papagayo and his men are talking about having left Jonah & Emmy to starve. Papagayo mentions that he will be missing the battle of wits with Hex. Just then a lookout returns to the campfire but it is really JONAH HEX!!!!. Jonah pistol whips Papagayo and turns him in to Col Sanchez.

The next afternoon, Col Sanchez thanks Jonah for returning the necklace and Emmy gets a new bonnet. Then, in an unexpected turn of events...

El Papagayo breaks the fourth wall!!!

Statistics for this issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 0
Running Total - 385
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked unconscious.
Timeline - This one covers two days + "several days". Let's call it a week. By the end of this one we are probably into Dec 1877

I did like this one. Jonah's death, complete with a Wilhelm Scream, was an agonizing ballet of death dancing, the likes I had never seen before. El Papagayo was a wonderful villain but when is he going to learn to shoot Jonah and be done with it? I didn't care for Emmy fainting, it seemed like Fleisher didn't want to write dialogue for her, so he just had her pass out. The ending was very abrupt and then that weird last panel. Oooooooo, Papagayo is talking directly to MEEEEE. (At least, he didn't get his finger blown off whilst pointing at me.)

And how can you NOT love a book that has this???



Next Issue: The most Gawd-awful Jonah Hex story ever penned. And that includes all of the Justice League crossovers.

Jonah Hex # 71 "The Masquerade!"

Jonah Hex #71 April 1983
"The Masquerade!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Ross Andru & Dick Giordano, cover

There's Jason standing high atop the boulder, he and his three thugs having gotten the drop on Jonah, Emmy, Tim and Daniels. Jason is sick and tired of his old man giving all of the inheritance away on silly charities. Jonah speaks up and says that he hates to break up the family reunion but he has to get going and that Jason should step aside or...

Jason, stupidly replies "Or what?"

Jonah answers back...

Jason dives behind a rock and opens fire, clipping his dad in the head. Daniels is down (but not dead) and Jonah and Emmy are pinned behind a rock. Jonah gets a bright idea and.. well, I"ll just show ya.

After that, Jonah saddles up to go stop the Manitou. Shortly he spots the Manitou and his Mani-thugs on the cliff planting the dynamite. Jonah dismounts and then catches a slug on the right thigh, cleverly placed there by a Mani-lookout. Jonah, being one to never receive a gift without returning the favor, sends two bullets into the Mani-lookout, causing him to double over (thus creating a Mani-fold) and fall out of his Mani-lookout tree.

Manitou hears the gunfire but continues his rant about leading the Indians against the white man and also continues planting the dynamite.

Jonah is trying to figure out how he's gonna sneak up on the crazy Indians with a bum leg but just then Daniels rides up. Yup, Daniels, his head professionally bandaged by Emmy, has grabbed a horse and found Hex. He tells Hex that he hasn't had any peace since the death of Cassie Wainwright and this is his one chance to atone for his sins. Daniels jumps up and runs off to remove the dynamite.

Meanwhile, Manitou and two of his Mani-thugs are heading for the detonator. They turn and see Daniels running for the dynamite and the thugs head back to stop him. During the fight Daniels is kicked in the head and then double-fist clubbed in the noggin. The Manitou panics and realizes that he has to detonate the charge now. He lunges for the plunger but Daniels is able to get himself, the dynamite and the two thugs over the edge of the cliff before it explodes, thus ruining the Manitous's mani-plans.

Meanwhile, Jonah has worked his way up the cliff and gets the drop on the crazed Indian would-be leader. Jonah and Emmy wave goodbye to Tim Daniels and take the saboteurs into town. The end.

WAAAAAIIIT!! We're only on page 10!!!!

The next morning, in town, Jonah is heading to see the doc while Emmy gets them a room at the hotel. Walking through town, Jonah thinks he sees Mei Ling and runs over to her, only to realize his mistake. He gets to thinking that he isn't really over Mei Ling and that he is leaning on Emmy for emotional support. Something that he has to stop doing.

After seeing the doc, Jonah heads back to the hotel to find their room empty. Jonah inquires at the front desk and learns that Emmy left with 'two Mexican gentlemen' and they left a note. In the note?

Now Jonah is heading to Mexico to find El Papgayo, last seen way back when Jonah was fighting off the Fort Charlotte Brigade. Jonah rides into town and contemplates on the telegram that he sent Col Sanchez, hoping he gets it in time. Jonah takes a seat in the Punta Del Rojo Cantina (I thought it was the PUTA Del Rojo which means Red Whore. My bad). He waits about an hour until three men approach him and threaten to kill him. Stupidly they didn't realize you don't threaten to kill Jonah Hex, you just kill him. But....

Just the El Papgayo walks in and tells Jonah that he tried to stop these men, but kids are so stupid these days. Down to business, Papgayo explains that in order to get Emmy back, Jonah will have to do a favor for Papgayo.

On the ride back to El Papgayo's lair, Papgayo explains that the Mexican government has started cracking down on renegade bandits. However, in one week, President Diaz is having a huge party in the palace in Mexico City and the Spanish Ambassador is bringing a necklace worn by Queen Isabella herself. Papgayo intends on stealing it but knows that the palace would be heavily guarded. He plans on having Hex steal the necklace BUT so that everyone won't think that Papgayo is a coward, Hex will be disguised as El Papgayo when he commits the crime.

A week later, Jonah is in Mexico City, outside the palace. He works his way over the wall and knocks out two guards. Then he slides down a rope off the roof of the palace, right into the party. He grabs the necklace from the neck of the President's wife and heads out the front door. Just as he is about to mount up and ride off.....

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 7
Running Total - 385
Jonah's Injuries - Shot in right thigh
Timeline - This one covers about 8 days. The pacing is weird with one arc ending in the middle of the book and another starting right there. Fleisher did this for several issues, I think to boost readership or at least loyalty. Nov of 1877

Next Issue: The death of both Jonah Hex & El Papgayo. It's a two-fer!

Jonah Hex #70 "The Mountain of the Manitou!"

Jonah Hex #70 Mar 1983
"The Mountain of the Manitou!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Ross Andru & Dick Giordano, cover

Jonah is kicking the dead carcass of White Claw into a hastily dug grave outside the snowbound cabin where he and Emmy Lou Hartley were holed up. Emmy comes slowly out of the cabin and Jonah chastises her for being up and around so early after being stabbed. She says that she has been cooped up in that cabin for a month now (assuming she means from when she first brought Jonah there) and winter has started. If they don't leave soon, they'll be stuck there for the entire winter.

As they ride off, Emmy asks if Jonah is going to go after the last man responsible for Cassie Wainwright's death. Jonah tells her that fifteen years is too long to hold a grudge and he is just gonna move on.

Meanwhile, several miles away, Ernest Daniels is confessing his past sins to his pastor. He unloads, telling of the theft of $100,000.00 and the death of Cassie. Daniels explains how he has built an orphanage, the town hall and the school, all in an attempt to ease his guilt. The pastor suggests confessing to Cassie's husband and asking for forgiveness. Daniels explains that she had a fiancee and he thinks he knows where to locate him.

That evening, Daniels is packing his bags and he two grown sons are quizzing him about his travels. he explains that he has business with Jonah Hex, showing them a newspaper touting a headline about Jonah killing a hired gun in Gravesboro. He tells them he is heading for there in order to locate Hex.

Several hours later, we find Jonah and Emmy crouching behind some boulders on the outskirts of the Shoshone village where he recently escaped. Jonah is bound and determined to get his dragoons back. Jonah jumps out of his hiding place and beats the crap out of two sentries and sets fire to a tee pee to cause a distraction. Running through the camp, he ducks into the chief's tent, punches the old chief unconscious, grabs his holster, guns, and hat. Heading out of the camp, he catches an arrow in his right shoulder and guns down the Indian that wounded him. Running hell-bent for leather, Jonah finds Emmy waiting with a couple of horses and they make their escape.

Several hours later, they have set up camp and Emmy has removed the arrow from Jonah's shoulder when they hear gunfire. They head out to investigate.

The gunfire is coming from Jason Daniels (son of Ernest Daniels) and several men hiding atop a cliff, firing down on a carriage driven by Ernest Daniels and his other son Tim. Jason is hoping to kill his dad & brother in order to inherit the entire Daniels fortune. Just then Jonah & Emmy come running up and Jonah is just able to knock Daniels out of the way of more gunfire.

The four of them are holed up in a ditch when Daniels recognizes Jonah and vice versa. They are unable to make an escape into the woods, so Jonah has Emmy grab a rope from their horse and they all head for a nearby cliff. Jonah throws the rope around a large boulder and tosses it over the side, letting it snake towards the river below. Jonah orders everyone over the side. Daniels slides down, followed by Emmy, Tim and finally Jonah.

Sadly, the rope doesn't reach the river and the four of them are dangling in the air. Of course, the rope breaks, throwing the four of them into the raging river. They manage to grab onto a huge log and after several minutes of churning through the rapids, they hear the upcoming waterfall. Jonah, using the rope they still have, manages to lasso a tree on the bank and pull them all to safety.

Once on the shore, they make their way to a nearby cave in the cliff face to find shelter. All they find is a quick clubbing to the head.

When they awaken, they are all tied up and are face to face with the Great Manitou. Ke'tci Manitowa (aka Great Manitou) says that he knows they have been following him, trying to locate his secret shrine and learn of his plans. Several years ago the Manitou had a dream of a great war between the whites and the Indians. The Indians were almost completely wiped out, except for those who followed him to the great cave in the mountain, where he had stockpiled provisions. For decades the Indians hid in the mountains and when they finally emerged they started a massive war against the whites, killing them all and returning the land to the Indians with the Manitou as their god.

Jonah starts to tell the Manitou what he thinks but all he gets is a kick in the face for his troubles. The Manitou then reveals that it will be HE that will start this war between the whites and the Indians and he will start it tonight by exploding a cliff over the Little Rainbow River, blocking the river and flooding the entire Campanas Valley. He will plant an Indian medallion at the scene of the explosion and the whites will riot against the Nazis....uh, the Indians. Anyway, the Manitou finishes his rant, gathers up his minions and departs.

Left guarded by a lone Indian, Jonah thinks of how to escape. He tells Emmy to pull some bullets from his gunbelt. She pulls them out and hands them to Jonah. Hex manages to flip the bullets into a nearby fire. When they go off, Jonah tells the Indian that it's their friends come to rescue them. As the Indian comes closer, Jonah launches himself headfirst into the Indian's groin. The Indian knocks himself out on a rock and Emmy is able to grab the knife that the guard dropped.

Emmy cuts everyone loose and they begin their escape. Sadly they can only locate one horse, so Jonah decides to head out on his own but he is suddenly stopped by Jason Daniels and three of his thugs. Jason is there to collect on his inheritance!!!



Statistics for this Issue
Men killed by Jonah - 1
Running Total - 378
Jonah's Injuries - knocked out, arrow in right shoulder, kicked in the face
Timeline - Probably only a few days after last issue. This book covers one day, a night, and into the next day. Jonah once again states that we are 15 years past the death of Cassie, putting us in 1874. UPDATE: Nov 1877

This book is another example of Fleisher interweaving multiple plots. We have the Manitou, Jonah's revenge on Daniels, Daniel's son, and more of Emmy. It's a pretty good issue, the crazy Indian doesn't make much sense, but he's a crazy Indian, so how much sense does he HAVE to make?

Next Issue: we wrap up the Cassie revenge story, the Manitou gets what he deserves, and Jonah goes shopping for jewelry, fine Mexican jewelry.

Jonah Hex #69 "The Gauntlet!"

Jonah Hex #69 Feb. 1982
"The Gauntlet!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Ross Andru & Dick Giordano, cover

Ya see, Jonah has to escort this witness back for trial and ends up armoring an entire bus because the police have been told they need to kill him, so Jonah drives the bus slowly through town, getting terribly shot up but he makes it in the end.

Whoops!!!

Let's start over.

Jonah has just walked into the bar where George is dead, having a drink with Kincaid. Kincaid starts yammering about how he is gonna kill Hex, but this gives Jonah just enough time to notice that White Claw is on a balcony, about to kill Hex with a tomahawk. Jonah dives for the floor, pumps two shots into White Claw, rolls across the floor avoiding Kincaid's bullets, and pushes two lead pills into Kincaid, to which Kincaid replies "GHAAA!" and dies.

White Claw, however isn't dead. He leaps from the balcony, swings on a light fixture and jumps out the window. Jonah chases after him but runs into a man carrying several boxes. This widens White Claw's lead, but the chase is on.

It is a race that White Claw is winning, keeping Jonah guessing on the trail until Jonah is on a cliff overlooking a small farm. On the farm, Claw walks into the barn and tells the farmer he needs a fresh horse. The farmer says that he can't sell what he has, he needs them both. Claw decides to bury the hatchet.....



Jonah rides down to the farm and finds the dying farmer. The farmer expires and Jonah continues the chase.

Night falls and Jonah follows the trail to the base of a cliff covered in caves. Jonah finds a wagon with a family settling down for the night. He stops, asking if they have seen an Indian around. The family, husband, wife, & little girl, are heading for Canada to start a hog farm (Canadian Bacon?!?!?) but they haven't seen anything. Jonah warns them White Claw is very dangerous and they should be careful.

Of course, the little girl, bored with all this talk of danger, wanders off into the high grass by herself in the dark. Jonah rides off and shortly thereafter the little girl finds White Claw.

Jonah is getting ready to start searching the caves when he hears rifle shots and makes a beeline back to the wagon. The little girl is safe but White Claw is on the run. The proud member of the FBGC (Future Bacon Growers of Canada) tells Jonah which way the Indian headed and Jonah realizes that White Claw is making for a nearby Shoshone village.

Sadly, Jonah is suddenly ambushed by several Shoshone and knocked out.

Several hours later, at dawn, Jonah Hex is tied to a stake in front of the Shoshone chief who has just heard White Claw's testimony that Jonah has tried to kill Claw for no reason. Jonah tells his side of the story, but since white men can only lie, the chief cannot allow White Claw to be taken to the white men's courts.

White Claw wants to kill Hex, but the chief is aware of Jonah's rep in the hood and thinks Hex deserves a fighting chance. Jonah Hex will have once chance to save his own life by running....

THE GAUNTLET!!!

The horror of the gauntlet cannot be described, it can only be witnessed...

So Jonah lies there, passed out on the beach, unaware that a horse and rider has arrived and is standing over him.

Time passes and even though Jonah awakens from his personal darkness, he is still shrouded in blackness. He wonders where he is. He sees a shadowy form in front of him and he calls out..




Mei Ling?!?!? It's 1874!?!? But, but, but... Jason was born in 1876, Jonah was kidnapped to China for 195 days, .... but, but......

Anyway, the shadowy form lights a lamp and is revealed to be... Emmylou Hartley!!!!! WOW!

It appears that she has been following Jonah for months (did she go to China as well?). She tells Jonah that she is in love with him and has been ever since he kissed her in that mountain cave. She had tried to forget about Jonah, since he was married, but she couldn't and when she heard that Mei Ling had left and Jonah rode off as well, Emmylou followed after Jonah.

Three days ago she found him on the bank of the river and brought him to this abandoned trapper's shack. As she moves closer to Jonah, he warns her to be careful, it feels like several of his ribs are broken. Emmylou promises to not go near his ribs.

For three weeks, Jonah recovers in the cabin with Emmylou by his side. One afternoon, Jonah is bringing in some firewood and the heavy winter storm is raging outside like the devil's own frozen fury (I made that up. See what I did there? Writing!!!!) As Emmylou is closing the door behind Jonah, White Claw shoves the door open and pushes Emmylou aside!

White Claw screams that the others in his tribe thought Jonah dead from the river, but he knew better. Now Jonah's scalp will hang on the halter of Claw's pony. Claw throws a tomahawk at Jonah who quickly blocks it with a chair. Claw charges Jonah, knocking them both into the pot-bellied stove, upsetting the whole shooting match.

Claw holds Hex down, ready to cleave his head in two, but Jonah manages to grab a skillet and wrap it around Claw's head. Jonah pummels Claw a few times and then, his own coat ablaze, knocks Claw outside. Claw pulls a knife and Jonah grabs the only thing he can find, a large stick, and decides to make a fight of it.

Sadly, the fates have deemed otherwise, as Jonah slips and falls on a patch of ice. Claw advances for the kill when suddenly Emmylou bursts forth from the cabin to stop Claw. White Claw turns and buries his knife right into the beautiful chest of Emmylou Hartley.

It goes without saying that Jonah goes absolutely apeshit at this point! Grabbing an axe...


Jonah finishes the job he started so long ago. Jonah runs to Emmylou and....



Statistics for this Issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2
Running Total - 377
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out, beat almost to death, several broken ribs
Timeline - .............Thud!.....Thud!......Thud!... There. I feel better. My head hurts and my keyboard is dented, but I feel much better. Taking into account the passage of time, and the several clues sprinkled throughout this and previous arcs, this story is placed squarely in 18xx. (and I'm not so sure about that). UPDATE: This one ends in Nov 1877

Anyway, the timeline set aside for a moment (this book covers about 4 weeks, just for the note takers out there), there was one helluva lot going on in this book. Rather than the normal done-in-one, or the ending with a cliffhanger, this story almost seemed like three stories put together. We had the exciting climax with the death of Kincaid, then there was the chase after White Claw, and finally the reveal of Emmylou Hartley. The ending wasn't a cliff-hanger, but we know that this will be continued, so it's like the beginning of a whole other story. I really liked this format, it was certainly different for a western, it was different than what Fleisher had done up until now, and it was definitely different from what DC was doing elsewhere.

Several folks, myself included, have cited the Last Bounty Hunter as the best Hex story, but I have to place this one right up there, mainly for the unusual pacing of the entire book. I also add points for the great cover with the tilted perspective (including the title of the book)

Jonah marks two more off his list of Cassie's killers.

Next Issue: Jonah goes back to the Shoshone village to set things right, and Jonah encounters the horrible truth about...The Swastika!!!!!

Jonah Hex #68 "Gunfight at Gravesboro!"

Jonah Hex #68 Jan. 1983
"Gunfight at Gravesboro!"

Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Gonzales & Dick Giordano, cover

Jonah Hex rides up in front of the Gravesboro Livery when an unknown man calls him out. The man says that he's gonna be world famous for having gunned down Jonah Hex. The only fame he gets is to be number 375 on Jonah's kill list. Yup, Jonah plants one right between the dude's eyes.

Needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, this brings the town sheriff a-running. Jonah recognizes the sheriff as George Rehnquist. George is flabbergasted that it really IS Jonah Hex. He mentions Woodson and doesn't know how Jonah's face got all scarred up so he is obviously an old family friend that hasn't seen Jonah since 1866.

Jonah asks George if he wants to know why the dead body in the middle of the street came to be there. George looks down and says "Barney Gossett?..If'n any man ever needed killin' it wuz thet cold-eyed bully" and then he takes Jonah over to a saloon for a drink.

Later, in the General Store, several of the town leaders have gathered together to hatch a plan. They are wanting to offer Jonah the job of sheriff. Seems George is getting on in years and every crook in the area knows that George can't stand up to them. They decide that they could hire Hex temporarily, just until the town gets a reputation for not being a pushover. Their plan runs into a snag.

Later that night, in Jonah's hotel room, Hex refuses the job. He won't put his friend George out of a job. The fast-thinking town leaders offer the job of deputy to Jonah, mostly in order to keep George from being killed by all the rabble that has infested the town. Jonah decides to accept that offer.

Next morning, several hundred miles away, two men are sneaking up on a barn. They ask a young boy if he has seen a man dressed all in black. The boy says that the man is hiding in the barn. The two men rush into the barn, only to have the doors slammed behind them and barred shut. Outside, the man in black, Kincaid, pays the young boy 15 cents for lying to the two men and then he launches a lit lantern into the barn.

With the barn now ablaze, the two men inside continue to batter the barn doors until they finally break out, only to be cut down by a hail of Kincaid's bullets. Shortly thereafter, Kincaid is at a large ranch collecting his money for killing the two men (who were hired to settle an argument over water rights). Kincaid thanks his employer and states that he now has to settle an old score with Jonah Hex.

Back in Gravesboro, Jonah & George are walking down the street when Arbie, the saloon owner comes flying through his own front glass window. Arbie says that the Ransom boys are tearing up his place. George heads in to calm things down but ends up getting his gun taken away, beer poured on his head and knocked out with a chair. Just as the leader of the Ransoms is getting ready to beat George with a whip, a bullet cuts the whip clean in half.

The leader turns to find Jonah standing in the doorway. The man pulls a gun and.. Well, how can one easily explain what happens next? It's so much better to just show you.



Jonah gets the rest of the gang off to jail and helps George get his bearings.

Three days later and twenty miles away in Nugget Gulch, the entire town (including Michael Fleisher himself!)
is out to witness the hanging of a murdering Indian. The Reverend finally shows up to say a prayer over the condemned but just as the door is almost opened, the reverend produces a pistol from his Bible and shoots everyone on the platform. Holy Crap, the reverend is Kincaid!!!

Kincaid cuts the noose and bonds holding the Indian, White Claw, and they start running through the streets to a pair of horses that Kincaid has stashed. As they are riding out of town, White Claw tells Kincaid that he knows why Kincaid is there, to recruit White Claw in his attempt to kill Jonah Hex. As a note of emphasis, White Claw decides to bury the hatchet, literally, in the forehead of a man trying to shoot them from a second story window.

Later that night, back in Gravesboro, in the local whorehouse, a huge man is shooting up the place and in general busting up everything he sees. George shows up and tells the ruffian to hand over his pistol. The man starts to threaten George and suddenly changes his mind and asks to be handcuffed, he will go quietly. George says that he's glad that he is finally getting respect in the town and the man states that it was only because Jonah was standing behind George that he complied at all.

George tells Jonah that he should be out patrolling and the crook busts up laughing when he realizes that George thought he carried any weight in that town. Jonah heads back to the hotel to grab a couple hours of shuteye so he can relieve George for the late shift.

Meanwhile, George has gotten back to the jail when a man comes running in saying that Farrell Kincaid is in town and will start killing folks unless Jonah Hex shows up. George grabs his shotgun and heads for the saloon. The man asks if he should get Hex and George says that he can handle this himself.

Meanwhile, Jonah is dreaming and we have...

FLASHBACK!!!!

Jonah and the Army men with him return to the fort, the body of Cassie in the wagon behind them. At the fort, Jonah reports to Col. Wainwright about the robbery and the murder of Cassie. The Col. excuses Jonah and locks the door behind him and then...
END OF FLASHBACK!!!

Jonah is awakened to a pounding on his hotel room door. The same man that notified the sheriff of Kincaid being in town tells Jonah that Kincaid has just killed the sheriff.

At the saloon, Kincaid pours himself a drink and then pours one for the dead Sheriff George, who is propped up in a chair, his mouth hanging open. Just then the saloon doors swing open and Jonah walks in, not knowing that White Claw is up on the balcony, ready to ambush him!


Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Hex - one
Running Total - 375
Jonah's Injuries - None
Timeline - This one covers about a week, sometime after mid October in 1874, because that is 15 years after 1859, remember? I don't care what some commentators have said, it is 1874. UPDATE: Oct. 1877

The comic elements in this one reminded me of North to Alaska or McClintok! But the best part ended up being the gruesome corpse of George sitting in the saloon. Eeeeeewwwwww, eyes rolled back up in his head, mouth open. It was great. Another good installment in the Cassie Wainwright Saga

Next Issue: Jonah ends up in a Clint Eastwood movie!!!! For reals!!

Jonah Hex #66 "Requiem for a Coward!"

Jonah Hex #66 Nov 1982
"Requiem for a Coward!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Ross Andru, cover

Jonah comes riding into the Palomino Creek stage depot looking for a bite to eat. Without provocation, a man pulls a rifle on Jonah and tells him to dismount. While Jonah is ignoring him and riding on by, Hex is suddenly lassoed and pulled from his horse. He lands on his feet and manages to plant a big boot right into the lasso-wielder's groin. Other men join in the fight and now that the odds are 4-1, with Jonah's arms tied, Jonah succumbs to the repeated beatings that are rained down upon him. Jonah's unconscious body is taken away to Willow Bluff, where the men have a meeting with Banker Rod Webster.

Several hours later, Webster is overjoyed to learn that Jonah Hex is dead, HOWEVER, the rotten bandit that is meeting with Webster informs him that Jonah Hex is NOT dead. He and his gang are holding Hex. Since Webster was so quick to pony up $10,000 ($181,000), they thought they could get some MORE money if they killed Hex, otherwise, they would just let him go. Webster is outraged, but what can he do? He agrees to fork over another $10,000 when he has Jonah Hex's head in a gunny sack.

Meanwhile, Jonah is tied up in the blackmailer's cabin, where four men are playing poker. Jonah has learned from overhearing their leader that Rod Webster is behind all of this. While the men aren't watching, Jonah rolls a flaming log out of the fireplace and burns through the ropes holding his hands behind his back. He unties his feet, grabs his pigsticker from his jacket and quickly delivers it into the throat of the first guy that notices the escape. Hex grabs a rafter to swing from it and catapult himself into the three remaining kidnappers.

Once they are down, he grabs his pistols from a nearby hook only to learn that they are empty of bullets. Discretion being the better part of valor, Jonah dives through a window, escaping a hail of gunfire. Jonah mounts up and routes their horses so they can't follow him.

Several hours later in Willow Bluff, Rod Webster is locking up the bank only to discover Jonah Hex standing behind him. Webster practically wets himself in fear. Jonah Hex explains that he has mellowed somewhat over the years and will give Webster until noon to pack up and leave town. Rod Webster hot foots it home.

At his house, Webster has explained the entire situation to his wife, Stella. Stella wants to be very sure what Webster is asking her to do. Webster wants her to put on a sexy low cut dress, some perfume and see if she can 'persuade' Jonah Hex to leave town and leave Webster alone. Stella cites the fact that she only married Webster for money and since he has kept up HIS end of the bargain, she'll give it her best shot, even though the thought of it makes her sick.

Back at Hex's hotel room, he is looking once again at the photo of he and Cassie and he has a...

FLASHBACK: Cassie is skinny-dipping is a river when Jonah suddenly appears on the bank. Jonah teasingly starts undressing and eventually he is in his birthday suit and wades into the water. Despite Cassie's faltering protests, they come together in the river, embrace and..

END OF FLASHBACK!!!!!!
Whew! that was close! We almost got a NSFW rating on this blog. Whew!

Anyway, someone is pounding on Jonah's hotel room door. Jonah opens the door to find Stella Webster, vamping and slowly disrobing as she saunters into his room. Stella introduces herself and says that she would be happy to 'trade' whatever Hex wants for letting her husband go free. Jonah swiftly manhandles her out of the room, saying that he has a name for a man that sends a woman to transact business for him and 'town banker' ain't it.

Back at the Webster household, Stella sulks into the living room, stating that Hex turned her down cold (something I don't think has ever happened to her before). She then states that she wishes that he hadn't because he is more a man than Webster will ever be. With insult added to injury, Webster storms out of the house and over to the cabin of his hired thugs.

At the cabin, Webster DEMANDS that they kill Hex and he won't pay them any more money. The leader agrees to the demands, adding his own. Webster will have to let them clean out the bank vault. Webster explodes.

The next morning, Jonah is trying to choke down his breakfast when the mayor comes in saying that Hex has to help him. The mayor explains that the bank is being robbed and Jonah states that it's a good thing he doesn't have any money in that bank. The mayor corrects him, stating that the town council has a standing reward of $2,500 on anyone trying to rob the bank. Jonah multiplies that by four in his head and is immediately out the door.

Inside the bank, the robbers and Webster are waiting for Hex to show up. The leader decides that they better get going before Hex gets there and when Webster realizes that he has been double-crossed again, they pistol whip him to the floor. The four robbers hightail it outta the bank, but Jonah jumps from the bank room, flattening all of them. He grabs one of them, throwing into the others, but the gang leader recovers and draws on Jonah.

As the leader pulls the hammer back on his pistol, Jonah draws and shoots him dead. Webster comes staggering out of the bank, thanking Hex for stopping the robbery, but the surviving gang members are having none of his bull. They spill the beans on how Webster hired them to kill Hex and that the bank robbery was their payment for doing so.

By now the whole town is in the street and Webster is screaming his innocence. Hex says that he's pretty sorry that he can't hang around to see Webster hang for his crime and starts walking off. Webster grabs a dropped rifle and gets a shot off, hitting Hex in the right arm. Jonah spins and pulls his pistol left handed. Webster screams and drops to the ground, begging for his life. Hex heads for his horse.

Just then Stella Webster stops Hex in the street and offers to bandage his arm. Jonah notes that she isn't GIVING him that handkerchief and she acknowledges that she want something in return...

And Jonah Hex rides off.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 2
Running Total - 370
Jonah's Injuries - Beat up and shot in right arm
Timeline - Just like last issue, this is 15 years after 1859, so we are squarely in 1874. No mention of Mei Ling, just Cassie Wainwright, so this is pre-marriage. Got that? Pre-marriage. 1874. UPDATE: This is 1877.

The story? Hot DAMN this was a good one. Webster was such a coward and in the end he got what he deserved, kneeling in the middle of town, disgraced as a man, a banker, a citizen, and as a human. He would have been better off dead, but the town will handle that for him. I would have liked to have seen Stella Webster show up in the books later on, but her one appearance was very, very noteworthy. And I feel that Jonah giving her what she wanted in the end, was more intended to hurt her husband than to fulfill her fantasy.

Next Issue: A gambler's luck runs out, another face on the photo is tracked down, and the final fate of Cassie Wainwright is revealed.

Jonah Hex #65 "The Vendetta!"

Jonah Hex #65 Oct 1982
"The Vendetta!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZungia, art - Ross Andru & Zanghal, cover

First off, the cover states "Requiem for a Coward!" but the story is "The Vendetta!" They fix that in issue #66 by putting the wrong title on that cover as well.

But to get started, Jonah Hex is riding a train and spending the time chatting with an elderly woman on her way to St. Louis. We see eight masked men on a hill over the tracks, armed with rifles. As the train passes by, the men leap onto the train. Two robbers burst into the car that Jonah is in and he rewards one of them with a nice shotgun blast to the neck! And just so the dead guy's buddy doesn't feel left out, Jonah gives him one to the chest.

The other robbers, hearing the shotgun blasts, realizes that something has gone wrong, so after grabbing the mail bags, they hightail it. Jonah unloads his horse that was also on the train and realizing that he is losing daylight fast, decides to head into a nearby town and get some sleep before tracking the bandits.

Meanwhile, in that aforementioned town called Clearwater Springs, Sheriff Barstow is commencing with the monthly shakedown of the local business owners. The sheriff charges $30 a month for 'protection' from bandits because the county doesn't pay him near enough. While Barstow is walking down the street, counting his cash, he notices a newcomer to town.

It's Jonah Hex, older and all scarred up, but still Jonah Hex. Barstow panicks and starts to leave town, but then has a better idea. He decides to see if Jonah is just passing through and not looking to settle a score from 15 years ago. Barstow sends a telegram to Rod Webster to see if he can get some help.

Out in the street, Jonah walk past two boys fighting. The shorter of the two is defending the honor of a small girl (the bigger kid called her a name) and of course, the shorter kid knows what time it is because he is getting his clock cleaned. Jonah steps in to break up the fight, just as the big kid's dad shows up. The guy is a huge moose that ends up taking a swing at Jonah. Jonah reciprocates and smacks the guy right into a horse trough.

Barstow ends up running into the jail where is deputies are finishing the local shakedown. They ask why he looks scared and Barstow starts explaining about Jonah Hex. He produces a photograph of several men and a lovely woman. The woman is Cassie Wainwright, daughter of Col. Marcus Wainwright and Jonah was a scout for the army back in 1859. The deputies wonder why Jonah is their problem and Barstow says that their sweet shakedown racket will come to an end if they don't get rid of Hex.

The next morning, Jonah has returned to tracking the train robbers and he finds them in some old Indian cliff dwellings. He locates a rope and manages to slide down to the dwellings without the rope breaking (even though he mentioned the terrible possibility). Jonah kills the two sentrys and is working his way through the buildings when overhears the robbers splitting up the loot, setting aside a share for Sheriff Walt Barstow, to pay for his protection.


Jonah is amazed that it could possibly be the same man that he knows from years ago. He is not too amazed to bust in on the four remaining robbers, subdue them and that them into captivity. Jonah decides that he should take the robbers to a different town, just in case Barstow is who Jonah thinks he is.

That night, Hex heads to Clearwater Springs and breaks into the jail, riffling through the sheriff's desk. He locates the photo and we are treated to a flashback to 1859.

FLASHBACK: Jonah is an Army scout and is spending some time with his fiancee, Cassie Wainwright, daughter of the Colonel of the fort. Cassie is heading into town to pick up her wedding dress and will be riding with the men picking up the payroll for the fort. Barstow is heading up the men heading to Portersville, a nearby town.

On the way into town, one of the other men is saying that Cassie is going to mess up the entire plan, but Barstow says that they have worked too hard for that to happen. In town, Cassie gets her dress and the men pick up the $100,000 payroll (1.8 million today, that's some well paid soldiering going on there). On the way back Cassie notices that they are not heading to the fort, but are heading into Comanche land (placing this fort in either current day Texas or Oklahoma).
She demands that they head back to the fort and Barstow punches her in the mouth to shut her up.

Cassie falls back, striking her head on the wagon, knocking herself out. One of the men see that there are Comanche scouts on the hills and they grab the contents of the strongbox and head out. They leave Cassie unconscious, despite some of the men commenting on the horrible things that Comanches do to white women. END OF FLASHBACK!

Jonah is remembering how he vowed to find those men, but the war came along and 15 years later, he was finding it kinda hard to keep a grudge going. He steps out into the street and finds he is being called out by Sheriff Barstow and two deputies.

Jonah tells the deputies that he has no truck with them and he sees no reason why they should die too. Barstow says that the three of them can kill Hex, but one of the deputies says that he has heard that Jonah Hex has killed six men at once and if Hex is offering him a chance to run away, he'll take it. Both deputies hightail it outta there in no time flat.

Barstow, facing Jonah alone, starts bargaining. Saying that a person can't carry hate for 15 years, Barstow says that he'll get on a horse and Jonah will never see him again. Besides, Hex wouldn't shoot a man in the back. Barstow jumps on a horse and rides outta town, but when he hits the end of the street, he wheels his horse around and comes gunning for Jonah, even though Hex's back is turned.

Jonah wheels, dropping to the ground and drops Barstow with two quick shots. Standing over the sheriff's corpse, Jonah spots a copy of the telegram that was sent to Rod Webster. Jonah, looking to the sky, asks Cassie if he should hunt these men down after fifteen long years. Getting no answer, he decides to get a bottle and do some thinking.

Statistics for this Issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4
Running Total - 368
Jonah's Injuries - none
Timeline - Well, Cassie was left during the robbery back in 1859 and it is 15 years later. Therefore, this is in 1874. Seems pretty safe bet since there is no mention of Mei Ling.

I really enjoyed this issue and this entire arc is one of the better ones in the 80's, right behind the China arc we just finished up. Barstow, calling his deputies cowards, turning tail & running, & finally shooting at Jonah's back was a complete exercise in cowardice itself. Hang on kids, this is gonna be a really bumpy ride.

Update 05/24/09: Due to events that happen later in this arc, this storyline does happen after the China adventure. Since the last of the China adventure was November, 1876 and there is no sign of snow in this arc, I'll start by placing this issue in March of 1877.

Next Issue: Rod Webster gets into twelve kinds of trouble and Jonah goes skinny-dipping. Yup, wet beefcake is on the menu.