Jonah Hex #40 The Rainmaker!"

Jonah Hex #40 Sept 1980
"The Rainmaker!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dan Spiegle, art - Luis Domiguez, cover

Jonah Hex is riding a slow horse across a dry cracked landscape; a dead steer nearby covered with vultures. Jonah comments that it has been ten solid weeks without rain. He tops a rise to see a bunch of Paiutes chasing a wagon driven by Calvin "Cloudburst" Timmons. Jonah dismounts, grabbing his rifle, and opens up on the Indians. He kills three of the six and the rest turn tail and run.

Jonah rides down to meet Timmons. Timmons explains that he had been hired by the Paiutes to create rain and when it didn't materialize, the Paiutes wanted his scalp. Timmons ended up killing a couple of them and asks if Jonah would escort him to the next town. Jonah agrees and they continue on their trip.

Hex and Timmons arrive in the town several hours later and Timmons gets right to business of creating rain in front of the huge crowd. Jonah notices some hardcases on the edge of the crowd and recognizes them as Billy McAllister and his gang. They mosey off to town and Jonah follows.

In town, McAllister and his gang head for the express office. They know they are being followed and McAllister leaves one man outside to watch the horses. The remaining three walk in and one goes out a back door in order to ambush Jonah when he shows up. Hex bursts in and shoots one gang member in the face. The one member comes in the back door and shoots Jonah three times and then McAllister and the shooter head back to their hideout.

Once back at the hideout they tell their boss that they managed to kill Jonah Hex in the bargain. Calvin Timmons is very happy to hear that and tells his gang to get some sleep since they will need to head out early to avoid getting caught by the townspeople once they realize the rain won't come.

Meanwhile, Jonah Hex is in the doctor's office and is getting bandaged up. The doc says that Jonah needs to take it easy since he just had three .38 slugs dug out of his chest. Jonah says that he plans on visiting the guys that put the slugs in him. The doc is aghast that Jonah won't take his advice.

Much later that night in the hideout of Timmons and his gang, Timmons gets up in the dark and mentally quoting "The Walrus and the Carpenter" shoots his entire gang, grabs the money and heads out. However, Jonah Hex is standing in the doorway. Timmons grabs a bag of cash and slams it into Jonah wounded chest. Jonah staggers and then Timmons grabs a chair and breaks it over Jonah's head, knocking him out. Timmons hears a noise outside and when he steps out he is greeted by a huge cloudburst.

Overjoyed, Timmons grabs his money and counting on his tracks being washed away, he jumps into his wagon and takes off. Eventually, Timmons comes to a ferry and the ferry operator explains that the wagon won't fit on the ferry. Timmons says that he'll come back later for the wagon and as he is gathering up money bags the ferry operator notices the bags. Timmons pulls his pistol and kills the operator and tries to navigate the swollen raging river by himself, but of course the ferry overturns.

Timmons is thrown into the river and all of the bank bags go to the bottom of the river. Timmons barely manages to get to shore but he is greeted by the three Paiutes that survived Jonah's attack earlier. They grab Timmons and tie him to a tree.

Meanwhile, Jonah is coming to back at the hideout. He stumbles out into the storm and attempts to hunt the rainmaker down. Dawn finally breaks and Jonah is unable to find any evidence of Timmon. Jonah continues his search and finally realizes that he will never find Timmons and gives up.

Statistics for this Issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4
Running Total - 283
Jonah's Injuries - Shot three times in the chest, hit with a bag of coins, smashed in the head with a chair.
Timeline - This one takes place after 1872, when "The Walrus and the Carpenter" was published.

I enjoyed this issue but I am always partial to a slick talking con artist like Timmons. I also liked the fact that he double crossed his entire gang, took Jonah out by taking advantage of a previous wound (along with a well placed chair), and that the rain eventually became his undoing.

On the downside, has there ever been a ferry in a Jonah Hex book that didn't end up sinking? At least it didn't go over a waterfall.

On the plus side there was also the first part of a Scalphunter story (to be reviewed much later) and since I'm so late with this review, here is a sneak peek at that story. Yup, it's one for the ladies!

Next Issue: A coward, a floozy, and a hanging judge. Guess who wins this one?

Jonah Hex #38 "Iron Dog's Gold!"

Jonah Hex #38 July 1980
"Iron Dog's Gold!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dan Speigle, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

Jonah is riding along a river when he spots an Indian on a cliff across the river. The Indian is shot and falls into the river. Jonah jumps off his horse, strips off his boots and shirt and dives in, swimming across to save the Indian. Once Jonah pulls the Indian to shore, he recognizes the old man as Iron Dog, chief of the Cree tribe.

Iron Dog gives Jonah an old elk skin that has a map on it and then he expires. Just then Jonah finds himself surrounded by Hoby Callender and eight of his thugs. Hoby orders one of his men to take the map from Jonah. Jonah obliges by breaking the thug's arm and then tossing the map into the river. Hoby says that the map leads to a sacred Indian canyon full of gold. There is an old blind prospector in the group that verifies the truth of the story since he has seen the canyon himself.

Several of Hoby's men are ready to kill Jonah, but Jonah reminds them that he is the only one among them that has actually seen the map and has it memorized. Hoby agrees with Jonah and they strip him of his guns and then Hoby, realizing that one of his men now has a broken arm, shoots and kills the injured thug.

Once they are on the trail, Jonah asks the old prospector how he and the young boy managed to throw in with the Callender gang. The blind prospector recounts the story from 30 years ago how he came west to find gold. While he was prospecting, his mule wandered off. The prospector followed the mule across an old rope bridge and then into a green canyon where the gold was just sitting on the ground and there were veins of gold ten feet across running up the canyon walls. However, the Cree discovered him in their burial ground, stabbed out his eyes and drove him off their land. The prospector has been trying for years to find people to help him get back to the canyon, but nobody would believe his story. Hoby offered to help for 50% of the gold. The prospector said that last week he and his grandson had learned about the map and they were unable to convince Iron Dog to part with it.

Jonah tells the old man that he's a fool if he thinks that Hoby will split with them, IF they manage to get out of the canyon alive. Just then a Cree warrior takes aim from a rock high above the traveling group. Two shots later, two of Hoby's men are dead and now the whole gang is pinned down behind some rocks. Jonah says their only way out is for Hoby to untie his hands and give him his pistols back. Hoby says that is a fat chance of that and orders one of his men to go kill the two Cree that are shooting at them. Aaaand....



Hoby now sees that he needs to release Jonah but doesn't give him the pistols. Jonah sets out up the rocks, sneaking up behind the two Indians. He stabs one with a thrown knife and tackles the other one, throwing him off the cliff, but not before the Indian gets off a shot. Triumphant, Jonah grabs a rifle from the stabbed Indian only to find it is out of shells and of no use to him to go up against Hoby. The other rifle went over the cliff with its owner.

Two days later, the entire group arrives at the rope bridge the prospector told them about. They are suddenly beset upon by several Cree on horseback. Hex and the rest dismount and lean their horses across the bridge as fast as possible. Once Jonah, the old man, his grandson, and Hoby are across, Hoby pulls out a knife and cuts the ropes, sending the rest of his men and the Cree falling to their deaths into the canyon below.

They continue on, eventually finding some rock steps leading down into a canyon containing a burial ground. The grandson starts picking up nuggets but Hoby says they need to come to an agreement on how to divide the find. Then he shoots the old man and the grandson but his pistol shots start an avalanche. He and Jonah run for the canyon wall and Hoby pulls a pistol to kill Hex. Just then the grandson, with his dying breath, shoots and kills Hoby Callender.

Jonah climbs on out of the canyon, mounts his horse and rides off.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2 Indians
Running Total - 272
Jonah's Injuries - none
Timeline - This story covers about three days and could occur any time in Jonah's history.

This wasn't too bad of a story. I didn't care for Speigle's artwork. It seemed way too much like something found in very old westerns and Hoby struck me as a caricature, not unlike the Dick Tracy villains. All in all, it was pretty mediocre.

Next Issue - Jonah Hex and a Samurai. What else do you need?

Jonah Hex #34 "Christmas in an Outlaw Town"

Jonah Hex #34 Mar 1980
"Christmas in an Outlaw Town"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dan Spiegle, art - Luis Domiguez, cover

I teased with this cover last year and now here is the whole story. Jonah is tracking the Boley Boys through the snow and reminiscing about how his old man used to get drunk during Christmas and beating Jonah as a child. Meanwhile, 40 miles away at the home of Clarence Dooley, Mr. Dooley is getting dressed as Santa Claus as he does every Christmas for the local orphanage. Sadly, the Boley boys break into the house demanding money. Dooley points them to the open safe and as the outlaws leave, they decide not to leave any witnesses.

The next day, Jonah is at the cemetery where Dooley is being buried. Jonah is talking to a local Sister, verifying that Dooley's valet survived to identify that it was the Boleys. The Sister mentions that the kids will be very sad since Dooley played Santa every year. Jonah says that there is nothing that he can do about that, but he will bring in the Boleys.

Jonah rides off, tracking the Boleys for a full day and night. The next morning Jonah rides up to the ghost town of Willow Creek, hoping to fill his canteen from a well. When he rides into town he finds that the town is just bursting with people, and not fine upstanding citizens but several outlaws that Jonah recognizes. However, he is centered on finding the Boleys and walks into the saloon to see if he can find any information.

He finds more than information, he finds the Boleys and when he draws on them, they calmly point out the "No Firearms" sign. Jonah is flummoxed and manages to just avoid getting smashed over the head with a chair by one of the Boleys. A huge fistfight breaks out and Jonah is on the losing end when the sheriff of the town walks in and breaks it up. Jonah stands up and finds out the sheriff is...


Jonah gets arrested and gets hauled in front of the judge...


Jonah gets no mercy and in addition to getting pistol whipped, he gets thrown into jail for 30 days. Pappy Hex explains that he is running the town as a hideout for every known criminal and gets a cut of every crime that they commit in return for protection. Pappy explains that he would love to chat but he has to rob the Transcontinental Limited along with the Boley Boys. Pappy heads out, leaving the deputy in charge. (we'll see how effective THAT plan is)

No sooner is Pappy out the door does Jonah pull the knife from his back and threaten the deputy. The deputy turns to get the key and manages to trip over a spittoon, fall, and knock himself out. Jonah then has to resort to dragging the deputy over to the cell, take his gun, and shoot the peg upon which the keys are hung. With the keys on the floor, Jonah uses his belt to drag the keys over to the door and he unlocks the door himself.

Later, the Transcontinental Limited has been stopped by armed bandits. The engineer and the fireman are forced to open the car holding the gold and even open the safe. The door to the safe swings open and there stands Jonah Hex, guns drawn. Jonah guns down the Boley Boys and spares his paw. Pappy pleads for his life and Jonah says that if Pappy doesn't do exactly what Jonah says, Pappy will be in the pen for a hundred years. Pappy agrees to anything.

The scene cuts to the orphanage with a huge Christmas tree set up and a ton of kids trying to sit on Santa's lap. The Sister is thanking Jonah for finding a replacement for Mr. Dooley/Santa. Jonah states that just hearing the laughter of the children and seeing the contented look on pappy's face is reward enough. Jonah wishes his paw a merry Christmas and heads for the door. The kids are now climbing all over Pappy, pulling off his beard, knocking his hat off and Pappy is screaming for Jonah to come back or he'll get Jonah in the end. Pappy screams that he is the craftiest Hex.

Jonah rides off, shouting Merry Christmas and laughing his head off.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3
Running Total - 261
Jonah's Injuries - Beat up in a fight and pistol whipped.
Timeline - It appears that this one takes place after the last meeting between Jonah & his dad, so that would be 1875 or after.

There wasn't a whole lot to this issue and no explanation as to how Jonah managed to survive being locked in a huge safe. BUT (and that is a big but) I enjoyed this issue an awful lot. It was a pretty light-hearted story with the sheriff/judge bit and the ending page with Jonah laughing that hard (which may be the only time Jonah ever laughed. I'll have to research that one) and it was a nice change of pace in the history of a man whose story ends up being about one of the most painful and tragedy filled lives in the history of comics.

Here's hoping you and your family have a blessed Christmas. We'll be back (probably after the first of the year, but you can never tell)


Next Issue: The return of Quentin Turnbull and the Fort Charlotte brigade.