Jonah Hex #27 "The Wooden Sixgun!"

Jonah Hex #27 Aug 1979
"The Wooden Sixgun!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Vicente Alcazar, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

Yup, I'm back. I've been repairing and painting my house myself (with the help of friends) so that explains my absence, but we're back in the saddle and Jonah is in the thick of it. We start with Jonah facing down 3 men who, of course, end up dead. As Jonah rides out of town a young boy talks to his dad about Jonah Hex being the fastest gun ever. The dad says that there ain't no happiness in a life like that.

Late that night, Jonah is sitting by his campfire when he hears someone trying to sneak up on him. He pulls his pistol and almost plugs the young boy, Timothy Walker, right between the eyes. Tim has snuck out and is hoping that Jonah can teach him how to be a gunfighter. Jonah sees that the boy has a holster with a wooden sixgun in it. Tim shows Jonah his fast draw and Jonah says that with practice the kid could be good.

As Jonah pours Tim some coffee, he relates a story of a similar wooden gun that he had as a boy. "It wuz the spring of 1849 and ah'd just turned eleven..."

Jonah, as a boy, is running around playing with his wooden sixshooter when his paw calls for him. Jonah comes running but he is not fast enough for Woodson and receives a strong stroke across the chops for it and falls to the ground. Woodson has some moonshine running to do and wants Jonah to have the firewood chopped and the fence mended before he gets back that night. Woodson rides off and Jonah gets right to work...shooting rocks and jackrabbits with his toy gun.

He hears someone call to him and he finds a man, shot, lying in tall grass. Jonah takes the man back to his cabin and helps bandage him up. The man gives Jonah $10 and Jonah lets it slip that he recognizes the man as Bart Mallory, a stagecoach robber. Mallory comments on Jonah's wooden gun and gives Jonah a few pointers on being a gunfighter (keep your thumb level & forward, don't wear you holster high...) when they are interrupted by a knock on the door.

Jonah answers the door to find Sheriff Harper and a posse looking for Mallory. They leave a wanted poster with Jonah saying that they'll give him $5 of the $5,000 reward if he helps them catch Mallory. He couldn't have gone far since they managed to shoot him earlier. They ride off and Jonah goes back inside.

Mallory thanks Jonah and offers him $5,000 all for himself, if only Jonah will help Mallory rob the Haverville bank. Jonah is astounded because nobody had robbed a bank in daylight before. Jonah says that he will help Mallory so they both saddle up & head out. On the way to Haverville, they stop at Lily's house so Mallory can get some 'recreation' while Jonah stays outside with the horses.

When they ride off, they are spotted by some of the sheriff's men that were staking out Lily's place. Later the Sheriff and the posse show up, demanding to know where Mallory is at. Lily says she doesn't know so, in a chilling sequence, they drag her out of her house, put her on a horse, drop a noose over her neck, and as she shouts out that Mallory mentioned the Haverville bank, they lynch her. The Sheriff and the posse decide that they can take a shortcut and beat Mallory to the bank.

Jonah & Mallory ride up in front of the bank and after the dismount, Mallory gives Jonah a real pistol and tells him to watch the horses. If anyone heads for the bank, Jonah is to fire two warning shots in the air. Mallory walks into the bank, pulls his pistol and demands all of the greenbacks, saying that he has fifty men outside. Sheriff Harper and his men jump up from behind the counters and blow Mallory clean away. Harper heads outside, finding Jonah holding the horses. He hauls Jonah inside and demands to know if Jonah is an accomplice. Mallory gasps out that he kidnapped Jonah and forced him into it, Jonah is innocent.

Harper gives Jonah a stern warning and Jonah hightails it home. He gets there just before dark and barely has time to hide the pistol Mallory gave him before his dad comes home. Woodson, drunk, sees that nothing has been done around the cabin, slaps Jonah to the ground and sends him to bed with no supper. In his room, Jonah practices his quick draw with is new genuine pistol.

Back in the present, Tim has fallen asleep and as it starts to rain, Jonah scoops Tim up and takes him back into town to his folks. The last panel shows Jonah riding alone in the rain.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3
Running Total - 233
Jonah's Injuries - slapped around as a child
Timeline - The flashback takes place in the spring of 1849, Jonah has just turned 11. In later issues, in at least two, Jonah's birthday is mentioned as being in November (by Mei Ling & Jonah himself). When this is all over I will probably have to compile how many times the November birthday is mentioned versus the spring birthday and also take into considerate how many times the 1838 birth is mentioned to determine which facts are correct.

Or I could take a chill pill.

I did enjoy this issue, I usually do like the flashbacks, because of getting to see a vulnerable young Jonah interact with someone other than his dad. The end of the story, with Jonah carrying Tim home, was a nice contrast to the opening with the gunning down of the three men. Also, with Harper hanging Lily just for harboring a thief, that was pretty harsh, but it also set us up for fearing for Jonah when Harper found out he was involved in the robbery. It was a nice touch. This was one of the better issues.

Next Issue: One of Jonah's greatest failures and the mystery of the mute Indian.

Jonah Hex #22 "Requiem for a Pack Rat!"

Jonah Hex #22 Mar 1979
"Requiem for a Pack Rat!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Vicente Alcazar, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

I missed my chance last issue. I could have touted this issue as "Jonah Kills Lobo!". Oh, well. The story starts off with Jonah leading a black crook, Lobo, to the gallows. Lobo is being hung a day early cuz the hanging man just has sooo many hangings in sooo many towns. Needless to say, Lobo is pissed and takes it out verbally on the town & Jonah Hex.

After the hanging, Jonah goes into a general store and encounters an elderly black man, Pack Rat Benson, a friend from way back. Pack Rat tells Jonah that he has finally hit a big gold strike and is working it with his wife, his father, two sons and a grandson. He invites Jonah back to the mine to stay for a few days.

They leave the store and another black man leaves the store, rides out of town and meets up with his two brothers. It is Diablo, Lobo's brother, and he meets up with his other two brothers, Nat & Rafer. They have this weird habit of referring to everyone as 'brother so & so', kinda how some folks in church do, but since these are evil brothers of an evil man, it sounds even weirder. Anyway, they are somewhat peeved that their brother was hung early since they had planned on springing him free during the hanging. They decide to hunt down Jonah Hex, kill him and then steal all of Pack Rat's gold.

Several hours later, Jonah & Pack Rat are riding along in Pack Rat's buckboard. Pack Rat shows Jonah a map outlining a watering hole about 7 miles away and then a whole lot farther on to the mine. Just then two shots hit Pack Rat in the chest and he pitches over backwards, breaking the back of the buckboard seat. The three evil brother show up, take the map, steal the horses and the wagon, take all the canteens, insult Jonah Hex right to his face, and then shoot him in the leg, breaking it in the process.

After they leave, Jonah grabs the broekn buckboard seatback, breaks it lengthwise and then sets his own leg. With his leg tied to one half of the board, he uses the other half for a crutch. With a passing reference to the upcoming US centennial and the Spirit of '76, Jonah Hex hobbles off across the desert.

Night falls and the three brothers make it to the mine. The family has been waiting for Pack Rat and are very surprised when the brothers burst in, slap them around, and then eat their dinner.

Jonah makes it to the watering hole, drinks up and passes out. The next morning Jonah wakes up just in time to see two Sioux warriors riding hard towards him. The first one is wielding a spear and Jonah manages to throw his knife right into the Indian's chest. He grabs the fallen Indian's quiver of arrows and manages to stab the horse the other Indian is riding, and in hand to hand combat (straight off the cover), he stabs the Indian with another arrow.

With one horse dead and the other run off, Jonah is once again faced with hobbling across the desert. He grabs a bow & quiver of arrows and then goes scooting on his rump down a mountainside.

Back at the mine, Diablo tells Rafer to take Pack Rat's sons to the mine and force them to dig the gold for them. Diablo tells Pack Rat's wife to go fetch some water from the well. She heads out but finds Jonah hiding behind the well. He pulls her down and when Nat goes out to check on her, Jonah pops up and shoots an arrow right into Nat, killing him.

Up at the mine, Rafer thinks he hears something and when he leaves the sons to check on it, he encounters Jonah, holding a stick of dynamite. Well, you can guess what happens.
Jonah now hobbles back down to the cabin, kicks open the door with his good leg and just as Diablo is about to shoot Jonah, Grandpa slaps Diablo with his cane. Jonah dives into the room, knocking Diablo into a table and overturning an oil lamp. The cabin catches fire and as they are fighting, the cabin collapses on Diablo.

Pack Rat's sons pull Grandpa & Jonah out of the fire and the story ends in a blaze of cabin-glory.

Statistics for this Issue
Men killed by Jonah - 5 (two Indians & the three brothers)
Running Total - 208
Jonah's Injuries - Broken leg from a rifle shot
Timeline - Nothing referring to any other Jonah Hex stories but the phrase 'upcoming centennial' and a reference to the "Spirit of '76" in between May 10, 1876 and July 4, 1876 since th epainting was exhibited at the World's Fair in Philadelphia that year. I would probably have to place this in June in order for Jonah to have learned of the painting, which was originally known as "Yankee Doodle" (I haven't been able to learn when it was renamed).

This story, character-wise seemed to be an apology for Fleisher's portrayal of Blacks back in WWT 22. All the major characters, both good & bad, are African American. After this issue I can't think of another where see other Blacks portrayed.

A fair issue, nothing really advancing the character of Jonah Hex, that will be forthcoming next issue.

Next Issue - More dynamite, more history, them damn Irish, and the introduction of Mei Ling.

Jonah Hex #21 "The Burying!"

Jonah Hex #21 Feb 1979

"The Burying!"

Michael Fleisher - story, Vicente Alcazar - art, Luis Domiguez - cover

The story starts 3 days ago with a casket being lowered into the grave of Woodson Hex, Jonah's wonderful, loving, caring father. Well, ya know what I mean. After the funeral, Jonah heads south towards Apache Forks and his not dead father (No, he's not a Zombie!) is up in a mountain cave digging up the $250,000 in gold Double Eagles that he stashed there previously.

Several days later, we see Woodson living it up buying drinks for everyone in the saloon and getting sweet on a blonde haired 'working girl'. She takes the drunken Woodson up to her room and on the way she signals to a trio of ne'er-do-wells. Once up in her room Woodson hears something out in the hall and realizes that he is about to be robbed. He bars the door with a chair, slaps the crap out of the woman and then hightails it out the window.

Once outside he runs down the street in the dark. As the three men chase him, Woodson finds an open window and crawls inside. He discovers that he is in a funeral home. He opens a casket, lifts up the body and puts the saddlebags holding the money in under the body. He crawls back out the window and is nabbed by the gunmen.

Zeke, Frank, & Red smack Woodson around a little, demanding the money. Woodson holds his secret until they place a gun barrel in his mouth. That's when Woodson lies, saying that Jonah took the loot south to Apache Forks. Zeke tells Red & Frank to take Woodson to the old mill. Zeke will get Ben & some others to go round up Jonah.

The next afternoon in Apache Forks, Jonah is getting a shave and a bootshine. The barber places a hot towel around Jonah's face and the front door swings open and three men are holding guns on Jonah. They say they have urgent business with Hex. Jonah asks the shoeshine boy how much they charge for a funeral in town. He says that it's $20.

Jonah tells him to fish $40 out of Jonah's coat and tell the undertaker to get ready for a twin burying. The shoeshine boy says that it would be $60, since there three men there. Just then Jonah jumps up, his face still covered with a towel, and guns down the three men. Jonah asks the barber if he knew the men. The barber replies that he doesn't & why should he. Jonah says that as bad as the barber is, he thought they were past customers looking for a refund. Jonah tips the kid a buck and leaves.

Outside, Zeke and Ben watch Jonah leave and start reworking their plan.

Later, Jonah is eating supper when the shoeshine boy comes running in, saying that his mom has been trampled by a horse and he needs Jonah to help. Jonah follows the boy and asks why he didn't get the doc. The boy says that the doc won't work on colored folks and leads Jonah into a barn where Zeke & Ben mistake Jonah for Hal Jordan and hit in on the head with a 2x4. They tip the kid $5 for leading Jonah into their trap. Then they realize that the kid could id them. They pistol whip the boy and take back the $5.

When Jonah comes to, Zeke starts demanding to know where the money is. Jonah has no idea what they are talking about. A crowbar to the gut brings no revelation to Jonah. Zeke demands again to know where the money is that Jonah & Woodson stole. Jonah calls him crazy since his father is dead. The crowbar comes crashing down on his left shoulder and the back of his head.

Jonah comes to finding himself tied, along with Woodson, to a waterwheel. They have been tied with rawhide and once the rawhide gets wet & shrinks, they will choke to death. Whenever they want to divulge the location of the gold, Zeke will set them free. But....but...rawhide stretches when it gets wet, right?

The crooks leave and Jonah & Woodson start turning slowly on the wheel. Jonah is pretty peeved that he paid for a funeral and the least that Woodson could have done is actually die. Jonah realizes how he was tricked and Woodson starts pleading for Jonah to save them both. Jonah tells Woodson to get the knife in the back of Jonah's shirt and cut them free. That is how they both manage to escape.

Inside the mill, there are four other guys with Zeke playing poker when suddenly Jonah & Woodson bust down the door, Jonah with some rope & Woodson with a shotgun. Jonah tells his dad to keep them covered while he ties them up. Woodson tells Jonah to cover them himself, he has a funeral to attend. Woodson turns and runs out the door, taking the shotgun with him.

Zeke & his buddies see their chance and draw on Jonah, but Hex guns down all five of them. Jonah grabs a rifle and runs outside, drawing a bead on his own dad. Jonah demands to know where the money is at. Woodson explains the situation and offers to split with Jonah. Jonah declines, stating that the money still belongs to the stage line.

They arrive in town just in time to see a funeral procession containing the casket that Woodson has hidden the gold in. Jonah is all for riding in, ripping open the coffin and getting the goods. Woodson berates Jonah for not respecting the dead, they can dig it up later. But Woodson is really planning on busting Jonah on the noggin again and making off with the money.

The two follow the funeral procession out of town up to an old mine. A local explains that old Deke Simms and his burro worked that mine for 40 years and wanted to be buried in the mine. The pallbearers tote the box in and then they dynamite the mine to seal old Deke in forever.

Woodson just stares open mouthed and then asks Jonah which way he's gonna be headin'. Jonah says he'll head North. Woodson says he'll probably ride South and they both part ways.

Statistics for this issue:

Men killed by Jonah: 8

Running Total - 203

Jonah's Injuries - Hit on the head twice, a crowbar to the gut and to the shoulder.

Timeline - This takes place several days after the prior issue, but there is a reference to Jonah having recently obtained his matching dragoons, so this is in continuity behind the Amazon story and with the prior issues mention of Jonah being sold to Apaches almost 25 years earlier puts this in 1875.

All in all, a pretty good issue, even with the Ocean's 11 (the original) ending (which I like a lot). Jonah's dad really is an evil man and didn't sway from that one bit. I also enjoyed how the water torture was depicted, it seemed like that water wheel was moving niiiice & slooooow. I have to give kudos to Fleisher for having the guts to have Jonah & his dad reunite and have his dad stay the mean-hearted sonuvabitch that he appears to be. Rumor is that Woodson will be popping up in the new series as well. I also enjoyed the cover with the gun barrels pointing away from the reader & the outlaws reflected in the glass, a nice effect that would be very hard to accomplish in a film.

Next Issue: Hex has some dynamite, a bow & arrow, and a busted leg. Yup, he's STILL dangerous!

Jonah Hex #20 "Phantom Stage to Willow Bend!"

Jonah Hex #20 Jan 1979
"Phantom Stage to Willow Bend!"
Michael Fleisher - story, Vincente Alcazar, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

Our tale begins with Jonah Hex upon his horse on a hill overlooking the Willow Bend stagecoach being robbed. Jonah really doesn't have an interest in the robbery, but he figured that somehow, some of the robbers just may have a bounty on their heads. He dismounts, pulls his rifle and take careful aim.

Down below the robbers are badmouthing the old driver when suddenly one of them is shot off of his horse. Just then another one falls, and then a third. The robbers are spooked and return some fire but a fourth falls and as they ride away, a fifth robber is shot from his saddle. Jonah rides down to collect his bounties and the old driver is thanking him for the help.

Jonah dismissed the gratitude, saying he was in it for the money. The driver said that he knew that Jonah wasn't doing it out of the kindness of his heart, Hexes don't do anything unless there is a profit to be made. Jonah's jaw drops open as he suddenly recognizes his father is the driver! They load up the bodies and head on for town.

During the ride back, Woodson keeps jabbering nonstop, saying that he has heard tales of Jonah. He knew that Jonah would become the fastest Hex, but he would always be the craftiest Hex. Woodson steals Jonah's cigar and then asks what happened to Jonah's face. Jonah decides to ignore the old man, pulls his hat over his eyes.

We then have a flashback (almost 25 years) to July, 1851 (putting this story in 1875 or early 1876) when Woodson decides to head to California to the gold rush. Woodson and Jonah with a bunch of Apaches. Woodson sells the Apaches a whole shipment of moonshine in exchange for a pile of pelts. The Apaches then bring out another load of pelts and tell Woodson that these are for Jonah, as they had agreed earlier. Woodson takes the pelts in order to get a grubstake up for the gold rush and leaves Jonah with the Apaches.

Back in the present, the stage arrives at Willow Bend and Woodson introduces Jonah to Mr. Barton, owner of the stage. Barton tells Jonah that there is a bounty on each of the outlaws and then offers Jonah a job guarding tomorrow's shipment to Willow Bend. Barton explains that his stage has been hit repeatedly and tomorrow they will be sending a quarter of a million dollars in Double Eagles.

Let's see, a Double Eagle is a $20 gold piece that contains about .9675 ounces of gold. 12,500 coins are required to equal $250,000. 12,500 X .9675 oz = 12093.75 oz / 16 oz = 755.86 pounds. And in case you are wondering, the face value of the shipment today would be 4.3 million. But the face value of the gold would be just over 8 million. But these are Double Eagles and if they were minted in Carson City, then they would be worth about $1700 each (the San Francisco coins are worth far less) so the total worth of the stash would be $21.25 million. Nice pickings, IF ya can move all 755 pounds of it. But I digress.

Jonah takes the job but requests some carpentry tools, extra long reins and extra clothes and he tells his dad that they are pulling out at 4 AM.

The next morning the stage approaches a narrow gulch and high up in the rocks overlooking it are five armed men. They carefully take aim and are able to shoot the stage driver dead center but to their surprise the stage keeps going. Inside the stage are Jonah & Woodson. Woodson is congratulating Jonah on his good idea of putting dummys up on top of the stage and then controlling the reins from inside the stage itself. Woodson says that he always knew that Jonah was the fastest Hex but HE is the craftiest and then he knocks Jonah out with a whiskey bottle.

Woodson stops the stage and the robbers come down form the hills. While the strongest cowboy in the whole world unloads the stage, one of the men asks Woodson what they should do with Jonah. Woodson replies, "Yuh mean muh boy? Muh flesh an blood favorite son? We ain't got no choice but tuh kill im. After all, he's a Hex, ain't he? If'n we don't kill im, he'll just dog us down and kill us all." He has the men douse the stage in kerosene and light it on fire.

This panics the horses and they bolt. Inside the flaming stage, Jonah comes to and realizes that:

A) The stage is on fire.

B) The door is locked.
He totally misses

C) There is no glass in the door window and

D) if stage doors locked, they would lock from the inside.

So he decides the only way out is to kick a hole in the roof and crawl out the top. Jonah sees that the stage is heading for a cliff, he jumps down on top of the horses, trying to stop them and at the last minute jumps from the horses as the whole shooting match rockets over the edge of the cliff. Jonah manages to snag onto a tree limb and save his neck.

Much later we find Jonah buying a horse from a farmer and he takes off after the robbers & his pappy. That night the robbers are camped and have a fire going when Jonah steps out of the shadows with both pistols drawn. One of them draws and Jonah sends three of them packing toot sweet. Jonah confronts his dad, demanding to know where the other two robbers are.

One of them calls Jonah's name and Jonah spins, shooting him dead and getting nicked in the right shoulder. The last robber steps between Jonah & Woodson and as he is about to gun down Jonah, Woodson throws scalding coffee into his face and then shoots him dead.

Jonah thanks his dad for the save and Woodson replies that he has been thinking about what he had done and was feeling some remorse. Woodson suddenly grabs his chest and topples over. Jonah picks him up, loads him on a horse and takes him to a doctor.

At the doc's, the sawbones opens the door and says, "Forget it mister! No medicine known to man is ever going to cure that face of yours." Jonah throws open the door and hauls his dad inside. The doc tells Jonah that the doc needs to examine Woodson alone. Several minutes later the doctor comes out and tells Jonah that Woodson has had a heart attack.

Jonah goes into the room and sees Woodson lying on a table, barely gasping for breath. Woodson asks Jonah for one last favor, could he please have a fancy funeral. Jonah agrees and asks where the money is buried. Woodson says that he and the gang hid it in ....... and then he dies.

Jonah leaves the doctors and the next day after the funeral the doc asks if Jonah loved his dad. Jonah replies that he hated the old man but he guesses that a man only has one pa and then Jonah rides off.

The doctor returns to his office to find Woodson getting dressed. Woodson pays the doc, asking if the funeral for the box of rocks was a good one. The doc says that Woodson's instructions were followed completely and then says that it all seems kind of cruel. Woodson replies that Jonah & he play jokes on one another all the time.

Later in a mountian cave we see Woodson digging up something and then riding off, laughing to himself the whole time.

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah: 9
Running Total - 195
Jonah's Injuries: Knocked out with a whiskey bottle and a bullet wound to the right shoulder.
Timeline: The opening reference in the flashback would place this in 1875 or 1876. I'm more inclined to say 1875 because Michael Fleisher was a very lazy historian and everything happened in 1875. This story covered 3 days.

The body count was pretty high in this one and I liked the relationship between Jonah & his dad. It seemed pretty traumatic to have Jonah meet his dad and then have him dead 3 days later. The title, while dramatic, is very misleading. I guess you could consider the stage to be a phantom since it appeared that no one was driving it.

Next Issue: This one is full of whore slappin, double crossin, crowbar swingin, child beatin, Hex drownin, and everything ends with a bang. Oh, and Jonah has a really close shave.

Jonah Hex #19 "The Duke of Zarkania!"

Jonah Hex #19 Dec 1978

"The Duke of Zarkania!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Luis Domiguez, cover

This story starts off with the SallyP seal of approval, meaning Jonah is buck naked in a pond taking a bath. But wait, we suddenly realize that Jonah is back in the States with no explanation of how long he has been there or what happened to him between here & Brazil. I feel a tumor in my brain and I think it is shaped like Michael Fleisher.

But I digress (as I am wont to do, as I am doing even now) and now back to the action. Jonah gets out of the pond, puts on his pants and hears something in the brush. He thinks it sounds like a grizzly bear and sure enough it is!!!! This happens to Jonah a lot. He thinks a gator might tip his canoe & it does, he thinks a bear is in the brush and it is. If I were Jonah I would start thinking "Thet sound in the brush, it sounds lahk a hot Swedish babe with two saddlebags fulla gold." or something like that.

But I digress. The bear, having scared off Jonah's horse, takes a huge swipe at Jonah and suddenly three bullets slam into the bear, effectively killing it and causing it to topple onto Jonah. Jonah climbs out from under the bear and is greeted by his rescuer, Jaques LeFevre, a foreign painter traveling across the American West. Jonah asks if he has a spare horse but LeFevre says that he himself is on foot due to poverty. However, there is a town five miles down the road. LeFevre is going to stay until dark, painting as much as he can with the available light.

Jonah decides to hoof it down the road and since he passes a Suarro cactus, we know he is in Arizona. After a bit a fancy stagecoach comes thundering down the road. Jonah steps out into the road to flag it down. As the stagecoach starts to slow, the occupant shouts out to the driver asking why they are slowing. The driver explains that he is about to pick up a hitchhiker but the man tells him to continue on & run down the hitchhiker if need be. Of course Jonah doesn't take to being almost run over.

He dives out of the way, turns and jumps on the back of the stage, climbs over the top, punches the daylights out of the driver and then pulls the stage to a dramatic halt. Inside the stage are two men, the Duke of Zarkania and his bodyguard, Mr. Manson. Jonah, wearing the driver's top hat, pokes his head through the window, announcing that they have stopped to take on a passenger. The Duke is not pleased and as Manson pulls his gun and exits the stage, Jonah belts him a good one, deadlifts Manson over his head and tosses him over a cliff! I'm betting Manson is dead.

Jonah climbs back into the stage and introduces himself. The Duke explains that he isIvan Veston, the Duke of Zarkania, and he had hired Manson to be a bodyguard. Veston's cousin, Lucien, has tried several times to assassinate Veston in order to turn Zarkania into a dictatorship. Veston offers the bodyguard job to Jonah for the next several weeks. Jonah says that his usual fee would $5,000, but since this is a special case, he'll make it $10,000.

The driver recovers and the stage continues on its way. Shortly the driver realizes that he would have been better staying knocked out because he ends up getting shot by some men hiding behind some rocks. Jonah hands the Duke a pistol and tells him to squeeze off a shot every 15 seconds. Jonah then sneaks out of the stage and attempts to circumnavigate the three men.

Up in the rocks, the men start lighting buckets of kerosene to throw unto the stage when Jonah pops up and guns down all three of them. Later, in town, the stage arrives and the stage driver is taken to the local doctor. The Duke dismisses Jonah for the evening and Hex heads off to the saloon to get a steak.

While at the saloon, Jonah is approached by LeFevre who asks if Jonah would prevail upon the Duke so that LeFevre could paint a portrait of the Duke. Jonah tells LeFevre to ask the Duke himself but he would put in a good word.

Later that night, the Duke is playing roulette and has already lost $20,000. Jonah points this out but the Duke tells him to mind his own business. He asks Jonah to go to up to the room to fetch some more money. While he is gone a drunk stumbles up to the table and starts harassing the Duke for a handout. The Duke gives him the brushoff but the drunk ends up spitting on the Duke and the Duke then challenges the drunk to a duel. It turns out as you would expect.

The next morning Jonah and the Duke are boarding the train when LeFevre approaches the Duke, requesting that he be allowed to paint the Duke's portrait. The Duke agrees and makes an appointment for that evening at his hotel. Once on the train, the Duke has taken up the sport of shooting buffalo from the train. After fifteen kills, the Duke notices that Jonah is silent. The Duke asks what is wrong and Jonah replies that this seems more like hog butchering than hunting.

This pretty much hacks off the Duke who orders Jonah off the train and out to the buffalo. The Duke is about to have Jonah butcher the buffalo for him, but there is a sudden stampede of the buffalo herd. The Duke wants to make a run for the train but Jonah grabs the rifle and stands his ground. He shoots the four buffalo in front and they fall, making a wall in front of Jonah & the Duke, forcing the herd to pass by on both sides.

Jonah escorts the Duke back to the train and then goes out on his own, investigating why the herd suddenly charged. Jonah finds horse tracks among the buffalo tracks as well as whip marks in the dust. Jonah spends the rest of the day following the horse tracks and ends up at an abandoned barn. As Jonah starts to peek into the window he is knocked out with a rifle butt.

When he wakes up he is hanging by his wrists from the rafters in the barn. LeFevre is there with two other men. LeFevre explains that he is Lucien Veston, the rightful ruler of Zarkania. The Duke had been the ruler for years but there was a revolution and he was overthrown. Before the Duke could be tried, he stole the royal gems and fled the country.Veston explains that they will take the Duke captive and return the gems to Zarkania. Veston leaves the two men to guard Jonah as he goes to paint the Duke's portrait.

Naturally, the guards don't pay very good attention and Jonah is able to pull himself up the ropes, gain some slack, pull his knife, and cut himself free. Jonah jumps from the rafters, kicking one guard and punching the other. He grabs a horse and heads for town.

In the Duke's room, Veston has set up an easel and has the Duke sit in a large chair. Once the Duke is in the chair, Veston handcuffs the Duke's arm to the chair. Veston removes his beard and demands the jewels. The Duke says that he will never tell. Veston pulls a bundle of dynamite from his bag and threatens to light it but the Duke reveals that he knew the plan all along, he couldn't be fooled by his cousin in a beard. The Duke shouts for his driver who enters the room and shoots Veston.

Veston falls, pulls his pistol and shhots the driver dead. Just before Veston dies he whispers "die tyrant" and manages to light the dynamite. At that moment Jonah arrives at the room and kicks the door open. Now take a look at the room setup. Jonah is about 6 feet from the dynamite. The Duke is about 6 feet away as well.

The Duke starts screaming for Jonah to put out the fuse but Jonah wants to clear up a few things first. He wants to know if the Duke had been lying all along and that there are jewels involved. The Duke screams that what Jonah says is true and that Jonah is not one to preach morality. The Duke offers all of the jewels to Jonah but he has to put out the fuse. Jonah explains that the fuse is too short and he couldn't reach it in time but the Duke points out that Jonah could shoot the fuse. Jonah pulls his pistol and shoots and then the Duke realizes that Jonah has missed. Jonah thinks that odd, either his sights...

KABOOOM!!!!!!!

..need adjusting or he is losing his touch. And Jonah calmly walks out of the hotel and people rush up the stairs.

Statistics for this issue:
Men killed by Jonah: 4
Running Total - 186
Jonah's Injuries: Knocked out
Timeline: This could be any random Jonah Hex story, no clues about any continuity whatsoever.

This has to be in the bottom of Jonah Hex stories. The lack of continuity with the previous Amazon River tales was a big let-down. The real killer was the ending. The Duke can't drag a large chair in order to reach the dynamite? And from the time Jonah says that the fuse is too short until it blows up is about 17 seconds (I timed myself reading the dialogue and acting it out). If dynamite was involved I can run around my entire house twice and on top of that, Jonah is standing 6 feet away and nothing happens when it blows up. This is lousy sloppy storytelling and I blame editor Larry Hama as much as I blame Fleisher for this crap sandwich.

Next Issue: A burning stagecoach, an unexpected reunion, and Hex dies! No, he really dies!

Jonah Hex #17 "Voyage to Oblivion"

Jonah Hex #17 Oct 1978

"Voyage to Oblivion"
Michael Fleisher, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, cover

The DC EXPLOSION continues!! Charleston, South Carolina, on the edge of the ocean. Jonah is standing near the beach next to a hot air balloon speaking with the owner of the balloon. The man has contacted Jonah in order to have Jonah pilot the balloon across the Atlantic to Europe for a reward of $5,000. $5,000 sounds like a lot of money, but since Jonah normally rakes in $10,000 or more whenever he guns down a few guys, this is chicken feed. Jonah turns down the offer and turns away to mount his horse.

The scientist starts pleading with Jonah, but in the end smashes a large wrench across the back of Jonah's head, knocking him out. The scientist, noting that the prevailing winds won't be to his advantage for another 6 months, loads Jonah into the basket. He also notes that someone has to stay behind to make improvements in case the flight fails. He casts away the lines holding the balloon and as it starts to lift off, Jonah awakens. Jonah stands up and looks over the edge of the basket. Realizing what is happeneing, Jonah reaches down and grabs the man by the coat lapels.

The balloon continues to rise and the scientist is begging to be released. Jonah says that his plans are to haul the man aboard so that HE can pilot the balloon. Jonah starts pulling the man in as the balloon is already up to a dizzying height. Suddenly the man's coat lapels rip off and the scientist plummets to his death. Looking at the cloth still clenched in his fist, Jonah says that when he gets back to Charleston that he should write a letter to that man's tailor.

Sadly, the scientist's calculations were of the same quality as the cloth in his suit. For three days & nights, the balloon take a southernly track through the Carribbean and on down so that it is just east of Brazil. By this time Jonah has figured out how to lower the balloon by pulling a release cord, but this has done him no good since he has been over the ocean the entire time. He has found a telescope in the basket and he sees a large ship out on the ocean.

Of course, the ship has a telescope as well and they have spotted Jonah's balloon. Knowing that similar balloons were used for reconnaissance during the Civil War, assume that they are being spied on. As the ship draws closer to moving under Jonah's balloon, two crewmen are called up to the deck and ordered to shoot the balloon. Needless to say, this isn't in Jonah's plans and he ends up taking a quick dunk in the drink.

Once on board, the captain demands to know why Jonah was spying and what he knows about the cargo. Jonah sticks to the truth, that he was tossed into the balloon & that the entire trip is an accident. The captian doesn't believe Jonah and orders him strapped to the mast and flogged. Jonah responds in typical Hex fashion, he beats the living tar out of the crew, handing out a few testicle realignments with his boot. But he is finally overwhelmed, knocked out, strapped to the mast and flogged forty times. He does pass out from the pain.

Before the crew can unstrap Jonah, the navigator comes running up to the captain, talking about a course correction that he has made. The captain is livid, stating that this new course will take them right past the Isle of Palms. The captain handily (hee hee, handily, Isle of Palms, hee hee) slaps down the navigator, explaining that the Isle of Palms is a haven for cannibals. The captain orders that Jonah be shackeled and thrown down with the cargo.

When Jonah finally come to, he finds that he is on a ship full of African slaves headed for South America! Jonah is chained up along with the slaves but quickly is addressed by Mbwasi, the king of the Mwasbwe tribe that has been enslaved. The king knows a little English, enough for buying & selling with English traders (so he says). Mbwasi also introduces Cricket, the black cabin boy who has also been cast down into the ship's hold for displeasing the captain. Jonah wastes no time in escaping by pulling his knife from his boot and manages to pick the locks on everyone's handcuffs.

Mbwasi has his warriors gather together the spears that they have been able to create by pounding iron barrel stays into points. The spear shafts are made from wood that they have pulled from the hull of the ship. To insure victory, Mbwasi has rubbed a magic amulet against all of the spears. Jonah notices that the amulet is made of flint and quickly hatches a plan.

Later that night, during a huge storm, Jonah uses the flint to start a fire using a bunch of straw in the cargo area. When one of the sailors goes down into the hold to put out the fire, Jonah throttles him with a length of chain. The next sailor down the stairs ends up with a spear his chest. Cricket says that he knows where some guns are kept and he will fetch them. Jonah asks Mbwasi if Cricket is trustworthy but the king is not sure.

Cricket heads straight to the captain's cabin to warn him about the slaves breaking free but



...the king makes sure that Cricket will never betray them again. The captain quickly responds and shoots the king dead. Jonah takes the rest of the warriors and rushes the crew.

Through the night the fight rages on with Jonah and the warriors taking control of the wheelhouse. the captain shouts through the storm that Jonah jas them outnumbered, but unless they release control of the wheelhouse, everyone will die in the storm. Jonah puts on a slicker and climbs along the side of the ship until he is behind the captain and his men. Jonah manages to kidnap the navigator and bring him back to the wheelhouse. Jonah then heads out to get some lifeboats ready, just in case.

He encounters the captain whose pistol is drawn to kill Jonah. Hex swiftly swings the lifeboat, knocking the captain overboard into the raging seas. Jonah heads back to the wheelhouse to learn that the warriors have killed the navigator and now they are heads for a reef.

Jonah does his best to steer away from the rocks, but the boat breaks apart, throwing everyone into the water. Jonah and some of the slaves manage to crawl on some wreakage and last through the rest of the storm. The next day they are rescued by natives in canoes but the natives are all sporting blue faces, indicating that they are the cannibals that the captain was worried about. Jonah and the slaves are all pulled aboard and taken to the closest island.

Once on land, Jonah is held captive, but the slaves intervene, attempting to communicate with the cannibals. Through some rough sign language, the slaves tell that Jonah was the one that saved them. The cannibals load a canoe up with supplies and indicate that Jonah is free to go. Jonah tries to tell the slaves that the cannibals are going to kill them and eat them but he fails. Finally, realizing that his skin is still in danger, he takes the canoe and paddles away.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - Hmmm, I'll have to go with two. Unintentionally dropping the scientist counts and then throttling the sailor with the chain.

Running Total - 169
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out and whipped forty times. That is sure to leave a mark (& the scars show up in Jonah Hex Vol 2 #2)
Timeline: There is no guarantee that this takes place after the whizbang of a trial last issue. Until I see evidence to the contrary I reserve judgement of placing this in the timeline.

Again, 25 pages to fill up but Fleisher does a pretty good job. I loved the idea of Jonah being adrift and then ending up at sea. Also, Jonah is thrown into a situation rubbing his face in slavery that he at one time fought to keep (but he did leave the Confederacy to his credit on this issue). I didn't care for Mbwasi picking up 'some' English and then shouting "Die, lackey dog of the white man." I don't know, but I think 'lackey' just doesn't come up in friendly trade agreements. I'm not sure that it even comes up in unfriendly trade agreements. Playing Settlers of Catan I usually use the word Bastard or Unrepentant Heretic during an unfriendly trade.

The 'escape' from the cannibals seemed a little rushed, ironic since we had 25 pages to work with. At the end of this issue I was actually wincing, because I just knew in my heart of hearts that next issue Jonah would be in Wyoming, without a word being said about this side-trip.

Boy, was I wrong..

Next Issue: Pig-eating snakes, a hidden Brazilian treasure, quicksand, pits with sticks, and a rubber tree plant....ation.

Also next week: I'll take a look at Jonah's first appearance in Justice League of America. Bring your air-sickness bags and shield your children's eyes. It won't be pretty.

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!!!