The Brave and The Bold #93 "Red Water Crimson Death"

The Brave and the Bold #93 Dec-Jan 1970-71 

"Red Water Crimson Death"

Denny O'Neil - story Neal Adams - Cover and art

Up front, I bought this off the rack (or maybe it was from a comic book vending machine) because of two things: Batman & Scary Stuff. I was 10 when this hit the stands and those were big things on my kid-list of awesome stuff. Now, into the story:

We see a man running down some alleys, splashing through puddles and he comes upon a house. He grabs the doorknob, rattles it and shouts to the man standing in the house to let him in, if he values his life. The man, Cain, the caretaker of the House of Mystery. He replies that he hasn't had one to value in years and he runs an exclusive 'pad' (those hip hip 70's).

Cain, being who he is, breaks the fourth wall and addresses the readers, saying THEY can stay and watch Batman take care of things.

Batman runs up on to the porch and trips, the crook aims and fires, but the gun jams and Batman recovers and knocks him out cold. Gordon and the GCPD show up and Batman confesses that if Beefy's gun hadn't jammed, he would be dead, like an amateur. Gordon says that Batman is worn out, he needs a vacation. In fact, Gordon has booked passage on a steamship to Ireland for Batman and it leaves at noon tomorrow.Batman protests, but Gordon says Batman is no good to anyone if he is dead. Batman throws his hands up, grabs the ticket and walks off into the night.

Cain tells us that we will all tag along and as we turn the page we are now on the ship with Bruce Wayne. Bruce is lost in though at the railing when a rubber ball bounces against his leg. He picks it up and tosses it to a young boy named Sean. The captain announces over the PA system that they are approaching a storm and everyone needs to stay in their cabins. Bruce and Sean head off to their respective berths.

In Bruce's cabin, he looks out the port hole and sees Sean on deck, shouting into the storm "UNCLE, UNCLE!!!" and just then a massive wave sweeps the young boy overboard. Bruce sprints out onto the deck, sheds his jacket and dives in as a crewman shouts "Men overboard". Somehow (He's the Batman, that's how) Bruce makes it to the boy and as a huge wave looms over them Sean shouts "Here I am, Grand-Da.." and the wave has the face of an old man. Bruce is shocked and amazed because he sees the face too. As he starts to succumb to the icy water, a preserver is tossed near him and he and Sean are hauled aboard.

They are both taken to the infirmary, treated and released back to their quarters. Bruce makes his way back to his cabin and opens his suitcase to change into some pajamas only to find that his Batman suit is in his luggage. He knows he told Alfred NOT to pack it so he walks to the stern of the ship and tosses it overboard.

Eight hours later, the ship has stopped and Bruce queries the steward as to why. He is told that Sean lives on the island and they are putting him ashore in the launch that is about to leave. Bruce grabs a small case, and then clambers aboard the launch. They shortly end up in Kennemora, a very small fishing village. When they disembark, Sean explains to his Uncle Derry that Bruce Wayne is with him and that Bruce saved his life. Derry welcomes Bruce and says that he will be staying with them.

Later that night, as Bruce and the family are eating, Cain sits outside explaining the current state of affairs and marveling that Bruce, who is accustomed to much better fare, is really digging into plain Mulligan Stew, but we now have to skip forward a few hours...

Sean is sitting in front of the fire reading and Derry says it is time for bed. As Sean leaves for his bedroom, Derry says that since the boys parents were killed, he has lost himself in the books, especially tales of King Hugh, who used to rule Ireland. Bruce asks how Sean's parents died and Derry replies that none can say, except they died as others have.... by the Red Sea! A years ago the water around the island turned blood red killing fish and folk alike. After they died Derry sent Sean to visit relatives in America. After they are finished talking, Bruce excuses himself for the night.

As Bruce is readying for bed, he thinks that the red water could have been caused by Dinoflagellate Poisoning. He thinks the problem is that Derry said the water has been red for a year but dinoflagellates normally vanish in days. Bruce quickly pivots and realizes that he's on vacation and jumps into bed.

Later than night, a ghostly hand touches Bruce, bringing him awake. He sits upright, seeing a ghostly warrior pass through the wall. When he gets out of bed he is WEARING THE BATMAN COSTUME!!!!

He realizes that he must have gone mad and looking out the window, he sees Sean walking into the dark saying "You'll help me find Mom and Dad's killers, King...". Batman bolts outside and is seen by several locals who are standing watch in the night. They mistake Batman for "One of them" and attack him. Batman fends them off, karate chopping a 4x4 in two and breaking another one with his elbow. He disarms them and says that he dresses as he does for "personal reasons" and the men believe him. They ask that he is not from the castle then?

They point to a castle on a hilltop, saying it has belonged to King Hugh who died three centuries ago, (so around 1670, meaning that King Hugh is Hugh O'Neill) and has been empty until last year. That was when the Torment came. They explain that is when the banshees and ghosts started appearing and then the red tide appeared as well. Batman chortles to himself about the superstitious locals and then.....

A huge red demon appears in the sky and Batman sees that Sean is running towards it. He decided to let the villagers go after Sean because, after all, he is sick and in no condition...

He turns and starts chasing after Sean just as a storm erupts. He can't call out to Sean because the thunder is overwhelming. As he tops a hill, the demon appears again. Batman picks up a rock, throws it, and destroys the holographic projector that created the demon. Batman spies Sean running into the castle and as Batman starts to cross the drawbridge, the gate starts to drop. Batman lunges across just in time.

Cain shows up again to explain that Batman is in the castle. A castle is a house. Batman doesn't know what he is in for, so it's a mystery therefore Batman is in the House of Mystery!!!!

Back to the Caped Crusader, he realizes that he can't cross the open courtyard without risking being seen in a lightning flash. He suddenly feels a tap on his shoulder and when he spins he sees a trap door on the ground!

Cain then explains that while we were turning the pages, Batman has traveled about 120 feet underground. Batman hears voices above, two men wondering why the hologram screen was messed up, but it was probably just the storm. They wonder how much longer they have to stay in the castle, probably until the boss can scare away the locals and corner the fishing rights to the island. Finding the boy's body in the bay in the morning will be the thing that drives them all away. 

Batman lunges up from the trapdoor and beats both men into submission. He demands of one to know where the boss is. The thug rats out him employer and Batman knocks him out. He sadly realizes that one of the thugs had cut his arm deeply with a sword that he was swinging around.

Batman comes to a fork in the corridor but doesn't know which way to go. He feels a tugging to the right, and even though it makes no sense, he goes that way. He comes to an open door and sees two men holding Sean, trying to pour poison down the boys throat. Batman tackles all three, punching one thug out, but not before the poison had splashed into Batman's open wound.

Batman confronts the boss, Aloysius Cabot, owner of a fishery. Batman explains that he knows all about the plan to scare off.... the locals.... and take over, but that's all.... and Batman collapses to the floor dizzy and sick. Cabot says he noticed the cut on Batman's arm and that the poison got into it. Cabot says that in less than a minute Batman will be dead but Cabot will give him a chance. On the table there are two beakers, one contains water, the other, the antidote. Batman can choose only one.

Batman, the poison coursing through his veins can't focus on the beakers, he can only see a large painting on the wall of King Hugh and the King is pointing to a test tube on the back of the table. Batman stands up and lunges for the table, grabbing the test tube and gulping it down. Cabot is aghast, there is no way Batman could have known that both beakers contained toxins and the test tube was the cure.

Even so, Cabot still has time to put a bullet into Batman but just then the painting falls from the wall, resulting in the massive frame breaking Cabot's neck and killing him. Batman recovers, picks up Sean, and takes him home in the dawn. Batman still can't figure out all the weirdness that happened but Cain knows, because King Hugh can't stand anyone disturbing his eternal rest.

I have read this story over and over and over again. When I was a kid I couldn't figure out why Cain was colored green throughout the story (He never appeared that way in House of Mystery) and I thought there was a printing error in the panels where Batman was poisoned (I realize now it was artistic license to show the impact of the poison on Batman). Why was Sean calling for his Uncle, and then his Grand-Da, and then talking to King Hugh? That was confusing to me even as a kid. And upon rereading it now, Gordon just bought a ticket on a boat and handed it to Batman. Wow, such simpler times, when anybody could show up with a ticket and get on a boat/plane/train without any identification.

Speaking of identification, folks in Ireland don't know who Bruce Wayne is, or even BATMAN!?!?!?

On top of that we got advertisements for:

Mean Maverick Monogram model car

SSP Racers

House ads for The Forever People and the New Gods and Mister Miracle

House ad for Son of Tomahawk and Action Comics

Zingers model kits

Skittle Pool with Don Adams

ALL of that for 15 cents!!

Hope everyone has a great Halloween.

Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1 "A Strange Wind Blows"

 Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death #1 Dec 2026 

"Chapter 1: A Strange Wind Blows"

Michael Walsh - story, art, cover Variant Covers: Brian Bolland/Julian Totino Tedesco, Hayden Sherman, Javier Rodriguez

The scene opens on a full moon staring down upon the desert. Four men stand in the darkness, waiting. Brennan, the youngest, states that he doesn't like the situation. Another man says he should calm down and not get on the bad side of Old Sam. Besides, it's an easy job, just a coach and then Brennan and his sister can start over someplace new with the money. 

The fourth man, on lookout, shouts that there is a lone rider coming. The rider comes over the rise and the men shout demanding to know who he is. The rider lets his pistol answer for him as he guns down first one man and then a second. Brennan is hiding, realizing how bad things have turned. The third man is killed and the rider draws closer and closer. The kid jumps from his hiding space and opens fire.

There, the moon at his back, stands Jonah Hex, several wounds oozing blood. The kid starts to beg and his pleas are cut short. Hex slumps to the ground and dies, choking on his own blood...

Hex jerks awake. He is sleeping on the floor of a cabin and he is very old and very haggard. The captions explain that Hex remembers dying and killing and dying again in a vicious circle. He can't remember how many times he's been killed and how many he has killed. Folks say Hex has been cursed by either crows, witching ones, or the words of the dying. Hex suspects it was God Himself what did it. No matter, Hex had become deathless and he would live through the end of American West and he would be haunted by those he had killed.

We see the ghost of Brennan standing next to Hex. Morning comes and Hex exits the cabin and saddles up his horse, Peanut. He tells the horse that they're going into town to get a drink. As they ride off, the ghost of a dead woman stand in the barn.

Heading into town, Jonah passes the graveyard and as he enters town, some folks are hanging a large bell on a scaffold. Hex hands the reins of Peanut off to a young man named Charlie. Charlie starts trailing Hex asking if all the stuff is true? Was he sold to the Apache? Was he crucified in the war? Did he die and turn into half devil? Did he see an undead Wild Bill and then kill him a second time? Hex turns on the kid and tells him to just watch the damned horse. Hex enters the saloon and we see a large man backhand Charlie into the street.

Hex asks the barkeep for a fresh bottle and he sits at the bar, polishing it off. A saloon girl comes up and makes him an offer but once she sees his scars she has second thoughts. Jonah looks past her and sees a ghost standing in the corner. The large man from earlier walks in and asks Cassy who she is talking to. He shoves her out of the way and gets in Jonah's face, asking if he is the one that bought the Daley cabin with his blood money. The man says that Hex is more ugly than tough and then plants a left hook into Jonah's face.

Jonah goes down and stays down. The barkeep offers Pete a drink if he'll just leave everyone alone.

Hex gets up and staggers out of the saloon, spitting up blood. A young girl, Annie Connelly, walks up and introduces herself. She says that Charlie told her that Hex used to be a hero and a killer. Hex says he was never a hero. She replies that's okay, she doesn't need a hero, she needs the other thing. Hex asks her who needs killing and she says it's her daddy, but it ain't her daddy. Jonah gives her the stink eye.

She swears it's true, something black is in her daddy's skin and is crawling behind his eyes and his bones are too soft and he never used to smile. She is interrupted by her father walking up behind her, holding a hammer and wearing a huge grin. He asks Hex if Annie has been telling yarns and Annie says she has just been selling flowers. She gives one to Hex, saying it will keep him safe and whispers there are shades of the dead following him. Annie and he father walk off with Hex looking after them.

The sheriff, leaning against a hitching post, wants reassurance from Hex that there won't be any trouble. The sheriff says it goes against his gut, letting Jonah comae and go as he please. Jonah says he was just getting a drink and the sheriff says to be sure to keep it that way. The two part company.

Hex goes to the stable and gets Peanut from Charlie's care. Hex asks Charlie what the deal is with Annie.  Charlie relates that some say Annie is odd, he mom came from across the Atlantic and brought weird ideas with her. He mom died a few years back, coughing. Folks say she is witchy like her mom, but Charlie likes her. Now her Daddy?... Then the bell tolls very loudly, drowning out Charlie. Hex and the boy stand there staring at a man who has tolled the bell. Everyone in town just stands and stares.

Charlie says it looks like they fixed the bell. The sheriff met a preacher on the road and he sent the bell over so as to bring the Lord to Ashecott. Charlie doesn't cotton to the sound of the bell much, himself. Hex agrees, then mounts up, noting some incoming clouds. A stable hand overheard the exchange and watches Hex ride off.

Late that night, in the Connelly cabin, Annie is asleep, on her back with her mouth open. We hear creaking in the house and what looks like a spider starts to descend into Annie's mouth. She wakes up screaming for it to get out and runs out of her room into the darkness of the house. We still hear creaking all around and she makes her way into her father's room. We see her daddy's skin laying on the bed, hanging over the edge, like a suit that someone has exited and cast aside.

Annie falls to the floor huddled in a corner and a spider like creature starts crawling towards her, whispering "She's the one". Annie finds her courage, jumps up and runs out of the room. She tries to leave through the front door but it is locked and a dark figure walks up behind her. It whispers "It's okay, sweet thing. Daddy's here."

We cut to Jonah in his cabin, axe in hand, smashing up the floor. He uncovers a wooden box and inside is his Confederate coat, boxes of ammo and his Matching Dragoons. He picks up a pistol, there is a creak and he spins, pointing the weapon at the source of the sound. It's the ghost of Brennan, a tear in his eye and a massive hole in his head. Hex stares him down and says..

Then he takes the axe and smashes the pistol to bits, saying "I'm done killin'"

The bell in town tolls and we see a preacher man riding across the red sands on a horse with a skull for a head. The man smiles and says "It's almost time. at last, we will be restored." As he enters the sleeping town, the bell tolls once again.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Four
Running Total - 897 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 391 V2, Next Level 4)
Jonah's Injuries - Punched by Pete and shot in 'the dream/memory'.
Timeline - one day and one night.

When this was announced I had serious doubts. I had been burned and burned BAAAAAAD by the Vertigo stuff, but it is Hex and I'll give it a chance. So let's go over all the pieces.

Art: Well, Walsh does everything on this book and at times when folks do everything that doesn't bode well. Here the art reminds me of Jordi Bernet. Somewhat sketchy, very atmospheric. It isn't disgusting like Two-Gun Mojo. Some of the coloring is weird, all greens and reds but that does lend an odd atmosphere to everything. And the body language of the characters really adds to the story. The panel with Jonah head/bonding with Peanut damn neart had me in tears. I saw an old man, tired of life giving silent thanks to an animal that stays with him without knowing anything of his past or the things that haunt him. So far, I give that thumbs up.

Story: Where does this one fit in with everything else? Charlie mentions several things, including Two-Gun Mojo so this could be in that universe or it could just be wild tales that folks spin. We have an aging Hex literally haunted by everyone he has killed (tossing a nod to Outsiders #8) and we're left to figure out if Hex has really died over and over and over again or if it is all part of his dream. 

The town is creepy, just enough. The characters are fleshed out, from Brennan to Charlie to Annie to Pete and the sheriff. The pacing is slow which is good, it lets the weight of the oddness just sit there and makes you feel uneasy. We get folks we care about in the kids even if they are irritating at times. And we have one heck of a weird vibe and some body horror going on. 

I somewhat rolled my eyes at a preacher being the villain. Once again, crazy ass preachers and this one smells somewhat of Doc Williams, so I am withholding judgement on that.

On re-reading the book, I'm still trying to figure out who is speaking through the captions. Omniscient 3rd person narrator? The Preacher? Charlie?

The girl at the comic shop said she was going to read it because she wanted something scary to read for Halloween. She knew nothing of Jonah Hex and we chatted for a short bit. And this brings me to another thing. Does this HAVE to be a Jonah Hex story? Could the story have been told with Generic Old Bounty Hunter? What does Jonah bring to the story that GOBH would not have brought? 

The girl at the shop is picking it up because it's "scary" and know nothing of Hex, so a win there. She might go looking for the trades of the Vertigo stuff, and might be disappointed in the 'normal' stuff. I'm picking it up because it IS Hex (and truthfully, I enjoy westerns so much I probably would have picked it up anyway. I read the 6th Gun without it being an established IP) so DC gets a win with my purchase. We'll have to determine that once the run is finished.

Next Issue: I have no idea, but it looks to be something with people having an extra mouth on their neck and a dangerous 'preacher'