Jonah Hex #33 "The Crusader!"

Jonah Hex #33 Feb 1980
"The Crusader!"

Michael Fleisher, story - ER Cruz, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

This story starts off with a bang, literally, as Jonah Hex is pursuing the Larson Brothers when he trips a dynamite trap and gets blown to Hell and back. The Larson brothers, riding away hear the explosion and celebrate the death of Jonah Hex.

Meanwhile in Shoshone Mills, Mrs. Flannery, a widow, walks up to the local bank. She meets Jeffrey Wilcox, son of the bank president. Jeffrey, on a break from law school, is sweeping the porch and Mrs. Flannery says that she is there to see about getting an extension on her mortgaged farm. Once inside the bank, Mrs. Flannery is running into trouble as Wilcox is sticking to bank regulations about granting extensions. The bank has already granted one extension and that is the limit. Wilcox points out that she is already late with this month's payment so he will be sending the sheriff out to foreclose. He gives Mrs. Flannery until 5 to vacate the property.

Mrs. Flannery leaves, a completely defeated woman. She goes back to her farm, her home for 35 years. Seeing no way out and feeling that she has nowhere in the world to go, she decides to leave this world as well.

Hours later, Jeffrey runs into his dad's office and announces Mrs. Flannery's fate. Wilcox tells the boy to calm down, the bank has rules and rules have to be followed. Jeffrey is disgusted with his father and storms out of the bank. Later, Jeffrey is speaking with Mr. Ashley (whom we have never seen before) about what happened.

Ashley states that he is part of an organization that is devoted to helping people live in equality and justice. Ashley says that he has friends that would agree that what happened to Mrs. Flannery was wrong. He then opens the door and introduces Jake, Morgan, & Al.....LARSON!!!! Jake explains that they want to strike a blow for freedom and dignity and Jeffrey is just the guy to help.

Their plan is to take all of the ill-gotten money from the robber-baron's bank in order to return the money to the folks that it was stolen from. Jeffrey is appalled that they want to rob his father's bank, but they remind him of Widow Flannery. Jeffrey turns to Ashley for counsel and Ashley confirms that this is the best way to help the poor.

Later that night, Jeffrey knocks on the door of the bank, which is now closed. Mr. Simms, obviously some sort of teller, looks out the window and sees Jeffrey. He opens the door and the Larsons shove their way in and demand the money. When Simms refuses, they gun him down and force another teller to load up the sacks with cash. The Larsons and Jeffrey mount up and head out of town.

Later, a posse is being organized and Wilcox grabs his rifle and joins in. The sheriff protests, knowing that Jeffrey was involved. Wilcox states that even if his own flesh & blood were involved in the robbery, it is his duty to see that justice is done. He mounts up and rides with the posse.

Up in the mountains, the Larsons +1 have gotten to the hideout and they are talking about splitting up the money. Jeffrey protests, saying that the cash was supposed to be for charity. The reply? "The Larson family benefit fund!" The Larsons explain that they have a dynamite trap set for the posse and then subdue Jeffrey and tie him up in the cabin and go inside themselves.

Shortly thereafter, Jonah Hex (remember him from back on page 1? We're on page 11 now.) is depicted climbing down a rope overhanging the cliff that the Larson hideout butts up against. Jonah is recounting what a hard day he has had. First; he barely sees the buried dynamite trap and leaps from his horse in time to avoid death; his horse is dead, which means he has had to walk, which makes him mad; third, he despises men that resort to explosives to to fight their battles because it is soooo messy (This is done as he takes a bundle of dynamite, lights it and drops it down the chimney.)

Inside, the Larson see the dynamite fall down the chimney and rush out in a panic but Jonah Hex is standing out front waiting for them. Jake decides they can take Hex. Morgan Larson decides to turn tale, but Jake shoots him for being a coward and then turns and draws on Hex.

Jonah unlimbers his pistols and guns down Jake, Al, and poor Morgan who had the unfortunate fortitude to still be standing after being gutshot by his brother. Jonah goes inside the cabin and finds the bound & gagged Jeffrey. Jeffrey is in a panic because the fuse on the dynamite is getting shorter by the second. Jonah unties Jeffrey and explains that there is nothing to be worried about. Jonah emptied the blasting powder out of those sticks in order to fool the crooks.

They get about a dozen yards from the cabin when it blows sky-high. Jonah says he must have forgot a stick or two. Jeffrey jumps onto a horse, he needs to warn the posse and his dad about the dynamite trap the Larson Brothers have set for them in Hitchcock pass.

The posse is approaching the pass when Jeffrey comes riding up wildly, shouting for them to stop. Wilcox pulls out his rifle. He is convinced that Jeffrey is trying to scare them away from the Laron's hiding place. He states that he is ashamed of his son and even though he may have raised an outlaw, he would rather kill his own son by himself that stand to watch him be hanged as a common criminal. He takes aim and shoots Jeffrey dead off his horse. Another rider approaches and Wilcox takes aim but the sheriff grabs the rifle from him.

The other rider is Jonah and he explains about the traps the Larsons had planted. He tells them that Jeffrey was only trying to warn them. Wilcox refuses to believe any of it and Jonah snatches the rifle from Wilcox, takes aim up into the pass and detonates the trap. Jonah returns the rifle to Wilcox and rides off, leaving the banker standing over the body of a son, murdered by his own father.

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Jonah - I would have to say 3. Even though Morgan Larson was gutshot by his own brother and would have died, Jonah put the icing on his cake.

Running Total - 258

Injuries by Jonah - Getting blown up with no side effects

Timeline - Nothing here to indicate much of anything. The whole story seems to take place in one day.

For a story that didn't have much Jonah Hex in it, it was still a good story. The man who played by the rules, no matter who they hurt, ends up suffering by his own hand. The gullible hot-headed son pays the ultimate price for his own foolishness.

Jonah railing about the trials of his day was enjoyable, especially about the dynamite as he drops it down the chimney. I'm still kinda torn about having the cabin explode after he explains about how safe it is, seemed cliched. I would put this about in the middle of the pile of all Hex stories, even though it was a big letdown from last issue.

Next Issue: Jonah runs into the nastiest politician ever, he helps out a nun, and Santa bites the big one!!

Jonah Hex #29 "The Innocent"

Jonah Hex #29 Oct 1979
"The Innocent"
Michael Fleisher, story - ER Cruz, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

Jonah is a pallbearer at a funeral for Bob Jensen. After the funeral, Jonah is talking to Bob's brother, George, and is introduced to Bob's 11 year old daughter, Melissa, and Bob's second wife, Ruth. Jonah and Bob were friends years ago hunting buffalo for the Army. Jonah asks how Bob died and George explains that Bob fell off Hanson's cliff when the edge gave way, spooking his horse and throwing him over the edge.

Nearby, the Curly Wilson gang is hunting Jonah down. Ominous!

Later that evening, Jonah is finishing up dinner with the Jensen family and then he retires to his room. Much later, Melissa sneaks into Jonah's room and tries to wake him up but finds just a bedroll under the covers. Jonah tries to send her back to bed but she starts crying, asking if Jonah really knew her dad. She then tells Jonah that her dad was murdered, he was such a good horseman, there was no way he could have been thrown. Jonah starts questioning her, but Ruth comes down the hall and tells Melissa to get into bed.

Shortly thereafter, Ruth meets George outside and relates that she heard Melissa talking to Jonah. They are concerned that Jonah may learn the truth, but then the Curly Wilson gang shows up and having overheard the concern regarding Jonah, Curly offers to kill Jonah Hex for the tidy sum of $10,000. George agrees to pay it.

The next morning, Jonah goes to inspect the cliff that Bob fell off of. The edge is solid rock and Jonah cannot find any evidence of it giving way. Later that night, Jonah end up exhuming Bob's body, making mention that it's a good thing that they bury folks shallow in this area due to the underground rivers (important point for later!) and finds that Bob is sporting a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. Just then, the Curly Wilson gang shows up, cracks Jonah upside the head with a pistol and then they toss him in the casket with Bob and bury both of them.

Some time later, Jonah wakes up in the casket and realizes his predicament. He tries to pry the lid open with his knife and ends up having to finish the job by kicking the lid open, coincidentally just as a local drunk wanders through the cemetery, with hilarious results. (I told you the shallow grave was important!)

Back at the Jensen house, the Curly Wilson gang is ransacking the house and terrifying George and Ruth. Jonah walks in and shoots all three men in the gang and then demands to know why they murdered Bob. George & Ruth explain that it wasn't them. Then Melissa walks in holding a pistol and tells Jonah that she killed Bob.

She did it because Bob took another wife after Melissa's mom died. Jonah asks Melissa snuck into his room that night. She says that she wanted someone to punish her but now she has changed her mind. Now she is going to shoot Jonah, George and Ruth. She pulls the trigger and barely wings Jonah. Hex grabs the pistol and smacks the little girl a good one.

George explains that they didn't want to turn Melissa over to the sheriff and have her end up in an asylum. Besides, George & Ruth are working as her jailers. Melissa apologizes to Jonah and asks if Jonah is mad at her. Jonah states that he isn't and then rides off into the night.

Statistics for this issue Men Killed by Jonah - 3
Running Total -236
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out and shot in left shoulder
Timeline - Here are the clues as to when this takes place. Looking at the headstone of Bob's first wife:

We see that she died in 1870. George says that Melissa is 11 and Penelope died when Melissa was 6, therefore it is now 5 years later of 1875. Surprised? Of course you are.

This was a real yawner of a story that I could never really get behind. Not a whole lot happened and I actually stretched out the narrative on this one as long as I could. I would probably only read it in order to say that I have read every Jonah Hex story. Otherwise, I would pass on it.

Next Issue - Jonah in the Civil War, Michael Fleisher appears to forget a major past storyline and we get to see the birth of a bounty hunter.

Jonah Hex #28 "Night of the Savage!"

Jonah Hex #28 Sept. 1979

"Night of the Savage!"

Michael Fleisher, story - E.R.Cruz, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

The story starts off with Jonah caught in a nighttime downpour and he's complaining about being a whole day late getting to Bartonsville. Jonah is responding to a telegram he received from 4 men; Stults, Marshall, Gabler, & Jenkins.

Thity five miles away we find Mr. Stults in his cabin with bodyguards. Stults is wondering what is keeping Hex and is afraid that the death threat he has in his hand will come to pass before midnight.

We see a huge Indian brave climbing on the roof, carrying a blanket. The Indian places the blanket over the chimney and when the smoke gets too intense in the cabin, Stults & the bodyguards run out. When Stults stumbles off the proch, the Indian is there, mounted on his horse, a bow & arrow drawn taught. The Indian sends the arrow straight into Stults, killing him, and then rides off with the bodyguards firing their pistols after him.

The next day Jonah Hex has located Marshall, Gabler, & Jenkins, all three at the cemetery, having just buried Stults. Jonah apologizes for being late and the three men explain their problem. They purchased a parcel of land from this Indian so that the town could use it for the reailraod coming through. The Indian then decided that he wasn't paid enough and has refused renegotiations and has vowed to kill all four men.

Jonah clarifies that Stults received a note prior to being murdered and Marshall shows the one that he received that morning, attached to an arrow that was shot through his window. Jonah decides to stick close to Marshall for the rest of the day. As they ride along, Jonah spies a deadfall covered with loose branches and leaves. Jonah dismounts and pulls back to expose the pit, filled with sharpened stakes. When Jonah stand up and turns he finds that the Indian has managed to drop a rope from a nearby tree and lynch Marshall.

Back in town Jonah explains Jenkins & Gabler what has happened to Marshall. While they are standing there arguing over Jonah's methods, an arrow comes crashing through the window. It has a note with Jenkins name on it.

That night, at Jenkins house, it nears midnight when gunfire rips through a window. Jonah knocks Jenkins to the floor and peers out the window. He can tell that the gunfire is coming from a nearby hill. Jonah tells Jenkins to keep low as he runs out the back. Heading up the hill, Jonah thinks it odd that the Indian, whose past attacks have been very close & personal, would choose a rifle this time.

Jonah tops the hill to find a campfire into which the Indian has thrown several rifle cartridges. Just then a loud scream pierces the darkness and Jonah realizes that he had been hoodwinked as he sees the Indian riding off on his horse. Jonah manages to track the Indian most of the night, seeing through the Indian's attempts to throw Jonah off the track.

Finally Jonah sees the Indian sitting by a campfire. He slowly sneaks up behind the Indian and just as he jumps the figure, he realizes that it is a dummy made of straw and at that moment the Indian steps out of the darkness and cranks Jonah a good one on the noggin with the backside of a tomahawk.

Jonah awakens bound hand and foot with the huge Indian standing over him. The Indian starts communicating with Jonah via sign language. He relates how last month the four men rode to the Indian's land to attempt to buy him out so the railroad could come in. He invited the men into his hogan and they smoked for some time. Then one of the white men brought out some liquor and in no time the Indian was blind drunk. The four men convinced the drunken Indian to sign away his property and after the Indian passed out the white men killed the Indian's wife (rape is possibly implied here). The Indian awoke some time later, realized what happened and went into the forest for a week long fast, asking the great spirit for guidance. Following the request of the great spirit, the Indian cut out his own tongue as a sacrifice and then murder the four men.

The Indian leaves Jonah in order to kill Gabler. Jonah, alone, manages to get his knife from his shirt and cut himself loose. Hex realizes the men are getting what he deserves, but Jonah has his reputation to think of and takes off after the Indian.

At Gabler's house the Indian smashes through the front door with a tree and as Gabler falls to his knees before the tomahawk wielding Indian, Jonah walks in with a rifle. Jonah tells the Indian that Gabler will stand trial and will probably hang but the Indian swiftly swings his weapon and smashes the only lamp in the room and jumps out the window. Jonah fires after him, but the Indian makes it to his horse and rides off. Gabler rants at Jonah for missing but Jonah tells him that he never misses, just sometimes he doesn't hit what he's aiming at, besides, Jonah won't rest until he brings that Indian in so the law can deal with him.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - zero
Running Total - 233
Jonah's Injuries - Cranked on the head with a tomahawk.
Timeline - Nothing in the story to indicate a timeline except that Jonah starts off in a rain storm, more than likely NOT the one he finished last issue in.

I'm really really torn on this issue. Jonah gets completely schooled by this Indian, falling for tricks that Jonah has used time and again, so this was more out of character than almost every other Hex story. Also, we never see this Indian again, even though Jonah vowed to hunt him down. Aaaaand, the cover gives away the whole story (on the plus side, SallyP gets a partial Indian butt-shot)

The other side likes to see Jonah fail once in awhile but this was excessive. I guess I can't give this issue a thumbs up.

Next Issue: Jonah tries to help a little girl and ends up in a pine box!

"A whut-kinda box?"

Jonah Hex #26 "Deathrace to Cholera Bend!"

Jonah Hex #26 July 1979
"Deathrace to Cholera Bend!"
Michael Fleisher, story - E R Cruz, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

Jonah is just a riding along through the high grass in the mountains when he hears gunfire and sees a man on horseback getting gunned down by seven other men. Jonah figgers that it's none of his business, but usually men that shoot other men have a price on their heads. He dismounts and hunkers down in the grass on a ridge and picks off two of the men with his rifle. The rest ride off.

Jonah goes down to the scene and finds that the first rider is still alive. With his dying gasp, he explains to Jonah that there is a cholera outbreak at Comanche Bend and the satchel he has contains the serum to cure it. Jonah promises to take it to Comanche Bend and the man dies.

Just then another man rides up. He is Roy Jameson, the young medical assistant to Dr. Cranston, the dead man. He explains that they were on their way to Comanche Bend because the flooding of the Gila River had caused a cholera outbreak but his horse got a stone in it's shoe and they got separated while he stopped and dug it out. they were worried that bandits might try to steal the serum in order to sell it to the sick families. Jonah agrees to ride with Jameson.

On their way they stop at the Huddleston-Downing stage depot before it gates dark to grab some dinner. When they get there they find the depot boss bound and gagged and three men sitting in the depot. the men start to draw on Jonah and he guns all three of them down. Jonah unties the depot boss but they decide to forgo dinner and makes tracks to the Gila River ferry before the rest of the gang descends on them.

When they get to the ferry, the ferry master tells them that the river is too rough to cross. Jameson tries to plead with the ferry master but he declines..right up until a bullet rips through the chest of his partner. He decides that they had better get on their way. As the raft moves out into the river, the ferry master is gunned down. Jonah grabs a pole and starts trying to guide the raft. He shouts at Jameson to help.

So Jameson accidentally drops the satchel containing the serum. Jonah quickly ties a rope around his waist, has Jameson tie the other end to the raft, and Jonah dives into the river to grab the serum. Jameson pulls Jonah back on board the raft just in time for the whole shooting match to slam into a huge boulder and splinter into half a gazillion pieces. Jonah's and Jameson's unconscious bodies are washed ashore.

Come morning, Jonah wakes up in time to find that two of the outlaws are standing over them and asking Jameson "You all right, boss?". Jameson explains that it was his idea to sell the serum, but Cranston would have none of it. He tells the outlaws to take Jonah to the hilltop and shoot him there, because violence makes Cranston queasy. The two, Bart & Al, take Jonah up the hill, stand him on the edge and fire away, with Jonah falling over the edge. Jameson comes up the hill to be sure that Hex is dead. He explains that he has been thinking that since he is a doctor, he shouldn't be seen with scruffy outlaws like them. He pulls a pistol and shoots both of them dead. As he walks off we see...

Jameson rides into Comanche Bend and sets up shop, selling the serum for $100 a dose (about $1600). The people are outraged but they pay it anyway. That night, after he has sold everything, Jameson starts feeling feverish and realizes that he has cholera!!! Just then Jonah, his arm in a sling, walks in explaining that it took him some time to find a farmer that could dig the bullets out of his shoulder. he also shows that he has one last vial of the serum. He decided to keep some since they were gonna be with sick people.

Jameson offers him anything for the serum and Jonah says that he'll take all the money. the deal is struck and Jameson grabs the bottle. Just as he is about to drink it, Jonah says that he sold the serum, not the bottle, and he shoots the bottle to pieces. Jonah picks up the money and walks out as Jameson is left screaming hysterically that he didn't buy the bottle.



Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 6
Running Total - 230
Jonah's Injuries - Shot twice in the right shoulder
Timeline - There is nothing to place this anywhere in Jonah's life. The story does span two days.

Not a bad issue. I enjoyed the artwork of Cruz having seen a lot of his stuff in the DC 'scary books'. The ending was something that I would have expected from one of those books, so the look fit right in. A similar ending was used before by John Albano.

Next Issue - a flashback to Jonah's childhood and how he got his first gun.