Jonah Hex V2 #39 "Cowardice"

Jonah Hex V2 #39 Mar '09
"Cowardice"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Rafa Garres - art and cover 

It is night in Blackburn, Kansas at Holly Mae's Saloon and Dancehall. Jonah is losing a few games of checkers with an old timer when Holly comes up and announces that everyone should drink up. In the morning Blackburn is going dry and she will be out of business due to the National Prohibition Party but she is heading to Texas to start a new establishment. Jonah has a few choice words regarding other people's morals and their propensity to force said unto others. 

After a few more drinks, Jonah considers have a talk with the local church group in the morning.

We cut to three men in prison attire running as hard as they can across the countryside. They come upon a family eating dinner by the campfire outside their tent home. The prisoners gun down all three, dad and the grown son and daughter. After eating the family's meal they strip the bodies and one of the prisoners is complaining that the other two are wearing all the mens clothes, so what is he to do? Another of the prisoners shoots him in the head and the remaining two ride off.

Morning in Blackburn and the church is shutting down Holly Mae's. Suddenly a wagon comes down the street. A young man looks in the back of the wagon and is frightened off. Jonah looks inside and sees the bodies of the murdered family. He asks who that is and someone states it is sheriff Steadman and his son and daughter. There is also the murdered prisoner as well. 

Deputy Gardner arrives and asks the wagon driver what is going on. The driver replies that he found them killed when he was driving past this morning and shows discarded prison clothes. Gardner says a telegram came in last night about a prison break up in Durango but the deputy just left it on the sheriff's desk. The wagon driver asks if they are gonna get up a posse and the deputy says that it doesn't concern them, he'll see to it that the men are captured. Hex tosses a query of "By yerself?"

Gardner is having nothing of having a drunkard assist him and he and Jonah exchange barbs. Holly Mae intervenes as well as the old checker player, telling Gardner that he best listen. Gardner tells the old man to shut up and he shoots back with "This here's Jonah Hex". At that point, the wagon driver tells Gardner that Hex is the real deal.

Finally Gardner relents, saying that Hex will get any bounty that is offered. Jonah says they will settle up once the prisoners are in custody or their graves. Gardner says they will be brought in for a proper trial to which Jonah replies "Ya say that now". Jonah also tells Holly Mae to not leave town just yet.

We find the two prisoners riding up to the farm of Simon Millwood. The prisoners ask if the two horses in the pen are all that Millwood has. He affirms their suspicion and one of the prisoners says that his horse is lame. Millwood examines a hoof and sees that the horse has thrown a shoe and has stone bruises. This horse can't be ridden even with a new shoe. A prisoner sees someone coming and they force Millwood into his cabin. They ask if Millwood has any weapons, just a shotgun and a Winchester.

The prisoners tell Millwood to get rid of the oncoming riders and not say a word about the two of them.

As Jonah rides up he points to hoof tracks by the trough and tells Gardner that the prisoners are here. Jonah says that they stopped here because one of the horses threw a shoe and that this ain't gonna end without bullets. Millwood recognizes Gardner but not Hex and says that he can get rid of them. The prisoners tell him to stay put. Gardner calls out for Millwood to come out for a minute.

Jonah says that ain't gonna work and if Millwood ain't dead, Gardner is gonna get him killed. Just then the door starts to open and Gardner says that Millwood is coming out now. A shot rings out and Gardner is hit in the shoulder. A prisoner has Millwood around the neck, using him as a shield and tells Hex to drop his guns. Jonah replies with "No" and a gunshot that catches the prisoner in the neck. 

The second con rushes out the door, guns blazing and is mowed down by Hex. In the ensuing silence, Millwood lays on the porch, shaking and crying and Gardner drawing his weapon on Hex. Jonah ignores him and assists Millwood to his feet, telling Gardner to holster the gun before Hex takes it from him. Gardner dismounts and tells Hex that he is being brought up on charges. Jonah turns on him and slaps the pistol out of his hands.

Jonah grabs him and says that those men had been tried and locked up, escaped and killed three people and maybe more. 

and then throws him to the ground. Gardner lies in the dirt, saying he never wanted to be a deputy, Steadman pinned the star on him last year and he hasn't been able to take it off, but now is the time. Jonah tells him to leave it there, they are gonna get a drink.

As evening falls, Gardner, Hex and a wagon of corpses come rolling into Blackburn. The town is emptying Holly Mae's and they ask if Deputy Gardner got the killers. Hex tells them it is Sheriff Gardner and he has a proclamation to overturn. Gardner stares at Hex and Hex replies that a sheriff has to make tough decisions.

Gardner takes a deep breath and tells the crowd to put the sign back up on the saloon. They start to disagree, saying that Steadman backed them and Gardner says that Steadman is dead, HE is now the sheriff and he says the saloon stays open.

Later there is much celebrating in the saloon and the old timer is congratulating the new sheriff on his decision. Holly Mae whispers a thank you into Jonah's ear and he says she can thank him later upstairs. Just then several armed men barge in with evil intent in their eyes. Hex tells the sheriff it is time to step up. Gardner approaches the men and we see him point over to Hex and the men turn and run. Hex looks over at the old man and says..

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Two prisoners.
Running Total - 742 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 240 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - None.
Timeline - Takes place within one day.
Rape Percentage -  25% (10 of 39)

Kansas didn't have statewide prohibition until 1881 but this seemed to be a local restriction only enacted in Blackburn (a fictional town) but the temperance movement had a very strong hold throughout the state, so we really can't put a date on here other than between Hex's scarring and 1881.

This story wasn't a bad one but it had two things that I am tired of: art by Rafa Garres and Palmiotti and Gray's obsession with unlikable Christians. Garres art is muddy, blurred, hyper kinetic and very hard to understand at times. The anti-Christian trope is understandable from Jonah's viewpoint but they are always depicted as hypocrites and busybodies (something that Fleisher didn't make an absolute). 

I would rank this one as a "read it if you want to read everything with Jonah in it"

Next issue: Jonah learns that it really sucks to be on the wrong side of an HMO.

Jonah Hex V2 #36 "Seven Graves Six Feet Deep"

 Jonah Hex V2 #36 Dec '08
"Seven Graves Six Feet Deep"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Rafa Garres - art and cover

Birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan

Pulaski, Tennessee, 1866

Another issue with massive amounts of prose in the caption boxes that gives the story behind the story, making this another difficult tale to recap. We see Hex, unscarred, riding through dense forest and he happens upon a young Black woman washing clothes near a series of waterfalls. As he rides up, he starts to ask her for directions to the nearest town. Of course, things being what they are, with Hex still wearing his Confederate Grays, the woman panics and runs off, slipping and falling into the rushing river. 

She gets swept away and Jonah starts riding along the banks, unleashing his rope, attempting to save her. He tosses a lasso and she grabs at it as she loses her grip on the rock to which she has been clinging. Swept away and over the falls, he body tumbles and twirls, entangling her in the rope and she strikes her head on an outcrop of rock, and sinks beneath the surface. Hex quickly dismounts and rushes into the river, but sadly, by the time he reaches her, she has expired. Jonah takes her to the bank, lays her down and tries to resuscitate her. 

During this, the captions explain the beauty of the area, and delve into why Hex continued to wear the Gray after the War Between the States was completed. We are given a recap of Hex's history, his marriage to Mei Ling, his enslavement by the Apache, his surrender to the Union forces and the number of men killed by Hex (400+)  and that less than 20 of those had been former slaves, all outlaws with a price on their heads.

Suddenly there is a cry from the woods and seven Black men rush from the timber and they tackle Hex and beat him senseless, determining that Hex killed the woman. One man pulls Hex's pistol, but another stops him from using it, for the gunfire will bring the 'others' if they are near. They strip Hex and grab the rope, determined to hang him then and there. And elderly man amongst them stays their hand, citing the woman is wet, what if she had fallen in the river and Hex had tried to save her. The others count that as foolishness and hoist the naked Hex aloft. Since they are raising him, Jonah is suffocating (rather than getting his neck broken as happens when a gallows is used.).

Shots ring out as four men ride up, gunning down all of the Black men, even chasing them into the woods to murder every last one of them. They restore Jonah's clothes to him and take him home.

Popular Misconceptions

Nathan, the ringleader, stands at he fireplace, waxing on the evils of the Reformation (Lincoln's, not Luther's). The others are seated at a table, agreeing with the downfalls of the Administrations policies. Jonah comes walking into the room and they exchange names. They offer Jonah a drink as thanks for wearing the uniform of the Confederacy as they lament how many of them have been driven to ground by carpetbaggers invading the land.

They have been contemplating a new uniform to strike fear into the hearts of the 'negros and scalawags', perhaps something white. They raise their glasses in a toast but Jonah declines. They take that as an insult. Jonah expresses his appreciation at being saved from death, he doesn't cotton to the killing of unarmed men, and for another thing, he isn't a son of Dixie.

At that point, the men start postulating that perhaps Jonah stole the uniform off a dead soldier or perhaps he is a spy. Jonah assures them the uniform is his, earned through and through, and the thinking behind the Blue and the Gray is anathema to him. Suspicious looks are exchanged all around the table and Nathan asks what prompted Hex to don the Confederate uniform and Jonah relates that he was a young man looking for comradery after years enslaved to the Apache. Nathan comes to the conclusion that Hex has taken leave of his senses. Jonah cites that he is done talking and any further thoughts he will take to his grave at a later date, but for these men, they can take theirs with them now, and with that he opens fire as they start to attack him.

Nathan sustains a gunshot to the knee, the other three are dispatched to the great Beyond.

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Amidst the darkness, Nathan hobbles forward, frightening away a raccoon feasting on the dead Black men by the river. Jonah tosses Nathan a shovel and tells him to start digging. Nathan says he will not bury vermin to which Jonah responds by dismounting and kicking Nathan's injured knee. Nathan lies in agony, saying he will be dead before the first grave is finished but Hex states that Nathan will dies when Hex says he can. Nathan refuses and Hex buries the point of the shovel into Nathans leg. 

Throughout the night, Nathan digs seven graves, buries the men he killed, and then expires himself. Jonah then digs one last grave for the Black woman that died and gently lays her to rest, riding off into the dawn. 

During this, the captions explain that the author, having studied Hex, has concluded that Hex had no distinct hatred of men of color. He wore the Confederate Gray as a symbol of personal shame, knowing that people would greet him with hatred and revulsion. Others, evil in their heart, might extend a hand of friendship, thus exposing themselves to Jonah's wrath. An anger flowed through Jonah to the extent that he didn't hate his fellow humans based on any outward appearances, he hated all people equally, because he had no friends, just two companions, Death itself and the acrid smell of gunsmoke.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 4. 

Running Total - 736 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 234 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Beaten and hung.

Timeline - One day in 1866. This is prior to Jonah's scarring at the hands of his adopted Apache father.

Rape Percentage - 25% (9 of 36)

This is one of the best stories in all of the Jonah Hex books and it answers the question of why Jonah continues to wear his old uniform (much better than any other theories put forth). The captions, a narrative by a future historian, outline the history of Hex and the state of Tennessee so wonderfully, one is fully immersed in the inner workings of the mind of this man without hardly a word being said by him. 

Normally I'm not a big fan of Rafa Garres, but here, his dirty, warped humans and bizarre angles really really sell the action and savagery of the beatings and murders. I can't think of another artist that could have done this story justice.

Next Issue: Once again, Jonah's trouble with the ladies comes in threes.

Jonah Hex V2 #29 "Return to Devil's Paw"

Jonah Hex V2 #29 May '08

"Return to Devil's Paw"
Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Rafa Garres - art and cover

Strange Days Have Found Us

We are treated to a wonderous page of scorpions, spiders and rattlesnakes as the narration expounds:
There comes a moment in most every man's life when he reflects upon some distant action or indiscretion that led him to a particular dilemma. 

For some, it's a woman that corrupted their soul and poisoned their heart.

For others, it's a moment of weakness -- whether in crime, drink, gambling, murder or adultery -- that can condemn an otherwise decent man to a dark and perfidious end.

You'll be well served in the knowledge that bounty hunter Jonah Hex had a very long list of such incidents, including a few best not mentioned in polite company.

Once More into the Grasp

  Hex, his hands bound with rawhide, is leading Jones and his men into the Devil's Paw, a place of horror and mystery, a place where Jonah encountered the outlaw Montana, and eventually gunned them down in 'nearby' Plimpton. Jones accuses Jonah of killing Montana but keeping the looted money for himself and Jones demands to be taken to the Devil's Paw so Hex can turn the cash over to them.

  Hex and the men ride into the twisting pathways leading into the Paw when one man, Clancey, takes an arrow to the neck, and Jones gets one in the arm. Hex spurs his horse to escape as another man gets an arrow to the head. Jones and the rest of the men fall under the knives of an ambush of Indians. Hex realizes that he is also surrounded and he quickly dismounts and fights as best he can, but he finally succumbs to the tribesmen.

Tribe of the Red Scorpion

  and that brings us back to the beginning, with Jonah bound and dangling over a pit of poisonous critters. A warrior shows up, cuts Jonah down and then leads him up into a pueblo to what appears to be the shaman. The old man produces a stone box with a hole in it and Jonah is forced to put his arm into the hole. Tense seconds pass and then Jonah feels a painful bite. A red scorpion falls out of the box and Jonah swirls into unconsciousness.

Warnings Ignored Repeatedly

  The town of Plimpton, a three day ride from the Paw, four days later. Detective McCoy, supposedly of Pinkerton employ, is being briefed by the sheriff on recent events, including Jones (also a Pinkerton) and his men taking Hex up to the Paw. McCoy asked if the sheriff had told Jones of the horrible reputation held by the Devil's Paw. He replies in the negative but that Hex had warned them more than adequately. McCoy tells the sheriff to get his horse ready, they are going to the Paw.

 Hex awakens to the amazement of the Indians. Jonah can't understand them and asks a boy standing nearby if he speaks English (he does). Jonah gets to his feet and stands before a warrior, Avenging Wind, who welcomes Jonah and offers him to live with the tribe, since he survived the bite of the red scorpion.

  Jonah demands his clothes back and Avenging Wind wants to know why Hex brought white men to the Paw. Jonah explains about the money and how men will keep coming until the money is recovered. Avenging Wind states that they will kill all who come and that Jonah cannot leave as he is now part of the tribe. Jonah gets into a knockdown dragout fight with Avenging Wind and defeats him just as the sound of rifle fire echos into the pueblo.

  An entire troop of U.S. Army show up and start slaughtering the tribe. Jonah locates his stolen boots, shirt and rifle, then starts making his way out of the pueblo. Avenging Wind awakens to see his entire people dead. He leaps from the highest point of the pueblo, knife drawn, ready to kill any soldiers he encounters. Needless to say, Avenging Wind is cut down in a hail of rifle fire and hits the ground, dead.

  Hex then spies the young Indian on an overlook, rifle in hand and drawing a bead on the Sgt. The young one's shot is true and the Sgt's head is blown open. The rest of the soldiers return fire but Hex and the boy escape after driving off the soldier's horses.

They ride on into the emerging night and Jonah tells the boy that he should wait a night or two for the soldiers to leave the Paw. Hex even suggests the boy find a new home, but the boy explains that the Paw is home. Hex mounts up as the boy heads back to the Paw.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - None, even though he beats the living tar out of several Indians.
Running Total - 670 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 178 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Bitten by a scorpion, knocked out
Timeline - Ten days. The folks in Plimpton say Hex left a week ago and then they ride to the Paw, a three day ride.

  I am very conflicted about Garres's artwork. The characters are so incredibly fluid and dynamic, almost to rubbery comic proportions, but that also shows movement and intensity. Like a freeze frame of a super-slo-motion camera when some gets punched. But the inking is so heavy, so much black, that it can be difficult to figure out who is who in the book. A lot of his characters look the same or at times they same character isn't recognizable through the book.

  Parts of the story are confusing. The sheriff of Plimpton talks to a man called Detective McCoy (and I assume he is with the Pinkertons, like Jones) McCoy tells the sheriff they are all going out to the Paw, but instead, we see the Army show up. The Sgt has facial hair unlike that of McCoy or the Sheriff so I don't know if Garres messed up on the artwork or what happened. It's sad when a jarring glitch like that has you paging back through a book trying to figure out if you missed something.

  All in all, a fair book and a nice return to a prior story.

Next Issue: Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone...