Justice League of America #159 "Crisis from Yesterday!"

Justice League of America #159 Oct, 1978
"Crisis from Yesterday!"
Gerry Conway, story - Dick Dillin & Frank McLaughlin, art - Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano, cover

It's hard to understand why this book was published around the same time as the Jonah Hex Spectacular. It's like they had to balance the best Jonah Hex story with the worst Jonah Hex story.

Oh lord, where do I start? I wanted to love the JLA during this time and I suffered through the Dick Dillin art. I never ever enjoyed anything that this man drew but this was the annual JLA/JSA team-up, so I had to buy it.

Also, Jonah Hex was on the cover. I slammed down my 50 cents and dove into the book. Then I threw up in my mouth...a lot. But I shouldn't attempt to sway the jury on this one.

The JLA & JSA are meeting in Club 22 on Earth-1. There is a lot of partying and emoting, some of which I will describe here:

• Batman, looking at Huntress wonders what it would be like to get married and wonders if he envies his Earth-2 counterparts retirement or his child?
• Green Arrow & Hawkman get drunk and become all palsy-walsy
• Elongated Man gives publicity advice to the Star-Spangled Kid
• Oh, the wall explodes and Superman has a chance to shout "Who are THEY?!?!?!"

Then we break to 3786 in another dimension. The Lord of Time is talking to his huge living computer. The computer is telling the LoT that it has successfully nabbed 5 people from the past and dropped them in July 15, 1978. LoT rattles on about being able to use the computer to build this refuge outside the time-stream where he could work his horrible plans. Plans that include learning how to stop time itself. Of course, LoT orders the computer to stop time and then realizes that he can't recind the order or tell the computer to put things back. The stoppage of time will result in.... something too horrible for the LoT to even think about.

LoT then devised a plan of snatching 5 heroes from the past, give them super-powers and have them attack the JLA/JSA.

We return to 1978 to see a tri-plane, two flying horses and a flying viking ship cause the building to collapse onto the JLA/JSA and defeat them. Then we are introduced to Viking Prince, Jonah Hex, Enemy Ace, Miss Liberty, & The Black Pirate. They all recount how they were abducted from their own times, brought together and then ordered to fight our heroes. They also talk about how they can understand each other but they also heard a voice that gave them orders, but none of them can remember what the voice said. The five heroes do a minor freak out and Miss Liberty suggests they go to a place she knows where they can figure this out.

Moments later, Superman busts out from under the rubble of the collapsed restaurant. He helps uncover several of the other heroes. Oddly some of them seem to suffer from some kind of Conway-Coma. Wonder Woman of Earth-1, Black Canary, Green Arrow, & Hawkwoman are all taken to a nearby hospital, while the remaining heroes follow a chronal energy trail that Superman has detected.

Flash, Huntress, Dr. Mid-Nite, Elongated Man & Wonder Woman (Earth-2) pile into Wonder Woman's invisi-jet while Hawkman, Superman and the Star-Spangled Kid fly alongside. They end up at Valley Forge and end up getting attacked by Viking Prince and the Black Pirate riding a flying Viking Boat. Viking Prince manages to lay the smackdown on Flash and Black Pirate cuts down Wonder Woman and Elongated Man. Superman, Hawkman & SSK end up on the losing end of Jonah Hex, Enemy Ace & Miss Liberty. The Huntress and Dr. Mid-Nite don't fare well either.

At the end, all of our heroes are unconscious and the five from the past are sent to 3786. The five are placed on a statis-shelf outside the LoT castle and everything fits into the LoT's plan. LoT knows that when the JLA/JSA suffers a beatdown, they rally and come back stronger than ever. He is banking on them being able to defeat his computer because in five hours the computer will stop all of time and it will never get started again.

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah: It's a JLA book!!! zero
Jonah's Injuries: None, he's a guest star
Timeline: Who really cares?

This story stinks, but you want to know about Jonah, don't you? Here is all of Jonah's dialogue:


Yup, that makes me want to rush out & start reading Jonah Hex.

Next Issue: Believe it of not, it gets worse. Yup, they bring in a toad-frog from Hell.

Jonah Hex #16 "The Wyandott Verdict!"

Jonah Hex #16 Sept. 1978
"The Wyandott Verdict!"
Michael Fleisher - story, Vincente Alcazar - art, Rich Buckler & Frank Giacoia, cover

Michael Fleisher is back in the saddle right from the start of the DC EXPLOSION with a 25 page story to finish out the framed Jonah storyline. Diving right into the action, Jonah's horse has fallen and broken it's leg, putting Jonah on foot trying to outrun a posse of vigilantes, set on hanging him. Jonah manages to make it to a cave and he starts looking for a back way out.

Outside the posse already knows about the exit and they send a couple of men there to light brush on fir and toss it into the cave. Jonah finds the exit, but gunfire prevents him from escaping and soon the cave is filled with smoke from the brushfires. Jonah runs out, coughing for air, and the posse nab him, tie him, beat him and then commence with hanging him. They explain that they aren't interested in justice or the reward since they knew the men that Jonah is accused of murdering. They place Jonah on a hrose, put a noose around his neck and slap the horse's behind, causing the horse to take off and leave Jonah dangling from the tree. The posse, their work done, leave Jonah twitching and dancing at the end of the rope.

Nearby, there is a man in some bushes, watching the entire scene. To quote the thoughts of the mystery man "N-no! H-He can't die! He can't! Not after all I've endured! N-Not after all I've suffered! For months I've dogged his footsteps..stood within inches of him when he least suspected it ... all the while crafting a retribution worthy of my greatness! And now to see him hanging there, gasping his life away, snatched from my grasp by a bunch of brutal vigilantes! It's more than I can.."

It is my humble opinion that is Fleisher took several months off to craft this wrapup of Framed Jonah, he should have taken another day or two to trim out some of the melodrama. But, this is the DC EXPLOSION and they have pages to fill. That little speech took up three panels.

Back to the story where we find two men trying to save Jonah. A black man, Joseph, is in the tree trying to cut the rope, while an elderly white man, Tobia Nostrum, is trying to hold Jonah up to keep him from hanging. Together they get Jonah down and loaded into their wagon. Nostrum keeps insisting that no matter what a man has done, he is entitled to a fair trial and not a hanging by vigilantes. As they ride off, the mystery man in the bushes is elated. They have saved Jonah Hex, they have saved him for .... WAIT, the mystery man won't say his own name out loud because SOMEONE COULD BE LISTENING!! Do we actually have the fourth wall in a Jonah Hex story????

Jonah awakens in the cabin of Tobias Nostrum. Nostrum makes introductions all around and states that he knows who Jonah is and that he is wanted in nearby Wyandot. Nostrum assures Jonah that they have taken every precaution by removing the bullets from Jonah's guns. Nostrum believes that criminals should be brought to justice via science and not by mobs. Jonah protests his innocence and Nostrum is fascinated at the prospect that Jonah could have been framed.

Joseph goes out into the night to get some firewood, but he is suddenly attacked from behind and a knife is thrust into his heart. The attacker drags Josephs body into the brush and shortly we see the killer head to the cabin. Inside, Nostrum is explaining concepts of fingerprinting and ballistics, saying that he can possibly use these to determine who framed Jonah. Joseph comes back in with the firewood (!?!?!?) Nostrum decides that to compare ballistic patterns they will have to exhume the bodies, so they head out in the night to rob graves.

Several hours later, Jonah, Nostrum, and Joseph are in a cabin by the cemetery. They have a corpse on a table and Nostrum tells Joseph to stand guard outside. Outside, joseph's speech patterns change from the stereotypical to mimic the mysterious man in the bush that saw Jonah hanged. 'Joseph' unhooks the horse from the wagon and heads off.

In Wyandott, the sheriff is cleaning his rifle when there is a knock on the door. A young woman, a saloon girl, comes in and explains to the sheriff that she has seen Jonah Hex at the cemetery. the sheriff keeps trying to put the moves on her, but she manages to get away, and as she runs down an alley, we learn that she is the 'mystery man' (Holy Crying Game!!) .

Meanwhile, back at the grave-robbin'... Jonah hears something outside the small cabin that he & Nostrum are working in. Jonah goes outside to check on the noise and comes face to face with the sheriff and a posse with their guns drawn. Several days later (lets say 10) a couple of men are working on the scaffolding that the town will use to hang Jonah, after his fair trial, that is. And of course they are working on it right outside Jonah's jail cell.

In the jail, Jonah gets a visit from Nostrum. Nostrum has good news. The bullets that he dug out of the three corpses came from a single action Smith & Wesson pocket .38, a small inaccurate gun that a gunfighter would never use (and of course doesn't match Jonah's .45 Colt Peacemakers). But Nostrum went even farther. He traveled to the barn that Jonah had told him about and dug up Ned Landon, finding a .38 and was able to ID it as the murder weapon using ballistics. Nostrum has written it all down in a report and will present it at Jonah's trial tomorrow.

QUICK CUT!!! to The Man with the Eagle Topped Cane reading a newspaper about Jonah going to trial tomorrow in Texas. This man (who is, of course, Quentin Turnbull) has his identity hidden from us. Why? Probably because the last time we saw him identified was 11 issues ago and Fleisher assumes that everyone has forgotten. This gives a sloppy feel (at least to followers of Jonah) when Fleisher tries to generate suspense from something that has already been revealed and is also a major factor in the story. But I digress...

Quentin Turnbull is reading the paper, sees an article about Jonah on trial and the fact that Nostrum is going to testify on Jonah's behalf. Turnbull summons Solomon and instructs him to contact the Wilson boys, there is a job for them.

The next day Wyandott is packed to the gills with people as folks from all over try to squeeze into Gleason's Saloon to see the trial. Down the street at the Wyandott Hotel a man that looks like Nostrum picks the lock on the door to Nostrum's room. He ponders to himself about destroying the evidence. As he is ransacking the room, the real Nostrum comes in. The imposter stabs him and stuffs the body under the bed.

Shortly thereafter, 'Nostrum' appears before the court and is sworn in to testify. Back at the hotel, the Wilson boys (3, count 'em, 3 Wilson boys) point a pistol at the hotel clerk demanding to know where Nostrum's room is. The clerk informs them about the trial down the street. Brian (the ringleader), Bill (the whiner), and Alnert (who wears a bowler ?!?!?) all head down to the saloon to earn their money.

The defense attorney is asking 'Nostrum' the first question when the Wilson boys storm in, guns drawn, demanding to know who & where Nostrum is. 'Nostrum' reacts with a gasp, giving away his position and before the Wilson's can open fire, Jonah, in handcuffs, jumps up and headbutts Brian Wilson, then knees him in the crotch, dives to the floor to grab the dropped pistol and then rolling across the floor of the saloon, guns down Bill & Albert.

The judge is furious and eventually the trial gets back underway. 'Nostrum' begins his testimony by saying that the evidence proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jonah Hex killed all three men. The defense starts to protest when the real Nostrum, bleeding, staggers into the courtroom, states that Jonah is innocent and produces the notebook of evidence proving Jonah's innocence, then he drops dead.

The judge turns to 'Nostrum', demanding to know what is going on. 'Nostrum' then identifies himself as The Chameleon, master thespian!!! He rips off his mask, showing his horribly burned face. Still ranting at the top of his lungs, he states that he is about to shoot Jonah when STABIFICATION!!!, Jonah throws his knife right into Chammy's chest.

The judge declares Jonah innocent and demands that he be released. As Jonah rides out of town, the two men building the gallows start griping that they never got to use it and some days it don't pay to get out of bed.

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Jonah - 3, two of the Wilson boys and the Chameleon

Running Total - 167

Jonah's injuries - None

Timeline - This wraps up the Hex, Fugitive saga so this is around 1877 or so.

Fleisher really tried to pack a lot into this 25 page saga. Did I like it? At times I really enjoyed it, the Chameleon, Turnbull hiring thugs on a moments notice, and the scientist on the cusp of CSI gives this story a Wild Wild West feel. Depending on my mood, that can be a good thing or a bad thing. So much time was spent on the Chameleon's impersonations that the ending felt rushed, even though it was a little funny. The last few panels went like this:

Rant rant rant rant REVEAL rant rant STABIFICATION!!!!! Release.

Next issue - The DC EXPLOSION continues as Jonah heads east, gets hoodwinked and then the cannibals show up.

Jonah Hex #15 "Sawdust and Slow Death"

Jonah Hex #15 Aug 1978

"Sawdust and Slow Death"
David Michelinie, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Rich Buckler & Giacoia, cover
(interior pictures will be posted at a later date)

Rail Gap, Kansas, 1875 (can you hear me screaming already?) the Colter Traveling Circus of Wonders and Amazing Animals is holding it's closing night show. The crowd is watching the Crimson Pistolero as he shoots six whiskey bottles in midair. Of course, the Pistolero is Jonah Hex with a purple bandana over his face. And of course, since he is Jonah Hex, he gets his pistol back into the holster before the bottle pieces hit the ground. As the crowd is applauding a local yokel stands up, shouting that it's harder hitting a target that shoots back. Of course, that's not true for the Crimson Pistolero and he proves it by shooting the pistol out of the rabble-rousers hand before anything can happen. The ringmaster, Mr. Pike, tells everyone that it's all part of the show.

Jonah then goes 'backstage' and talks to Paco, a dwarf that is also a clown. Then it's time for the star attraction and owner of the circus, Miss Sally Colter, who appears standing astride two galloping horses while also holding the reigns of three others ahead of her. She jumps off the horses' back and does a somersault through a ring of fire and lands on her feet to thunderous applause. After that is the big finale where all the freaks from the sideshows parade through the tent.

Jonah has a flashback to a few days prior when he came upon the circus and talked to Sally about hiring on as a sharpshooter. She introduces Jonah to Hannibal Pike, the ringmaster, an unlikable smarmy fellow that takes delight in belittling people and poking lions and other animals with his cane.

Back in the present, several more days pass and at another show we are treated to Maximillian, the armless knife thrower. He throws knives using his mouth and twisting his head quickly. Of course, Sally is his human target. Max throws knives one by one until Sally is surrounded by over a dozen knives. Then he takes two in his mouth and throws both at the same time with one landing on each side of Sally's neck. Sally never flinches and continues to smile happily.

After that act, while Captain Ed Yager is taming his ferocious jungle cats, several of the freaks sneak out of the back of the tent & go into town.

The freaks locate a man working into the night on a company payroll and they rob him of it. Hours later they return to the circus after the show has completed and the players are having dinner. Sally is thanking everyone for their hard work when Paco peeks into the tent and catches the attention of Pike. Pike leaves dinner and meets the freaks in his wagon, where they count the night's take of $1,300.13. Pike mentions that it is an odd amount and Paco sees it as an omen that they should stop stealing. Pike explains that the circus is on the verge of bankruptcy and without this extra income Miss Sally would lose everything and end up in the poorhouse. The freaks agree to keep stealing, only for Sally's benefit.

Once they are gone, Pike, of course, gloats that all the money is going into a personal bank account of his back east.

The next morning, everyone is tearing down the circus to head out of town. Paco comes hobbling across the circus grounds to taks to Jonah when a wagon of equipment slips it's brakes and hurtles toward Paco. Jonah dives forward, pushing Paco to safety. Paco thanks Jonah but Jonah says that Paco would have done the same for him. Another circus worker states that "we 'special' people have to stick together." Jonah appears to be startled at this acceptance of him.

Days later (let's say 4, just cuz), the circus arrives at it's next stop and holds a huge parade through town. That night, Pike gives Paco the name & address of their next 'mark'. Paco asks if Jonah can help this time & Pike declines, saying there is something about Jonah that he doesn't like. Jonah is too independant, like the lions, and Pike pokes at a lion with his cane. Pike then spots a marshall coming from the main tent.

Pike goes in the main tent to ask Sally what the law was doing. Sally explains that the sheriff said that there has been a series of robberies in the towns that the circus has performed in. Sally is going to call the circus together & see if anyone knows anything, because none of the workers would lie to her. Pike agrees with her and says that is what he is afraid of, then he smashes Sally's skull open with his cane. Pike then tears a piece off of Jonah's Crimson Pistolero mask and places it in Sally's hand and then leaves, planning on heading back east to his bank account.

A short time later, Jonah is in his tent washing up and talking with Paco. Paco says that he hopes that Jonah can stay with them for a long time, but Jonah says that he needs to be moving on soon. Just then the entire freak show walks in, holding Jonah responsible for Sally's death.Paco tries to stand up for Jonah, but the freaks will hear none of it. They usher Jonah over to the main tent and strap him to the knife-thrower's target.

Jonah tries to explain but the freaks start the knife-throwing act since they need a replacement for Sally. Maxamillian's first throw slices Jonah's left forearm, his second slices into Jonah's left thigh. A dwarf explains that Max's aim is off since he is so upset over Sally's death. Maxamillian is getting for the double knife finale (He can't miss with both knives) when Paco comes in holding a telegram that he found in Pike's wagon. The telegram is from a bank in Philadelphia confirming a deposit for $1,300.13. The freaks recognize is as the amount of their last robbery and realize that they have the wrong man.

Information is traded between all parties involved and Jonah is reunited with his pistols. A plan is hatched and, as Jonah states, since they have been used, they should start returning the favor.

A short time later, in the darkness, Pike is starting to sneak away to catch a train back east. Suddenly two bullets slam into the wagon side in front of him. Pike turns to see the sillouette of Jonah standing over by a tent. Pike starts to run, but a couple of shots hit the ground in front of him. He turns to run another direction. He runs a ways and then has to turn to avoid being shot. It's then that Pike realizes that since Jonah is an expert marksman, Jonah must be taunting Pike. Pike finds his only way out is to duck under the big tent. He crawls into the tent, into total darkness, and he hears an ominous CLANG behind him.

Slowly several lamps are lit and Pike finds that he is in a huge cage, surrounded by the circus workers, all holding lamps. Pike demands to know what is going on. Jonah walks over and says that since Miss Sally is gone, everyone thought the circus would need a new big act. That's why they moved the lion cage and 'invited' Pike to audition. Pike calls them crazy, saying that they won't get away with it. Jonah agrees "Mebbe not - but then, ah guess tuh some folks thet ain't important anymore.." There is another ominous clang as a gate opens, letting the lions, who have been constantly tormented by Pike, into the cage.

The last panel has Jonah walking away from the circus, casually flicking away his smoke, as we hear blood-curdling screams coming from the big tent behind him.

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah - Even though Jonah was part of a plan to kill Pike, I'm still gonna give him credit for this kill. 1
Running Total - 164
Jonah's injuries - two knife wounds, left arm & left leg.
Timeline - Still part of the framed Jonah saga, but dates were blatantly given.

I can't let this date thing go, can I? 1875? But we have already established that it's probably 1877, haven't we? And there is no chance that this took place in 1874, is there? ARRRGHGHGH!

I really enjoyed this issue, even though I'm reading a lot more into it than is actually there. This is a nice revenge story patterned after the movie "Freaks!" Reading this story you assume a lot of information that is not overly explained. You know that Sally is a lovely woman, taking in and loving all kinds of people. You know that Pike is scum and enjoys tormenting man & animal alike. And you realize that the freaks are taking no joy in Pike's death, they know that it will not bring back Sally, but a price has to be paid, no matter how ugly that might be. I would put this in the upper quarter of Hex stories and the idea of circus freaks was visited again (twice) in the new series.

Next Issue: Stabbings, shootings, hangings, grave-robbing, ballistics and the DC Explosion in a 25 page story with The Wyandott Verdict!

Jonah Hex #14 "The Sin Killer!"

Jonah Hex #14 July 1978
"The Sin Killer!"
David Michelinie, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Rich Buckler & Frank Giacoia, cover

Jonah is standing in a saloon, minding his own business when all 5 Stolper Brothers (Yancy, Rafe, & three others) come sauntering in. They walk up behind Jonah and start talking about how they are going to buy everyone drinks because they will be rich once they bring Jonah in for the $10,000 bounty. Jonah retaliates by breaking a whiskey bottle across the Rafe's mouth. Rafe falls to the floor and Jonah guns down two of the brothers. He then kicks over a pot-belly stove onto a fourth brother and then guns down the last Stopler brother.

Jonah runs out of the saloon, jumps on his horse and rides off. The Stopler brother that had the stove kicked at him comes stumbling out of the saloon, swearing that he will kill Jonah. We hear a voice from the shadows state "No, Sinner! Vengeance is the province of the Lord! And as his servant its execution is mine.." and the man in the shadows pumps three bullets into the Stopler brother.

Three days later in Ringwood, Oklahoma, Jonah is getting the barrels sawed off his shotgun by a local blacksmith. The blacksmith invites Jonah to a prayer meeting that a circuit preacher is holding. Jonah is about to turn him down when he mentions the big picnic supper. Jonah decides that he can use some free eats.

At the prayer meeting, the preacher is talking about the evils of the world, the coming Armageddon, about the Lord helping those that help themselves, the lion & lamb and the lion being tamed. Jonah is munching down on a chicken leg when he realizes that he knows the preacher. After the sermon, Jonah heads to meet the preacher.

The preacher, Jedediah Kane, was known by Jonah six years ago and Jonah thought Jed was dead in El Paso. Jed invites Jonah into his wagon to talk over old times. Jed explains that after that gunfight in El Paso he almost died and for three days teetered on the brink of death. Afterwards he decided to change his ways. He took up the cloth, married a woman and started a family. A few years later he took his congregation down to Knobb's Creek for a baptism service.

However, a group of cattle rustlers had set up camp there and a bunch of bounty hunters were stalking them. As the congregation arrived at the river, the bounty hunters opened fire and the entire church was slaughtered. It was at that point Jedediah began his crusade to smite the Philistines. Jonah asks what Jed means by that and Jed explains that it means he kills bounty hunters, and suddenly pistol whips Jonah. Jed then packs up his wagon and leaves, taking Jonah with him.

The caption explains that "For hours, the creaking wagon winds its way over rocky paths, climbing high into the nearby, snow-capped mountains." Uhhhhh, there are no snow-capped in Oklahoma. The highest point is Black Mesa and it is in no way a mountain. But, back to the story.

Jedediah has taken Jonah to the snow covered mountain peaks in Oklahoma Territory and left him hanging by his wrists from a tree. Jed rails on about this being a method of salvation for Jonah and that this way Jonah can repent of his greedy sinful ways and be saved. Jonah sees it as he will be left to starve. Jed gets into his wagon and rides off.

Jonah figures that the tree branch he is hanging from is so loaded with snow & ice that he might be able to break the limb. He starts swinging and then brings his weight down on the branch, thus causing it to snap. Now he is on the ground and tied to a large branch. He's not able to untie the rawhide with his teeth so Jonah carries the branch to a frozen creek, smashes the ice and soaks the rawhide in the freezing water until it stretches enough for him to get it untied.

Then, with his arms soaking wet and no proper clothing, Jonah starts making his way down the mountain in the building snowstorm. He manages to knife a rabbit and eat it raw. Hours later he stumbles up to a mountain cabin where a trapper is able to save him.

After several days, Jonah borrows the trappers horse and rides off.

Days later in Ralston, Kansas, Jonah is asking around about Jedediah. Folks acknowledge that there was a traveling preacher just that morning but he left town about an hour ago with a sandy headed fella with missing teeth. Later at an abandoned silver mine outside of town, Rafe Stopler is holding Jedediah at gunpoint and is about to kill him. Jed tries to reason with him but Jonah sneaks into the mine behind Rafe. Rafe turns and Jonah plants his pigsticker knife right in the middle of Rafe's chest.

As Rafe goes down, he squeezes both triggers, hitting a roofing beam in the mine. Jonah reaches down and picks up the shotgun, telling Jedediah that they have several things to settle up between the two of them. Jed reaches into his Bible and pulls out a derringer that is hidden there is several cutout pages. Jonah tells Jed that the shotgun has weakened the roof and they need to get out of there.

Jed accuses Jonah of lying and Jonah tells him that he is using religion as an excuse to carry out his own vendetta. Jedediah shouts that God punishes evil and Jed opens fire. The noise causes the roof to collapse and in the end Jonah is able to crawl out from the rubble. Standing up Jonah says "Jedeiah, ah guess ah owe yuh an apology. It seems yuh wuz raht about one thing, after all...God does punish evil, sometimes." And Jonah walks out of the mine, leaving the dead body of Jedediah behind in the mine.

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah - 4

Running Total - 163
Jonah injuries - knocked out
Timeline - This story takes place over probably about 2 weeks ("three days", "several days", "several days") and is part of the Jonah fugitive story line. Jonah still has the shotgun he picked up in Louisiana two issues ago.

I liked the cover of this issue with the red sky, lightning, and glowing eyes looking like a throwback to the early Weird Western days. The story? Ummm, not so much. I have never cared for the crazed preacher angle unless the writer has actually shown a good grasp of the scriptures and is able to convince me that the crazy preacher actually believes that God is telling him to kill people. It just seems like a lazy way to write to me. This turns out to be a mediocre story. And by the wat, does Jed look like Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter?

Next Issue: Rings of fire, knife throwing, and the freak show comes to town!!!

Jonah Hex #13 "The Railroad Blaster"

Jonah Hex #13 June 1978
"The Railroad Blaster"
David Micheline, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano, cover

Location: A Union Pacific passenger car near Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory in 1874. Can you count the mistakes in that sentence? Anyway, this is the first story not written by Michael Fleisher in 28 issues.

This story takes place after Jonah gets away from the Louisiana crazies so he is taking a train through the Oklahoma territory in the north central part of the state. We see a hand lighting some dynamite and then we are shown that the dynamite is next to the tracks. The splash page is a huge explosion with the train tossing everyone about. Earl & Virgil, two ruffians, decide to take advantage of the confusion and start robbing folks. They steal a woman's purse and knock a man out before they hear a voice ask if they really want to take the purse because it doesn't go with their outfit at all. Jonah Hex is standing behind them with his hand casually resting up in the overhead storage.

Virgil notes that Jonah's holsters are empty and draws on Jonah. Suddenly the overhead compartment erupts when Jonah squeezes the trigger on the shotgun he had hidden there. Earl gets three shots off but Jonah dives and unloads the second barrel into him. Jonah congratulates himself on his foresight of takes the shotgun from the swamp crazies he tangled with but he is interrupted by the man that was beaten up. The man berates Jonah for endangering them all by discharging firearms in close quarters. Jonah responds by punching him with the woman's purse.

A few hours later, several wagons from nearby Guthrie show up to investigate the explosion. In town Jonah is lamenting that he only has 50 cents to his name. Down the sidewalk comes a small boy running from a shopkeeper. The boy has stolen a small bag of grain and runs into Jonah. The shopkeeper catches the boy, but Jonah intervenes and gives the man a quarter for the grain. The man starts to protest but Jonah quietly says that the quarter will cover it. Jonah sends the boy on his way with an admonition to not let thievin become a habit.

A short while later in the saloon Jonah is about to get a drink when a man by the name of Reuben Gittes offers to share a bottle with him. Jonah takes up the offer and the man says that he has admired the fine way that Jonah handled the purse-snatchers on the train and then calls him by name. Gittes explains that he has a pistol under the table aimed at Jonah and that Gittes work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Gittes explains that he isn't after the bounty on Jonah, he has been sent to Guthrie to investigate a series of explosions that have been plaguing the railroad. He has been offered $5,000 to bring in the saboteur. He knows Jonah reputation for tracking down men and offers Jonah $1,000 to help him. Jonah asks why Gittes doesn't just kill him now & collect the $10,000 on his head. Gittes explains that it would do his health no good to be known as the man who killed Jonah Hex. Jonah agrees to Gittes' terms and starts tracking the saboteur.

For hours he follws a trail that appears to be made by two people with a wagon that has a 'bum wheel'. Eventiually he comes upon a large ranch that has seen better days. As he rides up the owner, Roy Cooper, steps out and threatens Jonah with a rifle. Just then the young boy, Billy, Jonah helped earlier runs out of the house and explains that Jonah paid for the grain. Roy apologizes and explains that there have been robbers in the area and he has to be careful.

Roy continues working on repairing his buckboard wheel and eventually starts bad mouthing the railroads. He catches himself and then invites Jonah for dinner. During dinner, Jonah probes for Roy's opinion of the railroad and Roy starts talking about how the railroad has started taking cattle drives away and a man like him has a hard time making ends meet. After dinner Jonah excuses himself and leaves only to climb a nearby hill so that he can continue to watch the cabin after dark.

Soon, Roy & Billy get in the buckboard and Jonah follows them to a railroad trestle. The tracks come around a huge bend near some rocks and then go across a gorge. Roy's plan is to blow up the rocks and knock them onto the track. Billy asks why they just don't blow up the bridge. Roy explains that the engineer will see the rocks and have time to stop the train. If the trestle was gone folks would die in the crash.

Jonah steps out from the shadows, pistols drawn. Jonah says that he is going to have to take them in but then Gittes steps out behind Jonah. Gittes tosses some ankle-irons to Jonah and tells Jonah to put them on himself so Gittes can collect the $15,000 himself. Gittes laughingly explains that his plan is to kill Jonah for the $10,000 and then kill Roy for the $5,000 but he will explain that Roy killed Jonah first. Before Gittes can pull the trigger, Billy jumps up on a boulder with a stick of dynamite and a match. Billy tells Gittes to drop the pistol.

Gittes decides to drop Billy instead and shoots the boy. Billy falls backwards onto the trestle and the dynamite explodes. Roy lunges at Gittes but is gunned down and when Jonah attempts to tackle Gittes he falls, due to the ankle-irons and Gittes pistol whips him. Gittes is about to shoot Jonah in the head when he is knocked out with a rock by Roy, who dies right afterward.

Sometime later we find Gittes shackled to the railroad track. Jonah is sitting atop his horse next to him. Jonah explains that since the bridge is blown up somebody has to warn the train but since Jonah is going to be busy burying Roy and Billy, Jonah will leave Gittes there. Gittes starts screaming that it is still too dark for the train to see him. Jonah says that's not a problem. the train will stop to find out what the big bump was.

Jonah turns and rides off, leaving Gittes screaming in the dark.


Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3 Running Total - 159
Jonah's injuries - pistol whipped, but not knocked out
Timeline - 1874. But, let's go back to the first sentence.

1. The Union Pacific does run through Oklahoma, starting in 1964.
2. Guthrie, Oklahoma was founded on April 22, 1889 during one of the land runs.
3. The previous issue took place around 1876 & 1877 due to a timeline continuing from a reference to Mexican President Porfirio Diaz.

I think any ranting at this point would be pointless. But, understand that I am ranting on the inside.

Besides all of this, I did enjoy this issue with Gittes pulling a great double-cross and everyone threatening everyone else with dynamites, rock, rifles & pistols. Jonah is kinda helpless through the whole thing but gets the final say in a very gruesome EC kinda way.

Next Issue: More bad geography and Jonah almost gets religion.

Jonah Hex #11 "The Holdout!"

Jonah Hex #11 Apr. 1978
"The Holdout!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Rich Buckler, art - Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano, cover

The story opens with Jonah in a saloon casually watching a poker game at a nearby table. One man comments that he is cleaned out & gets up to leave. The remaining players ask Jonah if he would like to sit in on the game. Jonah states that his father always told him to stay out of crooked poker games and then he dumps a beer on the head of the dealer. The guy leaving the table protests that the dealer hasn't even been winning. Jonah points out that the other two men have been doing all the winning and then grabs the dealer's arm, revealing a gizmo called a holdout that allows the dealer to keep a card up his sleeve and then pop it into his hand when he needs it. Jonah tells the man that lost the game to pick up his money and leave, he also asks if there is an undertaker in town. The man says that there is and Jonah says that the undertaker needs to get three coffins ready.

The man heads out of the saloon. Three men involved in the poker game start to draw on Hex, but one of them realizes who Jonah is and he backs out of the gunfight. The other two draw on Jonah and Jonah shoots them dead. Now this is the confusing part. There were three men involved in cheating in the card game and the dealer was wearing blue. Three men started to draw on Hex, one backed out and Jonah shoots two men dead, one of them wearing blue. Turn the page & what do we see? Jonah holding a gun on the dealer, who is alive & wearing a blue suit. This was pretty sloppy visual storytelling. (& it wouldn't have happened if Lopez was doing the art). Jonah takes the holdout from the dealer and leaves.

Later that night, the dealer, Preston, and the man who backed out of the gunfight, Sleeze, are standing around when a woman in red comes up & says that she is looking for Jonah Hex. She asks if they have seen Jonah and they acknowledge that they have. They realize that she is probably a friend of Jonah's so they pull knives and threaten to carve up her face. She screams and Jonah, resting in a nearby hotel hears her. He ends up kicking Sleeze in the head
and beating the snot out of Preston. When he is done Jonah turns to be sure the woman is okay and learns that it is none other than Joanna Mosby! Then he gets smashed in the head with a 2x4.

A black man, Lupo, is standing over Jonah and asks Preston if he wants Hex killed. Preston has Lupo drag Jonah over to a hitching post. They tie Jonah's arms out to his sides and then, using a nine-pound sledgehammer, they smash both of Jonah's hands. Preston tells Joanna that he will be gone to Abilene for three weeks. If Jonah is still in town when he gets back, Preston & his men will kill Jonah.

Joanna gets Hex to a doctor and we next see Hex with both hands bandaged. The doc says "..your hands won't heal for weeks, maybe months! And as for the scars on them, I'm afraid you'll have those for the rest of your life!" But wait, what would a real doctor say? I asked one & he replied with

Dwayne,

Assuming the bones aren't knocked too far out of position (not a safe
assumption, really), then 4-6 weeks is a standard healing time. If the
bones are displaced, then the healing time is about twice as long and
the hand would heal abnormally, possible with some loss of function.

People can function with broken hands and fingers surprisingly well.
There is a lot of pain and swelling, but it can be done. Depending on
how the bones heal, there may be some loss of function, and there will
definitely be some bad arthritis in the future.

--Scott

The doctor leaves Joanna & Jonah alone. She explains that she has been following for months, wanting to explain how she was hoodwinked by the Chameleon. Jonah tells her to forget it & put out the lamp, he needs his rest. Joanna douses the lamp and she approaches Jonah's bed. He says that he won't be able to hold her and she replies by kissing him deeply.

The next day Joanna comes into the room having returned from the store. Jonah has torn off the ends of his bandages so that he can use his fingertips. He is toying with the holdout. Jonah asks Joanna to help him get dressed and he borrows her small derringer. Jonah then rides quite a ways from town and starts target practicing with the derringer in the holdout. Whenever he squeezes his arm to his side, the holdout springs down his sleeve, placing the small pistol in his hand. He can then squeeze the trigger with his fingertips.

How tough is Jonah? Well, his hands are mangled, he is using a gizmo to toss a pistol down his sleeve, he is using a very inaccurate derringer so he decides to practice LEFT HANDED!!! He literally practices for weeks, riding out at dawn, back in at night. Finally he can snuff candles at about 6 feet. He never tells Joanna what he is doing since she betrayed him once before.

Several days later Preston comes back to town. Talking to Sleeze & Lupo he learns that Jonah is still in town, even though he leaves every day. Preston tells the two thugs to follow Jonah out of town and kill him. Sleeze & Lupo decide to take the easy way and the next morning they just meet Jonah on the edge of town. They draw and start mocking Jonah with his broken hands. Suddenly the derringer pops down his sleeve & he plants a bullet in Sleeze's brain and one in Lupo's heart. Who's laughing now,, laughing boys?

Preston is in the general store telling the store owner about Sleeze & Lupo going to kill Jonah. Joanna is shopping and overhears the talk. A man runs in the store and tells Preston that Jonah is in the saloon looking to kill Preston. Preston draws his pistol and heads across the street. Joanna grabs a shotgun off the wall and heads out behind him. Preston is standing in front of the saloon and calls Jonah out.

Jonah steps out of the saloon and just as Preston is going to shoot Jonah, Joanna comes running down the street, shouting Jonah's name. The two men turn towards her and Joanna unloads both barrels into Preston. As he falls to the ground, dead, he squeezes off one shot that hits Joanna. Jonah runs over to her and holds her. She gasps out that she had to do something because a girl just can't stand by and let her man get....get....

and she dies.

Jonah holds her a moment longer, kissing her cold dead lips, and then carries her off down the street.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4; two card players, Sleeze & Lupo

Running Total - 155
Jonah's injuries - Another crack across the skull and two badly broken hands
Timeline - There is no mention of Jonah being a wanted man but this does take place several months after issue #4 where he ran into Joanna Mosby, therefore he is still a hunted man. So this one must take place somewhere around 1876-77.

I didn't care much for this issue, the artwork was ok but the story was very pedestrian. Jonah getting his hands broken was a good idea, but I didn't believe how quickly he could recover or use his fingers. Joanna Mosby was a great character but I would have rather seen her used across two issues and having the reader try to guess if she would backstab Jonah again this time. A good character wasted in my opinion.

Next Issue: - Pole-fighting, Gator fighting, and the swamp with the highest elevation in the world when Jonah takes on The Search for Gator Hawes!!!!

Weird Western Tales #37 "Requiem for a Gunfighter"

Weird Western Tales #37 Nov-Dec 1976
"Requiem for a Gunfighter"
Michael Fleisher, story - Rich Buckler & Frank Springer, art - Ernie Chua (Chan) cover

As stated in the opening caption, the following story takes place in Arizona Territory in 1878. Jonah is chasing the Bart Jethro gang. He comes upon a cabin engulfed in flame. He hears someone shouting for help from inside. He smashes his way inside and finds a young man trapped under a fallen beam. Jonah drags him to safety and once they are out, someone starts shooting at them both. Jonah tells the man to stay down and tries to circle around their attackers. When Jonah gets to where the gunfire was coming from, he finds that they are gone but he notices a distinctive hoofprint.

When Jonah returns, he asks the young man if he has any idea who would be shooting at them. The man, Frank Joad, explains that it is Wade Ransome, a killer that Frank's father, a sheriff, sent to jail a year ago. Ransome broke jail a month ago and killed Frank's mom & dad then set fire to the cabin. Jonah gets ready to ride off but Frank begs Jonah to go after Ransome. Jonah turns him down and then Frank asks Jonah to teach him out to shoot, so he can get his parents killer himself. Jonah turns him down again. When Frank asks why, Jonah replies, "All yuh'd have tuh look forward to would be a lifetime of sleepless nights an' a bullet in the spine." and then rides off.

Later, while riding in a narrow canyon, Jonah is bushwacked by the Jethro gang when they throw a huge net over him. Jonah falls off his horse and when the bandits come to get him, he manages to shoot two of them before being knocked out with a rifle-butt. The Jethro gang take Jonah to the top of a cliff and tie him to a huge boulder. After beating and kicking him to get some of their anger out, they push Jonah over the cliff into the river below.

Frank, who has been following Jonah, sees everything and jumps in the river and cuts Jonah free from the stone. Frank asks Jonah one more time to train him & Jonah relents. In the days that follow Jonah teaches Frank the following gunfighting tips:

• Draw and cock the pistol in one motion. This is quicker than drawing and the cocking the hammer.
• Don't fan the hammer. It throws your aim off.
• Stand sideways, you make a smaller target.
• Keep the sun to your back, it will get in your opponent's eyes.
• To make your draw slightly faster, wax the inside of your holster. (If ya know what I mean)

Finally Frank is ready and he and Jonah get the drop on the Jethro gang several nights later (when they are gloating over their $60,000 bank job, or 1.04 million in today's $$). All eight members of the gang raise their hands and Jonah tells Frank to keep them covered while he grabs their weapons. As Jonah advances on them, Frank suddenly holsters his gun. Bart Jethro notices this and states that it looks like they are gonna have a gunfight on their hands. Bart shouts for his men to kill them and the gunfire starts.

When the smoke clears, the Jethro gang is dead and Jonah walks over to Frank and knocks him to the ground, berating him for his grandstanding that could have gotten them both killed. The next day they take the bodies into a nearby town. As Jonah heads into the Sheriff's, he notices a horse with an odd hoof and it matches the track that he found above the burning cabin from many days ago.

He storms into the Sheriff's office and asks who owns that horse. The man talking to the sheriff owns up to it & Jonah tells the sheriff to lock the man up for killing Sheriff Joad and for trying to kill Frank Joad. The man explains that he is Ransome, but HIS dad was a sheriff that was killed by Frank Joad. He had tracked Joad to a cabin and set it ablaze to flush him out. Ransome had to leave when one of Joad's pals (Hex) tried to ambush him.

The sheriff verifies the truth of the story and Ransome decides to go out and get Joad, who is out in the street. Jonah tries to warn Ransome that he won't stand a chance against Joad. When Jonah tries to physically stop Ransome, the sheriff knocks him out with a rifle butt. Jonah comes to shortly thereafter, but by that time Ransome is laying dead in the street with Joad standing over him.

Jonah says that to Joad that he "made yuh! Now ah guess ah'm gonna have tuh un-make yuh." The following page is a beauty of simplicity. All of the panels are devoid of background or the buildings are just a sillouette. This leaves us with only the two men facing off with each other. Joad keeps bragging about how he is faster, younger, quicker than Hex and that it's time Hex steps aside for a better man. Hex then asks Joad, "Yuh know whut, Joad?"



And then they fire, Jonah collapsing to the ground. Joad stand ther gloating that he is the faster of the two and then he drops dead. Jonah picks himself up off the ground, his arm bleeding where Joad shot him. The doctor tries to attend to him, but Jonah shrugs him off. The doc says that it looked like Joad was faster, so how did....

As Jonah gets on his horse he replies "Ah been stayin' alive a long time now, doc. Take muh word fer it, it ain't enough tuh shoot the fastest.. yuh also got tuh shoot the straightest." With that, his horse rears up and he rides off.

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah: Hard to say, let's say that Jonah killed over half of the Jethro gang (5 of 8) and then killed Joad. That makes his total 6.
Running Total - 101
Jonah's injuries: Knocked out twice, kicked in the head once, punched in the gut once, shot in the right arm.
Timeline: 1878. Jonah starts off with his striped hatband similar to the one he was sporting back in '67 and then ends up with a concho band.

I enjoyed the story what with the hidden identity of Joad as well as the training session. The art was not my favorite, some of the proportions on the characters seemed out of whack but there were a few panels and the gunfight page that really stood out.

NEXT: Wolves in the wild, Treating an arrow wound, Them Damn Sheepers, and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.