Jonah Hex #9 "The Carlota Conspiracy!"

Jonah Hex #9 Feb 1978
"The Carlota Conspiracy!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Ernie Chan & Danny Bulandi, art - Bernie Wrightson, cover

It's about time we get back to "Jonah Hex, Wanted Man!!" Our story starts off with a shirtless (& pantsless) Jonah bathing in a watering hole in South Texas. A Mexican youth grabs all of Jonah's clothes and guns, jumps on a horse & rides off. Jonah jumps out of the water, naked as a jaybird (one without feathers), grabs some spare jeans from his bedroll, jumps on his horse & gives chase. Determined to retrieve his Peacemakers, he follows the youth across the Rio Grande into Mexico. He corners the thief in a box canyon, lassos the punk and then proceeds to slap the living tar out of the thief. It is then we learn that the thief is a woman!

We hear some laughter and Jonah looks up to find himself surrounded by the Mexican army, lead by Col. Sanchez. Sanchez explains that he sent Estrellita to Texas to lure Jonah into Mexico so that Sanchez could offer Jonah a job. The president of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz (placing this story in 1876 or early 1877), is offering Jonah 100,000 pesos to complete a mission for him. If Jonah refuses, then the Mexican army will kill him where he stands and collect the $10,000 reward on Jonah's head.

Jonah decides to listen to the job offer. A flashback ensues. From 1864 to 1867, Mexico was ruled by the Austrian archduke Maximilian and his wife Carlota, having been installed as Emproer of Mexico by Napoleon III. It seems that during their reign, Carlota engineered the looting of the Mexican treasury and had the gold bullion moved from Mexico City to a secret cave near Vera Cruz. Carlota's personal bodyguards murdered all the army troops that were involved in the transport of the gold and had planned on eventually moving all the gold to Europe. Before she could get it moved, Benito Juarez overthrew Maximilian and had him executed. Carlota fled to Europe and eventually went insane from the grief.

For eight years (again, placing this story in 1876/77) the treasure was lost until a peasant stubled upon it in the cave. The Mexican government was notified and the army moved the treasure to a fort a few kilometers from the cave. Diaz is ready to move the treasure back to Mexico City but he knows that every bandit in the country will be after the treasure. He wants Hex to guard the treasure along with the president's personal honor guards that have accompanied Sanchez. Sanchez gives Hex a letter from the president, bearing his personal seal, authorizing the commadant of the fort to turn the treasure over to Hex. Sanchez tells Jonah that Hex can stay in a nearby town to eat & get some rest before they head out after sundown.

Jonah rides into Punta Del Rojo and checks in at the local hotel. When he walks into his room he notices a parrot feather on the floor. As Jonah turns quickly he is shot by El Papagayo. Jonah falls to the floor. One of Papagayo's lackeys runs over and says that Papagayo missed Hex, he only grazed Jonah's head and knocked him out. Papagayo says that he never misses. He is the world's greatest gunman and then he shoots the lackey right between the eyes, proving that he grazed Hex on purpose. Jonah awakens shortly and Papagayo tells Jonah that his feeling are hurt. Jonah, who is his good friend, comes into Mexico without telling Papagayo, but Papagayo has learned that Jonah is in Mexico because Estrellita (sporting a special Helium filled bra, designed by Howard Hughes) ,

who Papagayo has planted among the Mexican army, has told him about Jonah. Papagayo says that now he will kill Jonah slowly and painfully, that he has been lying awake for eight months plotting how he will kill Jonah.

Papagayo and his men lead Jonah outside of town, strip his shirt, boots & guns and tie him spread-eagle on an ant mound. Papagayo and his men ride off, leaving Jonah to be eaten by the ants and with fat Pablo also left behind to guard over Jonah, to be sure that he doesn't get away. Jonah is left in the sun for hours and Pablo is sitting nearby drinking from a canteen. Jonah asks for some water, but Pablo says that he is supposed to stay away from Jonah, because Jonah is very tricky. Jonah tells Pablo that Papagayo is the tricky one, leaving Pablo behind so the entire gang can ride into town and pay a call on Pablo's mamma, who everyone knows is the biggest tramp in the country.

Pablo, needless to say, gets very angry, pulls a knife, and jumps on top of Jonah. Then, in the third most bizarre thing I have ever seen in a Hex comic, Jonah grabs Pablo's crucifix in his teeth and manages to somehow strangle the holy living crap out of Pablo. Pablo cuts one of Jonah's hands free and Jonah punches Pablo off of him. Pablo starts to pull a pistol, but Jonah grabs the dropped knife and throws it right into Pablo's heart.

Jonah manages to free himself, grab his gear and get on his horse to get to Vera Cruz. As he rides off, we see Papagayo watching the entire thing and one of Papagayo's riflemen drawing a bead on Jonah's back.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Hex: one, Pablo. Who, as stupid as he was, should have been dead years ago.

Running Total - 141
Jonah's injuries: Bullet grazing his head, gnawed on by ants.
Timeline: This one takes place 8 months after Jonah Hex #2 and seems to be placed in 1876/77 timeframe. This will cause a very big problem later on in the timeline when we are constantly reminded that Jonah vanished in 1875. I wish Fleisher would have learned to take notes & work a calendar.

The high point of the story was Papagayo, a villian that will kill his own men at the drop of a hat. Finding guys to work for you under these conditions must be like recruiting Klingons, each one thinks that they are smart enough to outwit the leader. Pablo and the whole tied-to-the-ant-hill death was just stupid and really wrecked the rest of the story for me. It was like Fleisher needed to make this a two part story but didn't have enough going to actually keep it interesting. And the second half is by far the more superior part of the story.

Final shirtless:shirt panel ratio? 4:1.6

Next Issue: Gold pistols, Dynamite, the bridge from "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", and more violence than you can shake a gold brick at. + Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

Jonah Hex #6 "The Lawman"

Jonah Hex #6 Nov 1977
"The Lawman"
Michael Fleisher, story - Ernie Chan & Noly Panaligan, art - Ernie Chan, cover

Jonah is still on the run and while he is bunked down in the middle of a thunderstorm he is caught unawares by U.S. Marshall Toby Ruster. Jonah attempts to explain his innocence, but Ruster will have no part of it. Ruster cuffs Hex and they both ride off.

After a time they come upon a river ferry and the ferry master explains that with all of the rain they won't be able to cross the rampaging river for about 3 days. Ruster offers to pay double, but the ferrymaster won't have any of it. Ruster tells the man that they will have to take turns guarding his prisoner, Jonah Hex. The ferrymaster jumps up & starts loading the the horses on the ferry. Ruster then cuffs himself to Hex to insure that Jonah doesn't try to escape.

Since this is a Jonah Hex comic & Jonah hates water, guess what happens. Yup, first of all the ferrymaster is tossed overboard into the drink and as Ruster is attempting to uncuff Hex so they can both try to pole the ferry across the river, Ruster is kicked in the head by a frightened horse and he drops dead, dropping the key into the river. Jonah, cuffed to a dead man, is unable to do anything to save the ferry and the whole shooting match ends up splintering on some rocks.

Further downstream we spy a young lady and a large young man on the riverbank (Emmylou and George). Emmy spies Jonh and Ruster in the water. George literally grabs a tree and shoves it into the river in order to drag them out. Jonah grabs onto the tree and before he can be pulled in, grabs the sheriff's badge and pins it on his coat. Once ashore, Jonah tells the pair that HE is Toby Ruster and the dead man is his prisoner. Emmy chastises George for talking to the 'Marshall' when it is obvious that he needs medical attention.

At the town doctor's office, Jonah is declared to be in fine health (Ruster is pronounced dead and is lying on a table next to Jonah since they are still cuffed together). George continues on with his talking, telling Jonah how he & Emmylou are getting hitched soon, to which Emmy stutters her agreement. Emmy continues to dote on Jonah, making sure his blanket is tucked properly & such. George tells her to leave Jonah alone since they have to see the blacksmith to get the cuffs off.

On the way to smithy, Jonah lie in the back of a wagon next to the wet rotting corpse while George rambles on about how isolated their town is, they get no visitors, no newspapers, no lawmen. Emmy tells George to put a sock in it. By now I'm not seeing a bright future for this couple. The smithy is able to get the cuffs off and Emmy tries to get some hot coffee into Jonah when a store owner runs into the smithy shop asking if it's true that there is a marshal in town. George starts in with the introductions, but the store owner tells them that the bank is being robbed and that Jonah has to stop them. Jonah grabs several sticks of dynamite (always a good sign) and heads out.

At the bank one of the outlaws is pulling a cart full of money when suddenly a lit stick of dynamite lands next to him, sending him on to meet his just reward. A couple of gunshots from the roof of the bank picks another off his horse and as the rest start to run off, Jonah tosses one last kaboom stick and kills one more robber.

Inside the bank, bank president Harold Jeffries is tied up. Emmy gushes over how great Jonah was & George says he could have done just as well. Emmy snaps back "maybe you could've, George, but you didn't." George gets hacked off & decides to talk a walk but Emmy apologizes and wants to go with him (in order to point out any flaws in the way George walks).

Down by the river, George starts telling Emmy about how he feels ignored and Emmy, proving his point, interrupts him to point out a dead horse in the river. George wades out to retrieve the saddlebag and finds a wanted poster with Jonah's picture on it. George decides to take it to Jeffries to see what should be done about the imposter in their midst.

It's nighttime by the time George gets back to town (since Emmy didn't go with him, he obviously got lost for several hours) and when he walks up to the bank he overhears Jeffries yelling at the men who tried earlier in the day to rob the bank. Jeffries says that he spent months planning the robbery & those fools let one guy with a gun & several sticks of dynamite run them off. Let me pause here and state that George earlier decided to take the poster to Jeffries because Jeffries was 'educated'. It took Jeffries months to plan a bank robbery in a bank that he is the president of and in a town with no sheriff. My opinion is that Jeffries is a moron and I'm surprised that George, who thinks Jeffries is educated, can walk & breath at the same time. Just my opinion. Now back to the story.

George is discovered eavesdropping and is murdered. The robbers find the wanted poster in George's hand and Jeffries, somehow, manages to hatch a plan to lure Jonah into the bank, have the gang kill him and then pin the successful bank robbery on a dead wanted Jonah Hex. They plan on saying that they killed him in the act of escaping but not before Jonah managed to hide the bank loot. So they are going to kill Jonah IN the bank, but somehow Jonah has managed to hide the loot? Is this the 1st national bank of Moronville?

Sorry, I'm tired & grumpy & my computer with the scanner is busted.

Anyway, Emmy overhears the robbers talking about this while they are loading dead George in a wagon. Emmy realizes that she must save Jonah and starts running all over town looking for him. She finally locates him walking down the street with Jeffries, on their way to the ambush in the bank. She shouts out "Marshal! Mr. Hex! Get Back!" and then she is gunned down. Jonah bashes Jeffries in the head and guns down the robber, which shot Emmy, on a balcony. Four more robbers appear and Jonah dives into the dirt, rolling, and shoots all four of them dead.

When he stands up, Jeffries is on his knees begging for his life. Jonah explains that if Emmy dies, he will come back & blow Jeffries head off.

The next day, a few upstanding citizens are telling Jonah that the doc says Emmy will be fine, George will still be dead, Jeffries will probably hang and that since Jonah is a fugitive from the law, they should put him in jail. However, seeing as how Jonah will probably ride off and every horse in town is lame, they can't get a posse up to chase him down. Jonah slowly rides out of town, tossing the marshal badge into the street.

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Jonah - 8

Running Total - 133

Jonah's Injuries - well, none, surprisingly

Timeline - Part of the 'Wanted man' arc. We still haven't determined when this takes place, but I'm sure that we will get a clue or two later on.

I really didn't like this story (can you tell?). Everyone seemed so stupid, the town seemed too remote to even have a bank, and if Jonah hadn't come to town, Emmy & George would have ended up married and then in a homicide-suicide on their wedding night. However, this is not the worst Jonah story I have ever read, that one comes much much later & it's not in 'HEX' or even in the Vertigo line. You'll just have to wait for it.

Next Issue: -A flashback that is part one of Jonah's origin story, it has slavery, liquor and a Frenchman. Oui!

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.

Weird Western Tales #36 "Bigfoot's Death Song"

Weird Western Tales #36 Sept-Oct 1976
"Bigfoot's Death Song"
Michael Fleisher, story - Luis Dominguez & Oscar Novelle, art - Ernie Chua (Chan), cover

The story starts with a band of Indian hunters chortling over how much fun it was to wipe out a band of Paiutes. Suddenly they are set upon by a band of Indians led by "Crazy" Joe Bigfoot and they are all slaughtered in turn in an obvious act of revenge.

At nearby Fort Onodaga, Arizona, Col. Scott welcomes Jonah Hex into the Fort. He makes mention that the Army is finally ready to pay the fee that Jonah has requested and then he introduces "Rawhide" Gant, a hired scout. Gant makes some demeaning remarks about Jonah being a paid killer. Col. Scott calls Gant on the carpet for his slur, but Gant states that it's obvious that Hex is an Indian lover and that the savage Indians deserve to be wiped out.
An orderly bursts into the Col's office stating that four white men have just been found slaughtered. Gant says that proves his point but Jonah says that it was probably justifiable. The Col is worried that this could endanger an upcoming treaty signing between the US & the Paiutes.

The next day the Col and his entourage ride into the Paiute camp of Chief Running Pony. Running Pony welcomes his friend Jonah and he talks of making peace with the US. A scream is heard from a nearby teepee and Jonah storms in to find Gant attempting to force himself on a Indian maiden. Jonah beats Gant down & tells him to leave the tent. As Gant turns to go, he pulls a knife and throws it at Jonah. The Col shouts a warning and Jonah spins, shooting the knife in two in midair. Running Pony suggests that they continue with the peace talks.
While Running Pony, Col. Scott, Hex & Gant sit within the chief's teepee, Bigfoot returns to camp to be greeted by his love, Spotted Fawn, who is, yup, the Indian maid that Hex rescued. Bigfoot wants to implore the chief to not sign the treaty but before he heads into the teepee he instructs one of his men, Red Eagle, to impliment their plan. Bigfoot enters the teepee and tries to persuade the chief to not sign the treaty. He speaks of the cowardly white man and when Gant takes offense, Bigfoot dispatches him with a quick knee and a karate chop.

Bigfoot states that there is only one white man with honor & that is Hex. While Hex is sitting smoking a pipe, Red Eagle reaches through a slit in the tent a silently teals Jonah's guns from their holsters. Bigfoot states that without his guns, the white man can never defeat the Paiutes. He rushes Hex and Jonah discovers his pistols missing. Bigfoot starts laughing at having caught Hex off guard, but Running Pony basically tells him to straighten up. Jonah tells Running Pony that no harm was done.

Running Pony states that the elder council has decided to make peace with the US and as a symbol, Bigfoot & Hex will become blood brothers by cutting their forearms and letting the blood mix. Running Pony warns Bigfoot not to break the treaty with the white man or he will suffer under Paiute law. Bigfoot rides off and Col. Scott wonders if Bigfoot will honor the treaty.

The next morning, Spotted Fawn is standing near a waterfall, waiting on a rendevous with Bigfoot. However, Gant has decided to sneak back to the camp and he finds Spotted Fawn. Alone, his courage & libido running amuck, he tries again to rape Spotted Fawn. She fights back & scratches him. Angered, he punches her, she staggers backward and falls to her death off the cliff. Gant hightails it out of there, blaming Spotted Fawn's death on her not wanting to have "fun".

Some time later, Bigfoot discovers Spotted Fawn's body at the bottom of the cliff. He sees a feather clutched in her hand and recognizes it as the same feather that Gant has always worn in his hat. That afternoon Gant is leading about a dozen men when Bigfoot and his party kill and scalp the entire group. After the massacre is discovered, Running Pony contacts Jonah. Jonah sides with Bigfoot and the chief agrees that it was Bigfoot's right to kill Gant, but to slaughter the innocent Army men with him is an act deeming punishment. Running Pony asks Jonah to bring Bigfoot back.

Jonah tracks Bigfoot down, subdues him, and starts taking him back to camp. Bigfoot starts railing against Col. Scott, but Jonah sets him straight by telling him it was Running Pony that wanted Bigfoot captured. Once Bigfoot is returned to the camp, Running Pony pronounces sentence on Bigfoot. He is to be shot ten days from now. Until then Bigfoot may go and make peace with the Great Spirit. Bigfoot slowly rides out of camp and Col. Scott, who has been present during all of this, is convinced that Bigfoot will not return.

Ten days later Bigfoot returns to his execution. Bigfoot hands his horse and his rifle over to his friends and then informs the chief that he has decided on his executioner, as is the Paiute custom. He has chosen Jonah Hex. Bigfoot sits upon a blanket and starts his death song. Running Pony then paints a circle upon Bigfoot's chest and then hands the rifle to Jonah. As Bigfoot continues his deathsong, Jonah takes aim and kills Bigfoot with one shot. He walks over to Bigfoot's body, lays the rifle on it, mounts up & rides off.

Statistics for this issue:

Men Killed by Jonah: 1

Running Total - 95

Jonah's Injuries: None

Timeline: None really except that it does take place after the first meeting with Bigfoot.
This issue, more about Bigfoot than Jonah, is an interesting change from the normal 'capture the badguy'. The entire tale leans more to telling a story about the honor and disciplines of the Indians and the lack of understanding that the white men have of them. There are three viewpoints of the Indians expressed here: Gant, who sees them as vermin to be eradicated; Scott, who doesn't understand that there can be honor that is observed even though punishment & death will occur; and Hex, who has taken time to learn and understand the ways of the Indians, he may not agree with it, but he respects it.

Next Week: Cabin Fire, Vengence, & Jonah takes a Dive!!!

Weird Western Tales #35 "The Hangman"

Weird Western Tales #35 July-Aug 1976
"The Hangman!"
Michael Fleisher, story - George Molterini, art - Ernia Chua (Chan), cover

When we last left Jonah Hex, he was out in the desert having missed the opportunity to score a bounty. Now our story opens with Jonah literally crawling across the desert to a small water hole. He lowers his hat to get a drink but before he can raise the hat, it is riddled by gunfire with a shouted warning to stay away from the water. The man shouting the warning is Redeye Charlie, who appears to be an old prospector. He tells Jonah that the watering hole is poison and offers one of his canteens to Jonah. Jonah explains that the Yellow Mask Gang shot his horse & left him for dead in the desert. Charlie offers to take Jonah into town (Hill Valley, AZ) on one of his mules.

As they ride into town several hours later they happen upon what appears to be either a town picnic or a carnival. They are aghast to learn that the town has turned out for a hanging of a saloon girl that is accused of stealing $10 (about $140 today) from a cowboy. Charlie offers to pay the $10 to save her life. The sheriff refuses and Charlie starts to argue. Jonah tells Charlie to back off since the folks in the town have the right to do what they want. Charlie & Jonah ride on into town as the hanging proceeds and the saloon girl dies.

Jonah & Charlie part ways, Charlie heads to the livery to house his mules and Jonah goes to the saloon to get a steak. While Jonah is eating, the sheriff comes in & demands $20 from the owner. The owner states that it was only $10 last time, but the sheriff points out how much money everyone is making by the folks coming to town to see all the hangings. The owner pays up and once the sheriff is gone, he complains to Jonah about the price increase. Jonah asks why he pays it then. The owner explains that he makes more money on hanging days than on all the other days put together. There is a hanging about every 10 days or so and since the sheriff is also the judge everything moves really quickly.

Jonah tries to get a room at the hotel but learns that it is full...because of the hanging. they only have a few vacant rooms that they keep open in case any traveling ladies find themselves stranded for the night. Jonah decides to spend the night at the livery and finds that CHarlie has drunk himself into a stupor. Charlie says that he is heading for the hotel but Jonah explains that they only have rooms for ladies.

The next panel has a drunken Charlie in a dress checking in to the hotel. The creepy bellboy helps the 'drunken lady' up to her room and once inside, starts disrobing. When Charlie takes off his dress he ends up getting kicked out of the hotel. The sheriff happens along and finds the drunken Charlie in the street. He takes him to jail to sleep it off.

The next morning the local bank is robbed by the Yellow Mask Gang. They end up getting a gold shipment that was supposed to be a secret. As they make their getaway they shoot one of the managers of the bank but all the noise wakens Jonah over at the livery. As they ride past, Jonah jumps out of the loft, kicking one of the riders square in the head. Jonah tells a bystander to take the dazed crook to the sheriff because he is heading out after the rest of them.

The sheriff takes custody of the robber & the bystander leaves. Once they are alone, the sheriff starts chewing out the robber for getting caught. He ends up letting the robber go and they will split up the loot later. Seems like the sheriff is the one telling the gang about the gold shipment. As the robber leaves, the sheriff shoots him in the back right in front of Charlie. Charlie threatens to tell the town what he knows but the sheriff goes into the cell and knockes Charlie out with the barrel of his gun. The sheriff pours a bunch of whiskey down Charlie's throat to fit in with a plan he has.

Far outside of town, the Yellow Mask Gang is splitting up the loot in a cabin. According to them, they have about $80,000 in double-eagles (1.1 million $$?) but since a double eagle is a $20 piece that means they stole 4000 of them?

Anyway, Jonah is up on the roof, blocks the chimney and the cabin fills with smoke. One owlhoot comes out to see what the problem is & Jonah smacks him with a pistol. The other three come out and they make the mistake of drawing on Jonah. he dives to the ground and kills them all with three shots. He ends up taking the bodies and the one survivor back into town.

They arrive back in town to find a hanging almost in full swing (giggle, snort, 'full swing', I slay me. Har har, 'slay me', hee hee) but this time it's Charlie at the end of his rope (snort). The sheriff found a yellow mask in Charlie's bedroll, proving he is part of the gang. The horse Charlie is on is whipped and Charlie starts swinging but Jonah shoots the rope in two. Jonah helps Charlie up off the ground and Charlie tells the whole story about how the sheriff is in with the gang. The sheriff denies it but the owlhoot that Jonah brought in decides to rat out the sheriff when he learns that the sheriff killed is brother (who was captured by Jonah earlier). The owlhoot produces the gold shipment schedule, the very one in the banker's handwriting that he had given to the sheriff.

Folsk decide that they had gathered for a hanging so they might as well have one. As they are stringing up the sheriff, the banker offers the job of sheriff to Jonah. The pay is good but of course he would have to keep the hangings a comin' so the town will prosper. Hex and Charlie both ride off as the rope draws tight around the sheriff's throat.


Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3 members of the Yellow Mask gang
Running Total - 94
Jonah's Injuries - none
Timeline - A nice 'done in one' that could take place anywhere during the bounty hunting years.

A good story with good supporting characters and a whole town that is corrupt, but not totally. they are just running their own version of the lottery. Moliterni's art is again, gritty, and great. The coloring is vastly improved and helps the story along, not like last issue. The cover is a little crowded with the "DC Comics salutes the bicentennial" banner.

Next Week: Jonah meets "Rawhide", attempted rape, and the return of Bigfoot.

Jonah Hex #8 Vol. 1 "The Mark of the Demon"

Jonah Hex #8 Vol. 1 Jan 1978
"The Mark of the Demon"
Michael Fleisher, story - Ernie Chan & Vincente Alcazar, art, Ernie Chan (Chua), cover

This story, continued from last issue, is stated as taking place "Spring, 1874". Ooookay, 1874 it is. (Mr. Fleisher, you're killing me here with your continuity). We are treated to a splash page stating that Jonah is tracking the Apaches that have kidnapped Adrian Vaden. Then we get a 1 page recap of the flashback and on page three we pick up when Jonah is captured by the Kiowas.

They tie him to a stake & get ready to burn him alive when suddenly the camp is attacked by white men who slaughter Indians for their scalps ($25 each at Fort Hastings). They kill everyone in the camp, including slitting the throats of two Kiowa children. When Jonah, whom they have just freed, protests, they gut shoot him & leave him for dead.

Several weeks later, Jonah awakens in the cabin of an old trapper. It is not revealed how the trapper found Jonah, but he nurses the boy back to health through the summer & fall & into winter. Jonah walks for three days to find the Apache camp, but it is deserted. Then we get a montage of Jonah as a "wanderer on the frontier", a buffalo hunter for the Army, a tracker, a scout, and then in the Civil War at Chancellorville (May 1863), Vicksburg (July 1863), Shiloh (April 1862), Antietam (Sept 1862). Therefore, the Fort Charlotte Massacre occured sometime after July of 1863.

After the war is over Jonah comes upon a wagon that has been destroyed. Looking through the ruins he finds Noh-Tante's medicine amulet. Within the week he finds the Apache village and meets White Fawn. She explains that she has wed Noh-Tante. Jonah confronts the chief and explains how he was betrayed by Noh-Tante "twelve years before" (so we are now in 1866). The chief declares that this arguement must be decided in a tomahawk fight.

During the battle Jonah accidentally hits a tree and the handle on his tomahawk breaks. Noh-Tante holds Jonah down and gloats that he had weakened the handle so that it would break. Jonah, about to die, grabs the knife he keeps in the collar of his coat & stabs Noh-Tante. Jonah has broken Apache law by using a weapon other than the tomahawk and he must pay a price. The chief explains that Jonah had saved his life once but then killed his son, so the world must know that Jonah is half good & half evil. They tie Jonah between two poles and press a heated tomahawk into the right side of his face. He is kicked out of the camp & told that he will be killed if he ever returns.

Back in present day (1874), Jonah locates the Apache village where Laura is being kept. An Indian attacks him from behind, knocking him unconscious. He awakens tied before the chief, his one-time 'father'. The chief explains that come dawn Jonah will be tortured and then burnt alive. Later that night, White Fawn stabs the brave guarding Jonah and then frees Hex. She is going to escape with Jonah but the chief kills her with an arrow in the back. Jonah shoots & kills the chief, grabs Laura and starts to escape.

As they ride away, they are ambushed by Count Henri D'Aubergnon & Pierre (remember them?). Now the Count knocks Jonah off his horse by bending a tree over, tying it down and cutting the rope, letting the tree spring back. looking at this tree I'm wondering that if the Count can bend a tree that big around, why didn't he just grab Jonah & break him in half and eat his organs? The count ties Jonah up and Pierre takes up collecting arrowheads. The Count frees Jonah and together they are able to fend off several waves of Apaches attacking. Jonah decides that one of them can save Laura if the other provides cover. The Count falsely states that he has enough ammo to last hours (he has two bullets). Jonah & he argue about who will stay & who will go. The Count suggests the toss of a coin. Heads, he will stay, tails, Jonah will stay. It comes up heads and Jonah rides off with Laura. The Count ends up fighting the Apache with just his saber.

As Laura & Jonah ride off, they have this exchange:
Laura:"Did you ever study French, Mr. Hex?"
Jonah:"Nope! Why?"
Laura:"Well, I was just thinking how funny it is that when we were leaving, the Count called out "adieu" to us. In French, that means 'farewell'.
Jonah: "So whut?"
Laura: "Well, when you're expecting to see someone again, you're supposed to say 'au revoir', which means 'until we meet again'."

And then we are treated to this visual:

reminds me of a Jack Davis EC book.

Statistics for the issue
Men killed by Jonah : Noh-Tante, the chief, and at least 4 other Indians (6 total)

Running Total - 140
Jonah's Injuries: Gut shot, Branded on his face with a hot tomahawk, knocked out, knocked off his horse by a tree
Timeline: Whew! 1874, 1866, 1862, 1863, 1854, all over the place.

Overall this was a great issue. The art by Ernie Chan/Chua was good but Alcazar's inks weren't refined enough to make this stellar. Major awards go to the last panel. The cover has Jonah wearing Union Blue instead of Reb Grey.

Finally, one for Ragnell & SallyP
Next Issue: More exposing of sweaty man-flesh, a vast Mexican treasure, and an awkward moment....Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Jonah Hex #7 Vol.1 "Son of the Apache"

Jonah Hex #7 Dec. 1977
"Son of the Apache"
Michael Fleisher, story- Ernie Chan & Noly Panaligan, art, Ernie Chan (Chua), cover

Since Jonah Hex #13 (vol2) is 'retelling' the origin of Jonah Hex, I thought I would present the first pre Superboy Prime Super Punch Retcon version (or as I like to call it "fpSPSPRv"). But first a little back story. In Jonah Hex #2, Jonah is framed for a murder and is then considered a wanted man. Other events between 2 and 6 indicate that this story takes place after WWT #30 and would place this either in 1875 or after (I will have to do more extensive research concerning time of year inidcators in those stories to see if it happens AFTER 1875).

The story opens in Hennessy, Texas with a cowboy starting to manhandle a saloon girl. At a nearby table, a gentleman in a fine suit stands and asks his table mate to excuse him. The other man refers to the gentleman as "your lordship." The gentleman interveens on behalf of the saloon girl, but teh cowboy turns and punches the man. As the man picks himself up, he tells the cowboy that he accepts the challenge to the duel. The friend of the gentleman produces a case with two sabers. When the cowboy starts to draw his pistol, the gentleman spins arouns and knocks the gun from the cowboy's hand. The cowboy takes the offered saber and the duel starts in the saloon.

The cowboy is quickly disarmed and the gentleman says that he will show compassion & not kill the cowboy. As the man turns to leave, the cowboy grabs at a gun on the bar. The gentleman sees him in a mirror and turns, throwing the sabre through the cowboy's heart.

The sheriff storms in, demanding to know what is going on. the gentleman introduces himself as Count Henri D'Aubergnon, recently from France, here in the States to hunt the most dangerous of game, man, and the most dangerous man, Jonah Hex, a wanted outlaw.

Meanwhile, on the far outskirts of town, Jonah is talking to an elderly man, Mr. Vanden, who has hired Jonah to rescue his daughter that was kidnapped by the Apaches. Vanden asks how well does Hex know the Apaches, but Jonah doesn't answer & rides off to find the young lady.

We are treatd to a flashback stating it starts "more than twenty years, to a fateful day in July, 1851. Jonah Hex was then thirteen years old." Jonah is loading a wagon with moonshine as his father sits under a tree drinking. His father, Woodson (we learn his name at another time), is an obvious alcoholic, slaps Jonah and beats him with a belt. Once the wagon is loaded and they are on their way, Woodson explains that he is gonna trade the moonshine for a few squaws and a grubstake for the California gold rush. (Ginny, Jonah's mom, left her husband just over three years prior in 1848).

At the Apache camp, the Indians give Woodson a stack of pelts in trade for the moonshine and another stack of pelts in exchange for Jonah. Jonah is flabbergasted and starts crying as his dad gets on the wagon to leave. Woodson tells Jonah that he would be better off with the Indians instead of a drunken lush like his old man. Jonah fights off two Indians holding him back and runs to his dad who slaps him down and tosses off a slim promise of coming back to get Jonah once a fortune has been made. Jonah turns to fight off the Indians but is subdued and spends the next two years as their slave.

Then one day (1853) as the chief is at a river, a large puma attacks the aging chief. A nearby brave is unable to shoot the puma for fear of hitting the chief when suddenly, Jonah leaps forward with a knife and kills the puma on the spot. The chief is so grateful that he declares that Jonah Hex is now considered a brother to the chief's son and is due all honor of a true Apache. Jonah learns to ride, hunt and fight better than anyone, even the chief's son, Noh-Tante. White Fawn, a lovely girl, even takes a liking to him. Noh-Tante cannot hide his hatred & jealousy.

Later, (A YEAR later, we learn in issue #8. 1854) when both boys turn 16, they are sent on a mission to steal the finest horses from some nearby Kiowas. That night, as Jonah & Noh-Tante sneak into the camp, Jonah kills a Kiowa guard/. Noh-Tante releases all of the ponies and then shouts a war cry to alert the Kiowas. He kicks Jonah into a rock, knocking him out & leaves him for the Kiowas. back at the Apache camp, Noh-Tante tells the chief that he saw Jonah killed by the Kiowa.

Back at the Kiowa camp, Jonah awakens to find himself surrounded by Kiowas. TO BE CONTINUED!!

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah: 1 Kiowa and one puma

Running Total - 134
Jonah's injuries: Slapped & beaten by his dad, struck on the head twice and knocked out.
Timeline: The opener is post 1875 (or post death of Turnbull in WWT #30) and the flashback takes place in 1851, 1853, and ends in 1854. This was one of the few times that we got to see Jonah's dad and he really is a filthy drunken sob. There isn't a lot of characterization on Jonah's part, we just are privvy to see the terrible childhood he had and the hardships he had to face. The five-page opening with the Count seems like a waste of space, but it does tie in with the previous issues and provides a nice framework for the flashback (the best part coming in issue #8). The cover does cause one to wonder if Hex's scar was caused by the puma attack, but no, we find out what happened next issue.

Next Issue: A rigged tomahawk fight, the Mark of the Demon, and (believe it or not) a two-headed coin.