Jonah Hex V2 #54 "Shooting Stars"

 Jonah Hex V2 #54 June '10

"Shooting Stars"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Jordi Bernet - art & cover

Jonah is outside, reclining against a large boulder, finishing off a bottle of something that makes him feel a lot better. Suddenly a bullet smashes the bottle to bits, bathing Hex in liquor. He wipes his face, snarls and unfurls his pistol, shooting towards the rocks the shot came from. He strikes a rock, sending shards into a gunman's eye and the man panics and starts wandering around. His two companions decide to make tracks as the injured man topples over the edge of the rocks.

Hex sees him fall and soon is standing over him. The man tells Hex to go ahead and shoot him but Jonah says he thinks someone has a bigger beef to settle. The man looks down to see a disturbed rattlesnake poised to strike towards the man's crotch. Jonah lights up a smoke and we hear a scream. Then we see Jonah dragging the large man away towards a horse.

Jonah drags the man into town behind his horse and pulls up in front of the sheriff's office. The banker and the sheriff stand outside and the banker notes that three men robbed the bank, but Hex has returned with inly one. Jonah notes that is one more than Sheriff Kane, there, managed to bring in. Kane is none to pleased at the comment but Hex doesn't care. Jonah tells the banker to get the reward. There is a sack on the horse that contains all the gold that was purloined from the bank and he really only needs the bounty from one man rather than all three, so he let the other two go.

Kane asks if Hex let them go or they got away. Jonah doesn't take the sheriff's tone lightly and quickly draws when the sheriff draws his weapon. Hex tells him to calm down, the banker saw him draw first and he just wants his money. 

Later Hex is drinking his reward money when a woman comes up and asks him to help her celebrate her birthday. Hex turns and recognizes Chula! He asks what she is doing so far north and she explains that her brother ran off with the woman who has no lips and she was sent to stay with "sister espinoza" who is upstairs making a prospector happy. Chula says she thought she saw Jonah on a white horse with a black spot on her face and Hex says that is Sally, he won her in a bet a few weeks ago. Chula says someone just rode off with her.

Hex runs out the door and can only find a poor jackass tied up to the hitchin' post and offers to buy it for $10. Chula says she was willing to sell it for $5, but whatever. Hex pays up and manages to get on the jackass and finally gets it to take off utilizing an old joke. Sadly the jackass is uncontrollable and eventually tosses Jonah into the brush far outside of town. 

Hex, unable to stand soberly, passes out where he lies and falls asleep.

Some time later a shadowy figure arrives, recognizes Hex and places a blanket over him. The man then rides into town to finish some business. 

The next morning Hex is awakened by gunfire as two men ride up on him. It's the other two bank robbers and Hex quickly grabs his pistols and shoots both men just as Starman rides up. As they start talking, one of the robbers is slowly dying is a very loud fashion and Jonah deals with a distraction by tossing another bullet into the man. Hex asks if Starman is now collecting bounties. Hex notes that there is still a price on Starman's head and Jonah ain't none too pleased with him. Starman replies with the fact that he led the two robbers right to Jonah so they might be even if he cuts Jonah in on the reward.

Hex observes that nobody 'cuts' him in on anything and Starman relents that they'll be even if Hex buys him dinner at the saloon. Hex agrees saying he'll take the bodies in but Starman should lay low because the sheriff in town is a piece of work. Starman already knows about Sheriff Kane.

As Hex rides into town, dragging in the two fresh corpses, the town is gathered around the jail where folks are cutting down the noose around Sheriff Kane's neck. There are other lawmen there and the banker brings Hex to their attention. The head lawman, Dunn, asks where Hex was last night and Jonah says it's none of his business. Suddenly Hex is staring down the barrels of several firearms and ends up in jail.

Hex tells the lawman to talk to Chula, she can back up his story and why the hell would he come back to a town where he killed the sheriff? The lawman says maybe he was trying to be smart and collect the bounty on the two robbers and since the banker says that Hex and the lawman's brother-in-law (Sheriff Kane) had words....

Jonah is pretty ticked off at how things are going down and the lawman says that HE will be judge, jury and executioner and then asks the others ask if they heard Hex confess to killing Kane. Every one, to a man, sides with the lawman. Even the banker. Jonah, behind bars, grumbles that they are all making a big mistake.

Meanwhile, in the saloon, Chula and the Starman are sharing a drink at a table. She asks who the third glass at the table is for and Starman says it is for his friend Jonah. She replies that first he tells her that Hex saved his life when he was a kid, next he asks her to get Hex drunk so he can set up Hex and now they are going to have dinner with Hex? Starman says it's no problem, just a nice dinner. Just then a man runs in the saloon and says that Jonah Hex has been captured for the killing of Sheriff Kane and there will be a hanging tonight. Starman is caught off guard and tells Chula there is a change of plans and he needs a favor from her.

Four deputies are out front of the jail. They talk about getting their money from the banker, and being sure that the punch Hex in the mouth several times so he doesn't rat them out. Just then a runaway horse comes racing down the street with Chula mounted atop it. She is screaming that she cannot stop the horse. The deputies being men, jump out in front of the horse, stop it, and then help Chula dismount. They continue to fawn over her, not paying any attention to the jail or Hex within.

Starman sneaks up to the cell window. He gives Hex his pistols, explaining that he did give Hex the bounties but he didn't expect Dunn to get back to town so quickly and now that Hex has his pistols, the two of them are even. Hex replies that they haven't begun to be even. Starman chuckles and agrees, leaving.

The deputies are still oogling Chula when one, Jim, gets instructed to rough up Hex and then bring him out. Jim goes in, unlocks the cell and Hex draws down on him then smashes Jim's mouth with his pistol. Hex calmly walks out, greets the three remaining deputies surrounding Chula and swiftly guns them down, leaving Chula unharmed.

Dunn and two other deputies are in the bank, getting paid by the banker, and they hear the gunfire. Dunn tells his men to go see what is going on. As they exit the bank, Starman guns them down, sending them falling backwards through the bank windows. Hex rides up and asks about Dunn. Starman says he is still inside. As Hex approaches, Dunn grabs the banker and uses him as a human shield. Dunn holds a pistol to the banker's head and tells Hex to back off or the banker is dead. Everyone knows Hex doesn't kill innocent men.

Jonah replies that's true because he ain't that bad of a shot and then plants a single round right between Dunn's eyes.

Later in the saloon, Hex and Starman are sharing a bottle. Starman explains that Kane had hired a few men to rob the bank he was 'protecting'.  He would show the town what a good sheriff he was by quickly capturing the 'crooks' and he would skim off some of the loot. Dunn and others with him had this scheme going in about eleven towns. Starman knew that he had to get Kane away from his home town and if Dunn got into a fix, then Kane would show up. But then Hex showed up.

The banker walks in with payment, I assume for Hex, and asks if he can interrupt. He asks if Chula must be there and she asks if he doesn't like girls. She kisses Starman and he tells her to wait upstairs. She glances at Hex and says some men must know how to treat a woman. Hex says that her parents should be so proud. 

After the banker leaves, Starman and Hex stand outside in the night. Starman notes how clear the sky is, so many stars. Hex says that they all got lucky. Starman says that the banker cleared Hex's name but he himself will need to head south to Mexico for a bit. Hex asks him that Starman's obsession with his father's death at the hands of authorities is going to end, and then stops with a realization. Starman says things are fine.

He notes that Hex is a killer too. They both fulfill a need, taking up the chores that lesser men are too afraid to do, too afraid of losing what they have. Their common trait is that they don't care what happens to themselves. Starman lights a cheroot and thanks Hex for worrying about him. Once they care for something, someone takes it all away. Hex mounts up, tells Starman he talks too much, and rides off.

Chula appears at the saloon doors and asks Starman if he is coming up, is he okay. He says he is just thinking and for her to go inside, he'll be there in a minute. After a time he glances up at the room's window, Chula outlined in the lamp glow and next we see him riding away from town, underneath a massive moon and a sky full of stars.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Six
Running Total - 884 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 382 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Thrown from a mule.
Timeline - Possibly two days.
Rape Percentage -  20% (11 of 54)

I enjoyed this one. While Palmiotti and Gray specialized 'one & done' stories, it is always nice to see Hex stumbling across folks from other tales. It makes it unexpected and adds to the lore of Jonah. Bernet's artwork, is rough and scratchy, perfect for the old west. It reminds me of Sam Glanzman's work in the DC Army books.

I'm still not sure why Hex had this reaction. Maybe because I'm not seeing a parallel between Starman and Hex. Jonah doesn't have an obsession. Turnbull does, Bruce Wayne does... Jonah? Not that I can recall.

Starman, however, looking up at Chula and then leaving, left a lot to ponder. Did he leave because he loves her and doesn't want to lose her to death and misfortune? Did he recognize that he had no attachment to her at all? So many possibilities.

Next Issue: Hex gets into trouble when he takes a young boy under his wing.

Jonah Hex V2 #27 "Star Man"

Jonah Hex V2 #27 Mar '08

"Star Man"
Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray - story, Jordi Bernet - art and cover

A man walks towards us, light blasting all around him, streaming from him, blurring all details. Hex is tied to a tree and the man offers Hex some water from a canteen. He bends forward and explains why he didn't kill Hex when he had the opportunity even though he KNOWS what Hex did all those years ago....

New York Harbor

A young man named Victor and his father, who has a wooden leg, disembark from a ship into the teeming mass that is New York City. They locate lodging and inquire as to possible employment. The hotel clerk gives them directions and then adds "You'll find slim pickings since after the war ended this week,"....... We'll come back to that later.

The two go to the room and the father instructs Victor to stay put and hide the rest of the money and he'll be back soon. The father locates an employment line that is for hiring policemen. When he gets to the head of the line he tells the men at the head table that he was a peace officer in his old country. They insult him and say he will be needing both feet to work. The father explains that he also taught literature until he went into the military and that he also will not stand for being insulted. One of the men, a New York Sheriff, shoots the father's wooden leg in two. Laying on the floor, surrounded by lawmen with their pistols pulled, the father eyes a priest sitting at the head table and asks if he condones this treatment of an unarmed man.

The priest replies that they don't have time for this, kill the cripple and take him outside as a warning to others. As they ready to shoot him, they ask if he has any last words. The father explains that he has a boy. The Sheriff states that he now has an orphan.

We see Victor waiting the rest of the day, all night, and then at daybreak he inquires of the hotel clerk. The clerk states he has been at the desk all night and not seen him. He does tell Victor where he sent the father for work and Victor takes off through New York to find his dad.

Victor finds the corpse of his father hanging from a statue of a saint outside a church.people casually pass by as if it is an everyday sight. A drunk in the gutter spins the tale of what transpired and points Victor in the direction of the employment line. Victor spies a pistol on the hip of a man, pulls it, walks past the line and exacts his vengeance upon the priest, a sheriff, and another man at the head table. He is about to kill another sheriff when he is pistol whipped on the back of the head.

Cut to.... Jonah Hex is speaking to two men in an office and they are instructing him to sign the proper papers in order for the funds to be transferred to him. Hex signs and leaves the office and walks through the streets of New York. He stops to ask directions to the train and then heads out to follows the directions. Suddenly we see Victor steal Hex's sidearm and run into the employment office. 

Hex gets into the office and we realize that it was Hex that knocked Victor out. He tells the Sheriffs that the boy is no relation and he only wants his pistol back. The head man doesn't believe him and they have a stare down with Hex winning. Hex picks up his gun and the Sheriff says the boy is staying with them. Hex doesn't care and the Sheriff states they'll beat the boy within an inch of his life, 'have some fun with him', and then hang him. Hex walks out holstering his pistol.

  Walking down the street Jonah remembers his own childhood at the hands of his father Woodson. He stops, pulls his firearm and next we see him killing every last man standing in the employment office.

Jonah takes the limp form of Victor to a Catholic orphanage and leaves him in the care of the nuns.

Back to present day, the man of light stand over Hex and we realize he is Victor. Victor postulates he has been tracked by Hex for three days and Victor is now worth four hundred, maybe six hundred dollars? Jonah states the amount is now one thousand dollars and asks if Victor is gonna kill him or just blind him with that coat? We then see that the light coming from Victor are Sheriff badges from lawmen he has killed over the years. He has been gunning down crooked lawmen as he roots them out after learning of the  corruption back in New York.

  Victor tells Hex that Hex's horse is tied up a few hours north along with all of Hex's supplies. Victor is going to head South and finish what he has started. Hex will be able to get out of his bonds and the next time the two meet Victor will not just sneak up and knock him out, he WILL kill Hex. Victor explains that he does 'private' bounty hunting for folks seeking justice and are unable to obtain it through conventional means. He has eight hundred dollars he has saved. He gives the money to Hex, thus appeasing Jonah's sole motivation in this encounter.

  Jonah snarls that he isn't the only one hunting Victor, and Victor is two hundred short.Victor rides off, the money scattered around Hex.

  An unknown time later, Hex comes upon a campfire in the night. Victor is stripped, gagged and died to a tree. Three Indians sit nearby when a lawman, Sheriff Pete, comes riding up.  He ask why the Indians have ripped off his clothes seeing as he only told them to capture him and tie him up. They explain that Victor killed one of their men. Pete replies that they get to split the hundred dollars three ways instead of four, then.

Pete explains that a man Victor recently killed, Christopher Casey, was Pete's brother. Pete pulls a knife. Pete asks if Victor has anything to say and pulls away the gag. Victor shouts for Hex to save him and take him into custody. Hex steps from the shadows and guns down the three Indians as Pete hotfoots it out of there. Hex unties Victor who grabs a knife and runs off into the dark, we hear a scream and Victor returns covered in blood and tells Hex to take him in.

Next day Hex wonders why they have to go all the way to Yuma when they were closer to Sterling. Victor explains that he killed the Mayor's Brother-in-law in Sterling. In Yuma, Hex turns Victor over to Sheriff Dokes. Victor asks Dokes if he remembers a family named Michaels that lived on the land Dokes now owns. Dokes tells Victor to shut up or he won't get a fair trial. Victor taunts Dokes, asking if it would be like the fair trial Mrs. Michael's husband and children got when Dokes killed them all?

Victor snatched Dokes' gun and holds it on both Hex and Dokes. Dokes says he won't get away with it, but Victor states that he will, he was paid handsomely to kill Dokes. He instructs Hex to drop his gunbelt and lock himself in the cell.

Later we see Hex killing time in the cell, reading the paper and smoking. A woman walks in to the office and frees Hex. She says that she was sent by Victor to let Hex out and to give him an envelope. Hex opens the envelope and pulls out two hundred dollars. He asks the woman's name. She is Mary Michaels. Jonah smiles and....

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Three men in New York and three Indians in Arizona.
Running Total - 670 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 178 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - None.
Timeline - This one has a wide time range, we don't know how long it took Jonah to hunt down Victor but it took about four days to ride to Yuma once Hex apprehended Victor. This is based on what information I could uncover regarding Sterling, Arizona (founded in 1865 in present-day Prescott) places it about 220 miles from Yuma. That makes it about a three-four day ride.
Rape Percentage -  33% (9 out of 27) I'm counting this one in the 'Rape Story' column because of comments made by the Sheriffs in New York.

Overall, this was a good story and Victor was a good character but there were flaws that takes this one down a few notches in my eyes.

First off, the timeline. The hotel clerk states "after the war ended this week" so that puts the tale in early April, 1865. But I did some digging and Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9th, 1865, BUT President Johnson didn't officially declare the war over until August 20th, 1866 (there was a LOT of other stuff going on.) We do know that Hex was scarred in 1866, but not exactly when. So, while I initially bristled at this timeline 'error', I guess the clerk was being factually accurate in his statement. Therefore, this story takes place in August 1866. (guess this doesn't count as a negative then)

Next up, Crazy Church People make their appearance. Yup, we have a Catholic priest that is just fine with killing a crippled man for no good reason (granted, we do get to see nuns, albeit without guns, practicing mercy and compassion). There are corrupt 'Church People' just like there are corrupt people in every facet of society (in fact, I once had a pastor that said "you haven't been screwed over until you've been screwed over by a Christian.") but the 'evil church person' is becoming a reoccurring theme in Hex V2, almost as much so as the 'rape story' trope. 

Which brings us to the comment made by the Sheriff about 'have some fun' with Victor and 'when he is spent', leads me to lean toward rape being discussed. Sigh, such lazy writing at times. By the way, for folks wondering why I DO keep a Rape Percentage Counter going, It's because Chris Sim's actually dropped this book from his reading list because of using that plot device as a crutch too many times.

The positives? Well, Bernet's artwork is a big plus on this one. At times all of his women look the same, but he usually is able to make the men in the book distinctive enough that he reminds me of Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, although a very scratchy version of Mr. Lopez.

I also enjoyed Jonah's motivation for saving Victor, remembering what a hell-hole his own upbringing was AND, despite Woodson quoting the Scripture at time while beating Jonah, Hex still took Victor to a religious organization for safe-keeping.

Next Issue: I may need to start more Percentage counters as we encounter more Crazy Church People and have another tongue cut out.