The New DC, There's No Understanding Us Now!

I was kinda"meh" about the whole DC relaunch but mostly I was wondering how it would impact Jonah Hex. Today, thanks to a timely tweet from Justin Gray, I looked at the DC blog and saw their plans. I figured I would comment on that and all the other books they have announced so far. First up:

All-Star Western #1

 

Even when Gotham City was just a one-horse town, crime was rampant – and things only get worse when bounty hunter Jonah Hex comes to town. Can Amadeus Arkham, a pioneer in criminal psychology, enlist Hex’s special brand of justice to help the Gotham Police Department track down a vicious serial killer? Featuring back-up stories starring DC’s other western heroes, ALL-STAR WESTERN #1 will be written by the fan-favorite Jonah Hex team of Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and illustrated by Moritat.

It's been a Loooooong time since Gotham was a one-horse town (like maybe the early 1700's?), so the hyperbole is starting early. Hex in Gotham? Heck, I usually despise Hex being in the DC Universe AT ALL. That's because he is normally thrown in because somebody somewhere needs a 'cowboy' and we end up with crap like The Kents, Swamp Thing, Generations, and The Return of Bruce Wayne. Hex has been more accurately portrayed in Justice League Unlimited (a kids book!)! But Jonah Hex is a fixture in the DCU and I would rather he be handled by the guys that love him than by the guy who THINK they can write a story about him.

Now some folks over the DC Forums have been griping about Jonah heading east and this book is supposed to be a Western. They should calm the crap down. A Western isn't about a locale, it's about a time (the 1860-1904, normally) but more importantly it's an attitude. The Jonah Hex film (PUT DOWN THOSE BRICKS!! I'll talk about it if I want to!!) took place almost entirely east of the Mississippi river and, while most of the movie sucked, it looked like a Western and behaved like a Western. 

Now this sounds like a promising start. I enjoy the idea of Hex in the big city, J&J even took him there in the current book and Scalphunter wandered all over the Eastern seaboard in WWT. Hooking up with Arkham will give it a weird vibe that a lot of folks enjoy and I hope that it will bring new readers to the book. But let's consider the cover for a moment, what does the green stain coming from the W signify? And, of course, we can't miss all of those bats. Is Gotham on fire behind the sign or are those flames from various industries. The cover is cool enough for me to pick up just to see what is going on.

All-Star Western...sigh, we'll never live to see Jonah Hex #100 even though it was less than three years away. Part of me likes the nod to Jonah's roots, part of me thinks they chucked the Jonah Hex title thanks to JIMMY HAYWARD AND THAT $50,000,000 PIECE OF CRAP FROM LAST YEAR!!! (but I'm really not bitter, I just have these moments.) I will be picking it up because, well, if I didn't what would I start blogging about? The buttocks of some intergalactic police department? As IF! (seriously, I will continue to buy this book while J&J are on it. They could call it Adventures of a Dude and I'd have it on my pull list)

Sgt. Rock and the Men of War #1

Not sure I can get excited about this one since the Vertigo train wreck that was the Haunted Tank. I like the combo of the Men of War and Sgt. Rock titles and I love the fact that DC is expanding back into the two genres that they kept alive longer than anyone else (War & Western). I just hope beyond hope that they do include a story or two that would fall into the old Weird War book. Not sure I would buy this ongoing, but I might take a peek.

Blackhawks #1

They sure as hell better have someone named Hendrickson. That's all I'm saying.

Deathstroke #1

Looks like the folks that enjoy Conan & Warhammer 40k have a book to read now.

Omac #1

As much as I despise the art of Keith Giffen (have you learned to draw since your days on Hex?) as well as his writing (How many issues of Doom Patrol did I miss? None?! Then why is this more confusing than Lost rewritten by a three year old with ADD?) I think that he nails the Kirby look perfectly on this cover. Maybe this is the book he was born to draw. As for the writer? He has a lot to prove.

Hawk and Dove #1

HEY! Someone learned how to draw feet!!!