Weird Western Tales #17 "The Hangin' Woman"

Playing a little 'catch-up' and making up for being gone a week. Here is Weird Western Tales #17.

Weird Western Tales #17 April-May 1973
"The Hangin' Woman"
John Albano, Story - Tony DeZuniga, art

To say this one starts with a bang is to take the easy way out. A band of outlaws rob a bank and as they leave, they toss in some lit dynamite which explodes, killing at least 4 people inside. Then the caption text explains "Three savage desperados performing an unconscionable atrocity...and riding off without fear of being pursued and apprehended... for within some territories of the west lived men who preferred to live in fear and cowardice, thus allowing hordes of tyrannical thieves and murderers to plunder and kill whomever and whenever they chose."

Man, that is what I call fancy writing. I was beginning to think that I was gonna have to find a dictionary or something. But back to the story.

The local sheriff comes out to stop them, but all he gets is a lit stick of dynamite tossed his way. Now the call goes out that the bank has been robbed & the sheriff has been blown to hell & back. Jonah Hex is eating and the barkeep asks if Jonah is gonna do something about the robbery. Jonah warns him to shut up & keep the coffee coming.


When Jonah leaves the saloon, folks recognize him and ponder why he isn't taking any action. Some quietly voice that he is a coward.

As Jonah mounts up to leave town, a young boy, Ned, approaches him and explains that he is going to be a gunfighter just like Hex. By now the townspeople have surrounded Hex and are asking why he won't help them. Jonah starts to threaten the cowardly bunch when an old woman in a wheelchair makes her way through the crowd. She apologizes for the townspeople, and asks Jonah for help since she owns most of the town and the bank is hers as well. She is responsible for seeing that the money is returned and the thieves are hanged.

Jonah states that his rate is $100 each. She agrees and introduces herself as Judge Hatchet. She explains that she can probably give Jonah their route of escape & current hideout. He'll need to stop by her ranch. As she leaves, Ned explains that she's a hanging judge and that her sons are too busy burning & poisoning... An old man yells at Ned to be quiet and leave Jonah alone.

Jonah gets the info from Judge Hatchet and quickly locates Dynamite Delvin & his gang. Jonah subdues the lookout and then kills the man that comes out to relieve him of guard duty. Delvin & his men hear the shooting and see somebody hiding behind a tree. They toss out some dynamite and after the explosion they discover they have blown up their own guy.






Jonah then sneaks up behind Delvin and holds a pistol to his head. Delvin shout to his remaining two men to surrender or Hex will kill him. One of the guys decides to toss out some dynamite to kill Hex & Delvin both but as he opens the door to make the throw Jonah shoots him dead. As the body falls back into the cabin, the remaining thug is horrified to watch the dynamite bounce back into the cabin and have it's fuse touch a fuse running into a crate of dynamite. The whole shooting match blows up with Jonah & Delvin barely surviving.



Jonah brings Delvin back to Judge Hatchet where she quickly has her sons lynch him without a trial. Jonah returns the metal strongbox containing the bank money. Hatchet offers Jonah a job, but Jonah states that he'll only be in town two more days & then he's moving on.

Two days later, as Jonah is leaving, he hears some gunfire and finds a house on fire and hears a little girl crying. Jonah rushes into the burning farmhouse and rescues the little girl. The girl keeps asking about he dad, but Jonah keeps telling her that her daddy had to go away on a long trip. As Jonah rides off to take the little girl into town to her grandparents, we see her father's corpse hanging in a tree.

Back in town, Jonah drops off the girl with her grandparents. The grandpa said that he expected this to happen when his son wouldn't sell out to Judge Hatchet. She has made a business of running folks off their property and then selling everything at a high profit to folks back East. Grandpa then realizes that Ned, his grandson, will probably see the fire, find his dad, and then try to get vengeance on Judge Hatchet. Jonah heads off to find the boy.

Jonah goes back to the farmhouse and sees the body still in the tree, but a rifle that had been next to the tree is gone. Jonah heads to Judge Hatchet's to find one of her sons dead, one readying a noose, and the third standing over Ned with a whip. Judge Hatchet comments that Jonah is just in time to see another hanging. Jonah asks how often her sons have been killing boys and women but the Judge warns her sons against drawing on Hex.

Jonah chuckles, and turns to leave when the Hatchet boys draw. Jonah turns and fires, killing both and when Jonah tries to take Ned, Judge Hatchet pulls a pistol from under the blankets on her legs. Jonah swiftly kicks the wheelchair, knocking the pistol from her hands and sending her rolling backwards to a cliff. Jonah chases after her and grabs the chair just as it dumps the judge over the edge. The final page is one of the best I have ever seen and is straight out of the EC Irony Vault.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 4 members of the Delvin gang, Judge Hatchet & her two boys for a total of 7. Add in the hanging and explosions and the issue had at least 14 fatalities.
Running Total: 35

Jonah's Injuries - He was unscathed in this issue.
Timeline - Jonah is wearing the black hat with the striped band, placing this around 1867.

This story has several things to recommend it. DeZungia's art is great, again crossing panels. The story has two sets of villains and Jonah is wonderfully indifferent to the plight of the townspeople. He probably would have not bothered the Hatchets, but they picked on a kid and then they made it personal. I currently only own this in a digest reprint and will have to locate it in a full size copy.

Next Issue: An Indian kidnapping and .....a Werewolf?!?!?!

Jonah Hex #33 "The Crusader!"

Jonah Hex #33 Feb 1980
"The Crusader!"

Michael Fleisher, story - ER Cruz, art - Luis Dominguez, cover

This story starts off with a bang, literally, as Jonah Hex is pursuing the Larson Brothers when he trips a dynamite trap and gets blown to Hell and back. The Larson brothers, riding away hear the explosion and celebrate the death of Jonah Hex.

Meanwhile in Shoshone Mills, Mrs. Flannery, a widow, walks up to the local bank. She meets Jeffrey Wilcox, son of the bank president. Jeffrey, on a break from law school, is sweeping the porch and Mrs. Flannery says that she is there to see about getting an extension on her mortgaged farm. Once inside the bank, Mrs. Flannery is running into trouble as Wilcox is sticking to bank regulations about granting extensions. The bank has already granted one extension and that is the limit. Wilcox points out that she is already late with this month's payment so he will be sending the sheriff out to foreclose. He gives Mrs. Flannery until 5 to vacate the property.

Mrs. Flannery leaves, a completely defeated woman. She goes back to her farm, her home for 35 years. Seeing no way out and feeling that she has nowhere in the world to go, she decides to leave this world as well.

Hours later, Jeffrey runs into his dad's office and announces Mrs. Flannery's fate. Wilcox tells the boy to calm down, the bank has rules and rules have to be followed. Jeffrey is disgusted with his father and storms out of the bank. Later, Jeffrey is speaking with Mr. Ashley (whom we have never seen before) about what happened.

Ashley states that he is part of an organization that is devoted to helping people live in equality and justice. Ashley says that he has friends that would agree that what happened to Mrs. Flannery was wrong. He then opens the door and introduces Jake, Morgan, & Al.....LARSON!!!! Jake explains that they want to strike a blow for freedom and dignity and Jeffrey is just the guy to help.

Their plan is to take all of the ill-gotten money from the robber-baron's bank in order to return the money to the folks that it was stolen from. Jeffrey is appalled that they want to rob his father's bank, but they remind him of Widow Flannery. Jeffrey turns to Ashley for counsel and Ashley confirms that this is the best way to help the poor.

Later that night, Jeffrey knocks on the door of the bank, which is now closed. Mr. Simms, obviously some sort of teller, looks out the window and sees Jeffrey. He opens the door and the Larsons shove their way in and demand the money. When Simms refuses, they gun him down and force another teller to load up the sacks with cash. The Larsons and Jeffrey mount up and head out of town.

Later, a posse is being organized and Wilcox grabs his rifle and joins in. The sheriff protests, knowing that Jeffrey was involved. Wilcox states that even if his own flesh & blood were involved in the robbery, it is his duty to see that justice is done. He mounts up and rides with the posse.

Up in the mountains, the Larsons +1 have gotten to the hideout and they are talking about splitting up the money. Jeffrey protests, saying that the cash was supposed to be for charity. The reply? "The Larson family benefit fund!" The Larsons explain that they have a dynamite trap set for the posse and then subdue Jeffrey and tie him up in the cabin and go inside themselves.

Shortly thereafter, Jonah Hex (remember him from back on page 1? We're on page 11 now.) is depicted climbing down a rope overhanging the cliff that the Larson hideout butts up against. Jonah is recounting what a hard day he has had. First; he barely sees the buried dynamite trap and leaps from his horse in time to avoid death; his horse is dead, which means he has had to walk, which makes him mad; third, he despises men that resort to explosives to to fight their battles because it is soooo messy (This is done as he takes a bundle of dynamite, lights it and drops it down the chimney.)

Inside, the Larson see the dynamite fall down the chimney and rush out in a panic but Jonah Hex is standing out front waiting for them. Jake decides they can take Hex. Morgan Larson decides to turn tale, but Jake shoots him for being a coward and then turns and draws on Hex.

Jonah unlimbers his pistols and guns down Jake, Al, and poor Morgan who had the unfortunate fortitude to still be standing after being gutshot by his brother. Jonah goes inside the cabin and finds the bound & gagged Jeffrey. Jeffrey is in a panic because the fuse on the dynamite is getting shorter by the second. Jonah unties Jeffrey and explains that there is nothing to be worried about. Jonah emptied the blasting powder out of those sticks in order to fool the crooks.

They get about a dozen yards from the cabin when it blows sky-high. Jonah says he must have forgot a stick or two. Jeffrey jumps onto a horse, he needs to warn the posse and his dad about the dynamite trap the Larson Brothers have set for them in Hitchcock pass.

The posse is approaching the pass when Jeffrey comes riding up wildly, shouting for them to stop. Wilcox pulls out his rifle. He is convinced that Jeffrey is trying to scare them away from the Laron's hiding place. He states that he is ashamed of his son and even though he may have raised an outlaw, he would rather kill his own son by himself that stand to watch him be hanged as a common criminal. He takes aim and shoots Jeffrey dead off his horse. Another rider approaches and Wilcox takes aim but the sheriff grabs the rifle from him.

The other rider is Jonah and he explains about the traps the Larsons had planted. He tells them that Jeffrey was only trying to warn them. Wilcox refuses to believe any of it and Jonah snatches the rifle from Wilcox, takes aim up into the pass and detonates the trap. Jonah returns the rifle to Wilcox and rides off, leaving the banker standing over the body of a son, murdered by his own father.

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Jonah - I would have to say 3. Even though Morgan Larson was gutshot by his own brother and would have died, Jonah put the icing on his cake.

Running Total - 258

Injuries by Jonah - Getting blown up with no side effects

Timeline - Nothing here to indicate much of anything. The whole story seems to take place in one day.

For a story that didn't have much Jonah Hex in it, it was still a good story. The man who played by the rules, no matter who they hurt, ends up suffering by his own hand. The gullible hot-headed son pays the ultimate price for his own foolishness.

Jonah railing about the trials of his day was enjoyable, especially about the dynamite as he drops it down the chimney. I'm still kinda torn about having the cabin explode after he explains about how safe it is, seemed cliched. I would put this about in the middle of the pile of all Hex stories, even though it was a big letdown from last issue.

Next Issue: Jonah runs into the nastiest politician ever, he helps out a nun, and Santa bites the big one!!

Weird Western Tales #43 "Feather for a Savage!"

Weird Western Tales #43 Dec 1977
"Feather for a Savage!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and George Evans, art - George Evans, cover

We start off with a three page recap that brings us to the point where Scalphunter and Sixteen Hands are bound hand and foot as the bank robbers decide what to do with them. Pete, the leader, gets the idea to use the dynamite they had been saving for a big job.

The robbers set the dynamite a short ways from the captives, put an incredibly long fuse on it, light it and ride off chortling. Alone, Sixteen Hands confesses of his plan to kill Ke-Woh-No-Tay. Ke-Woh tells him to shut his yapper and then rolls upside down to dislodge a knife in his boot. Holding the knife he tells Sixteen Hands to cut his own bonds. Sixteen Hands does this, grabs the knife from Ke-Woh, cuts loose his feet and then throws himself onto the dynamite to save Ke-Woh-No-Tay.

The dynamite goes off and then Ke-Woh-No-Tay has to wriggle across the snow, pick up the knife in his teeth and cut himself loose. After all of that, Sixteen Hands is still not dead. He still has time to wish Ke-Woh-No-Tay luck on his Death Stalk and gives him his own feather, making him a warrior.

Off in the distance, the bank robbers hear the explosion and celebrate. Pete tells everyone to break up and head back to their old jobs. They can lay low for awhile since nobody knows it was them that robbed the bank. However, Ke-Woh-No-Tay overhears everything since he is high above them in the trees.

Several days go by and Pete and Bart are working in the barn. Suddenly they smell smoke. Pete runs out and finds some rags on fire on the ground and a huge white man raised by Kiowas leaping from the barn roof. He puts up a gallant effort, but Ke-Woh-No-Tay holds him down and stabs him repeatedly. Bart tries to intervene, but the Kiowa brave reacts instinctively and scalps both men.

A few days later, Mike and Red are hanging out in the blacksmith shop wondering why they haven't heard from Pete. They decide to mount up and mosey on over and see what's up. On the way over, Mike's horse falls into a huge covered pit and Ke-Woh-No-Tay leaps from an overhanging tree. As Read panics and turns tail, we hear the agonizing screams of Mike.

Red pulls up in front of the sheriff's office and runs in pleading his brother, Brett, for help. Red tells MOST of the story and gets Brett to help him find the Indian. Brett and Red use a shortcut to lie in wait for Ke-Woh-No-Tay and Brett gets a shot off, knocking the Indian off his horse and into the tall grass and cattails. When they rush down to inspect the body, Ke-Woh-No-Tay is gone. The men decide to split up and in a short time Red is ambushed by a bent sapling.

On his knees begging for mercy, Red watches as Ke-Woh-No-Tay slowly walks forward, grabs Red by the hair on his head and then buries his tomahawk into the man's skull. As Ke-Woh-No-Tay is taking Red's scalp, Brett shows up and his horse kicks Ke-Woh-No-Tay as he rushes Brett.

Brett, slips a rope around the Indian's ankles,, drags him to a nearby tree and hangs him upside down as he takes careful aim with his rifle...

Statistics for This Issue

Men Killed by Scalphunter - 4
Running Total - 23
Compared to Jonah Hex - 23 vs 22
Scalps taken - 4
Running Total -10
Injuries - Shot in head, kicked by a horse
Timeline - Several days and then a few days in Winter, 1865 (can we say a week?)

A seventeen page story with three pages of recap doesn't leave much room, but this one is packed with action. True, the dynamite was terribly slow and Sixteen Hands appeared to be able to live through almost anything, but the out and out savagery depicted in the scalpings really helped the book live up to its name. One thing bothered me, it seems like two weeks has gone by, so I'm wondering if Scalphunter is a dead man when he gets back to the tribe. (I'm not really wondering, I've already read all of these books. Just trying to build suspense.)

I'm liking the ongoing storyline and it's interesting that Ke-Woh-No-Tay's task is done, but he isn't out of the woods yet.

Next Issue: The wagon train of death, a killer cougar and...APACHE RAID!

Jonah Hex # 71 "The Masquerade!"

Jonah Hex #71 April 1983
"The Masquerade!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & Tony DeZuniga, art - Ross Andru & Dick Giordano, cover

There's Jason standing high atop the boulder, he and his three thugs having gotten the drop on Jonah, Emmy, Tim and Daniels. Jason is sick and tired of his old man giving all of the inheritance away on silly charities. Jonah speaks up and says that he hates to break up the family reunion but he has to get going and that Jason should step aside or...

Jason, stupidly replies "Or what?"

Jonah answers back...

Jason dives behind a rock and opens fire, clipping his dad in the head. Daniels is down (but not dead) and Jonah and Emmy are pinned behind a rock. Jonah gets a bright idea and.. well, I"ll just show ya.

After that, Jonah saddles up to go stop the Manitou. Shortly he spots the Manitou and his Mani-thugs on the cliff planting the dynamite. Jonah dismounts and then catches a slug on the right thigh, cleverly placed there by a Mani-lookout. Jonah, being one to never receive a gift without returning the favor, sends two bullets into the Mani-lookout, causing him to double over (thus creating a Mani-fold) and fall out of his Mani-lookout tree.

Manitou hears the gunfire but continues his rant about leading the Indians against the white man and also continues planting the dynamite.

Jonah is trying to figure out how he's gonna sneak up on the crazy Indians with a bum leg but just then Daniels rides up. Yup, Daniels, his head professionally bandaged by Emmy, has grabbed a horse and found Hex. He tells Hex that he hasn't had any peace since the death of Cassie Wainwright and this is his one chance to atone for his sins. Daniels jumps up and runs off to remove the dynamite.

Meanwhile, Manitou and two of his Mani-thugs are heading for the detonator. They turn and see Daniels running for the dynamite and the thugs head back to stop him. During the fight Daniels is kicked in the head and then double-fist clubbed in the noggin. The Manitou panics and realizes that he has to detonate the charge now. He lunges for the plunger but Daniels is able to get himself, the dynamite and the two thugs over the edge of the cliff before it explodes, thus ruining the Manitous's mani-plans.

Meanwhile, Jonah has worked his way up the cliff and gets the drop on the crazed Indian would-be leader. Jonah and Emmy wave goodbye to Tim Daniels and take the saboteurs into town. The end.

WAAAAAIIIT!! We're only on page 10!!!!

The next morning, in town, Jonah is heading to see the doc while Emmy gets them a room at the hotel. Walking through town, Jonah thinks he sees Mei Ling and runs over to her, only to realize his mistake. He gets to thinking that he isn't really over Mei Ling and that he is leaning on Emmy for emotional support. Something that he has to stop doing.

After seeing the doc, Jonah heads back to the hotel to find their room empty. Jonah inquires at the front desk and learns that Emmy left with 'two Mexican gentlemen' and they left a note. In the note?

Now Jonah is heading to Mexico to find El Papgayo, last seen way back when Jonah was fighting off the Fort Charlotte Brigade. Jonah rides into town and contemplates on the telegram that he sent Col Sanchez, hoping he gets it in time. Jonah takes a seat in the Punta Del Rojo Cantina (I thought it was the PUTA Del Rojo which means Red Whore. My bad). He waits about an hour until three men approach him and threaten to kill him. Stupidly they didn't realize you don't threaten to kill Jonah Hex, you just kill him. But....

Just the El Papgayo walks in and tells Jonah that he tried to stop these men, but kids are so stupid these days. Down to business, Papgayo explains that in order to get Emmy back, Jonah will have to do a favor for Papgayo.

On the ride back to El Papgayo's lair, Papgayo explains that the Mexican government has started cracking down on renegade bandits. However, in one week, President Diaz is having a huge party in the palace in Mexico City and the Spanish Ambassador is bringing a necklace worn by Queen Isabella herself. Papgayo intends on stealing it but knows that the palace would be heavily guarded. He plans on having Hex steal the necklace BUT so that everyone won't think that Papgayo is a coward, Hex will be disguised as El Papgayo when he commits the crime.

A week later, Jonah is in Mexico City, outside the palace. He works his way over the wall and knocks out two guards. Then he slides down a rope off the roof of the palace, right into the party. He grabs the necklace from the neck of the President's wife and heads out the front door. Just as he is about to mount up and ride off.....

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - 7
Running Total - 385
Jonah's Injuries - Shot in right thigh
Timeline - This one covers about 8 days. The pacing is weird with one arc ending in the middle of the book and another starting right there. Fleisher did this for several issues, I think to boost readership or at least loyalty. Nov of 1877

Next Issue: The death of both Jonah Hex & El Papgayo. It's a two-fer!

Jonah Hex V2 #2 "Dia De Los Santos Reyes"

Jonah Hex V2 #2 Feb 2006
"Dia De Los Santos Reyes"
Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, story - Luke Ross, art - Leonardo Manco, cover

Children are playing with a pinata at a Spanish mission when several men come riding in on horseback and start slaughtering everyone in town. One of the riders kicks in the front door of the church and the priest there knows him. The priest starts reprimanding the man and is quickly shot. The thieves then come in and grab the large cross on the altar.

The priest stumbles down the hallway to a room where his niece Alma is tending to a wounded man on a cot. The priest tells Alma to tend to the wounded in the courtyard. She leaves and the priest talks to Jonah Hex. He begs that Hex will repay the kindness they have shown him by bringing back the sacred cross and then he falls dead.

Hex tells the dead priest to rest easy because tomorrow all the thieves will be dead.

Hex gets dressed, mounts up and heads out of town, but right alongside him is Alma. Jonah says that she isn't going, she says that she is. Alma then explains that the man who killed her uncle is Santiago, an orphan that her uncle took in and raised him along with Alma as brother and sister.  Jonah says that he can't afford to have anything slow him down. Alma pulls out a knife, asks Hex if he can see the knot in a sapling about fifty feet away. She hurls the knife while riding and Hex pauses, grunts and then tells her to try to keep up.

They continue riding and come upon the outskirts of Silverton, a mining town. There are two sets of gallows outside of town with a total of eight men hanging from them. They ride into town to witness a man getting gunned down in the street and then ripped apart by a mob that digs the silver bullets out of the corpse. Hex tells her to be quiet about the Santaigo and the cross. One man, Branson Ironside, steps forward and inquires what business Hex and the Alma have in town.

Hex tells Ironside that he has quite a town. Ironside says that after the war he was not happy to reside within the Union. Hex asks about the men hanging outside of town and says that he has been tracking them for six days, but it appears there are a few missing. Ironside states that he will rectify that slight by noon tomorrow. Ironside then invites Hex to stay in town and 'join their ranks'. Jonah politely declines and he and Alma head for the hotel.

Ironside then tasks one of his men, Chester, to tail Hex.

At the hotel, Alma asks if the town knows about the cross and Hex figures that they do. Later that night in the room, Hex postulates that since the town does not have a bank, the cross must be in the jail, locked up with Santiago. Jonah is going to snoop around and pilfer some dynamite from the supply store. He has Alma strip and prance in front of the hotel windows in order to distract anyone tailing him.

Jonah climbs out of the hotel and then breaks into the supply store. He stocks up on dynamite and matches, leaving payment for both on the desk. He makes his way to the jail, verifies his suspicions about the cross and Santiago, and then places several sticks of dynamite around about the town. Finished, he heads back to the hotel room.

He climbs in the window and is greeted by Alma, Ironside, and two gunmen. Ironside has Hex's guns removed and states that he will hang Hex in the morning as a warning to everyone that enters the town. Jonah replies that sooner or later the cowardly greedy bastards in town are going to turn on Ironside and learn that he is a coward. The gunmen knock Hex out.

Later, Hex is escorted into the middle of town. Everyone is gathered around and Ironside is getting a shoeshine in the middle of the street. He hands Hex a pistol with a single bullet in it. Ironside addresses the town, stating that he has gathered them in order to learn that Hex has come to town to steal the silver from their mine. Hex denies it, but Ironside asks who can trust the word of bounty hunter that lives off the plunder of corpses.

Hex draws and fires, shooting past Ironside and rupturing the kerosene streetlight. Ironside, sweating bullets, is amazed that Hex has missed but he takes his time to draw and aim, knowing that Hex is out of bullets. He asks "Who's the coward now?" to which Jonah replies, "See me runnin', Ironside?"

Just then the burning stream of kerosene ignites the dynamite hidden under the boardwalk behind Ironside and things start getting blown to hell. Ironside fires a few shots and miss, but Jonah slugs a gunman, grabs his pistol and nails Ironside right between the eyes. Hex then grabs a flaming board and tosses it across the street, igniting another stick of dynamite and that starts a chain-reaction of building after building exploding. The townsfolk are running in a panic and Hex and Alma head for the jail.

Hes opens the cell with the cross and grabs it, heading out. Santiago pleads to be released or he and the others will die in the jail. Alma says that the Lord will have his justice on Santiago on His own terms. As Alma and Jonah leave the jail, the entire town has mounted up and headed for the mine. Since Ironside is dead, they plan to gut the mine as quickly as possible. Hex loads up the cross onto a wagon and head out of town, along with the entire populace.

Everyone rushes into the mine but there is a sudden cave-in and everyone dies. Alma says "Those poor people." and Jonah, driving the wagon into the rising sun, replies, "Not so poor...they're buried in silver."

Statistics for This Issue

Men killed by Jonah - 1 (Ironside)
Running Total - 505 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 3 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Knocked in the head

An average issue, we pick up with Jonah in the middle of an adventure, not unlike the prior issue. I enjoyed the character of Ironsides, how he knew Hex and thought that he could just offer him a job in order to control him. The ending of the story seemed rushed with the mine collapse, there was nothing to indicate that it could happen and it was just a quick wrap-up to get rid of the towns people and give them what they deserved. I did like the view of Jonah's scarred back, making me wonder if this was a nice reference to the Ship of Doom.

There was also a couple of gripes about the artwork, one page was waaaay to static, almost reminding me of Renato Arlem and his photostats. And there were a few misplaced word balloons on the next to the last page. All in all, the series is like a toddler finding its footing, a mis-step here, a wobble there, but all in all, this book is up and walking.

Next Issue : Hex encounters an "Outlaw by tragic error."

Jonah Hex V2 #55 "The Brief Life of Billy Dynamite"

 Jonah Hex V2 #55 July '10

"The Brief Life of Billy Dynamite"

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti - story, Vicente Alcazar - art, Walt Simonson and Laura Martin - cover

Five years and three weeks ago

A small boy, Billy, is sitting in the Black Mare saloon with his dad, Miles, and another man, Emmett. Emmett is talking to Billy about being careful with nitroglycerin and how Billy did real well blowing up the cats in the alley out back. Four masked gunmen come in from the storm to rob the saloon and Miles tells Emmett to get Billy out the back way. One of the gunmen steps forward and murders Miles. He then turns and kills Billy's mom. The robbers realize there isn't much money in the till and commence with robbing the patrons.

Emmett tells them the mine is normally shut down during the winter and just then the saloon doors slam open and a severed head bounces into the room. The head belongs to Jerome, the robber they left outside to stand guard. They start arguing about who is going to go outside when a bullet comes rocketing in through the door and catches Montgomery, one of the robbers right between the eyes. The doors swing open and there stands Jonah Hex!

With an animalistic growl, Billy rushes forward and kicks Montgomery's dead cranium as hard as he can. This produces a chuckle from Hex. Jonah tells Billy that the man is dead but Billy tells Hex to get away from him. The three surviving robbers kneel and lock their fingers behind their heads as Hex tries to restrain Billy. Billy looks around, spies Jonah's pistol and quickly liberates it from the holster and gets off four quick shots, killing the three robbers and injuring a patron.

Hex grabs the pistol away from the boy and says "Feel better?" Standing amidst the carnage, Billy replies that he does. Hex looks around and asks if the folks on the floor are Billy's ma and pa. Billy says that they are. Hex states that since he was late to the party he will see to it that the parents get a proper burying. Hex then tells Emmett to get off his ass and pour him a drink. Billy tells Hex that the drink costs a dollar. Hex is taken aback but ponies up the dollar.

Three weeks ago

Several men come riding into town and come up to the saloon. There is a man sitting outside (the fella that got his hand shot five years earlier) and he warns them that the Black Mare doesn't tolerate mischief. One of the men kicks the chair and topples the man to the porch. The five men walk in laughing and belly up to the bar. The leader, Evander, tells the woman behind the bar pouring drinks that they would like her to get up on the bar and display what's under her dress. She tells them the proper whores are over by the piano. They start to grab the drinks she is pouring and she tells them the drinks aren't for them, she'll get theirs in a minute.

Two men walk up to claim their drinks and Evander turns and busts the first man's jaw and the other descend upon him. Evander asks the woman about the show he asked for and she replies that she wishes that he hadn't done that. Evander doesn't understand why she is so upset and a voice says that her name is Fiona. 

The men turn and there, standing in the middle of the saloon is Billy. He tells them he is Billy Dynamite and he wants them gone.... now! The gang starts laughing and Billy tells them he will ask politely for the last time. Evander walks over and tells Billy to get back to school and says he just might bend Billy over his knee and smack sense into him. Evander gets right into Billy's face and Billy takes the chance to light a small explosive and shove it into Evander's mouth and shoving him backwards. 

Evander falls to the floor as the explosive goes off with an explosion of blood, rendering Evander with a damaged mouth and tongue. Fiona grabs a shotgun from behind the bar and tells the men to drop their guns and leave. They all exit at gunpoint.

Two weeks ago

The Black Mare Saloon is fully engulfed in flames. Fiona stands out in the street, flanked by two of the gang. She begs for mercy for Billy but they say that he blew off their brother's face. Billy is tied up, with several sticks of dynamite bound around him. They pick Billy up and throw him into the burning building. The explosion is much more massive than they bargained for as the saloon explodes with massive amounts of wooden shrapnel careening outward. A wooden stake shoots out and kills one of the men. They pick themselves up and the men, now numbering seven quickly leave, but not before noticing that Fiona is gone.

One week ago

Jonah Hex is getting a shave at a barber when Fiona comes in and starts tearing him up one side and down the other. The barber leaves and then we hear Fiona screaming about money. It's obvious that Hex has asked for payment. Hex says that he doesn't do charity and she reminds him they were both there five years ago when Billy's parents were killed. Hex even paid for the funerals.

Jonah says he was late but that is how life his. Fiona says that she remembers Hex saying he was late five years ago and that got her to thinking that he knew those men were in town and knew what they were up to. She asks him WHY he was late. Hex replies that how should he know, as he lifts a bottle to his lips. Fiona slaps the bottle out of his hands saying it's ten in the morning and he is getting drunk. She claims that Hex was drunk that day and waited until he was sober before he took action and now a whole family is dead. She storms out.

Hex stands there looking at his busted bottle, denying that anything is his fault.

Now

Hex stands in a grove of trees, Evander and all of his brothers and gang are tied, upside down, to the trees, each with several sticks of dynamite placed below them. All the leads are running to a plunger. Hex tells them that the fault in the whole situation lies in the fact they are bunch of revenge-seeking child killers. Hex also states that they would have crossed paths even without Hex having known Billy. They are all wanted men and that is the business that Hex is in. The problem they are in is that the wanted posters read 'Dead', not 'Dead or Alive' so their innocence will be unproven, much like how Fiona passed judgement on Hex. Jonah picks up the plunger and retires to a safe distance behind some logs as the men are screaming and pleading, saying there won't be anything left for the bounty. The finally realize their fate is not based on any bounty that Hex can collect and the story ends as it began, with an explosion.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Nine
Running Total - 893 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 391 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - Slapped by Fiona.
Timeline - Five years and three weeks.
Rape Percentage -  20% (11 of 55)

Wow, so much to talk about with this one. Since the dynamite plunger was invented in 1878, we can place the end of the story probably 1879 at the earliest, with the start of the tale occurring then in 1876.

Next up is the cover by Walt Simonson, I have always enjoyed his work (especially his run on Metal Men) and this is his first work of Jonah. Pretty dynamic, this one.

Then we have interior art by Vincente Alcazar. Last time we saw him was back in 1979, 31 years ago. and he is currently 81. Good job all around. My only gripe is the depiction of Billy. It is dang hard to draw kids convincingly and the five year old Billy looks a lot like ten year old Billy. Oddly enough, the last time Jonah ran into a kid with dynamite was back in Jonah Hex #13 and THAT was a kid named Billy!!!

I also enjoyed the extended time frame of this story, with the origin of Billy, Hex's involvement (or lack thereof) in the creation of Billy, Fiona tracking Hex down and reading him the riot act. What I found especially intriguing was the manner that Jonah tied those seven men up to the trees. I suspect that he had three of them, at gunpoint, tie up the first four and then someone got the last three in that position. The "Ah, hell..." at the end was a very nice touch.

While scanning for this post I realized there was one panel that really stood out to me. The third panel here made great use of negative space, using white to portray the snowstorm outside.

 So I would put this one at the top of the list for well crafted stories.

Next Issue: We get two stories and a Jonah Hex movie interview!!!

Jonah Hex #13 "The Railroad Blaster"

Jonah Hex #13 June 1978
"The Railroad Blaster"
David Micheline, story - Vincente Alcazar, art - Rich Buckler & Dick Giordano, cover

Location: A Union Pacific passenger car near Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory in 1874. Can you count the mistakes in that sentence? Anyway, this is the first story not written by Michael Fleisher in 28 issues.

This story takes place after Jonah gets away from the Louisiana crazies so he is taking a train through the Oklahoma territory in the north central part of the state. We see a hand lighting some dynamite and then we are shown that the dynamite is next to the tracks. The splash page is a huge explosion with the train tossing everyone about. Earl & Virgil, two ruffians, decide to take advantage of the confusion and start robbing folks. They steal a woman's purse and knock a man out before they hear a voice ask if they really want to take the purse because it doesn't go with their outfit at all. Jonah Hex is standing behind them with his hand casually resting up in the overhead storage.

Virgil notes that Jonah's holsters are empty and draws on Jonah. Suddenly the overhead compartment erupts when Jonah squeezes the trigger on the shotgun he had hidden there. Earl gets three shots off but Jonah dives and unloads the second barrel into him. Jonah congratulates himself on his foresight of takes the shotgun from the swamp crazies he tangled with but he is interrupted by the man that was beaten up. The man berates Jonah for endangering them all by discharging firearms in close quarters. Jonah responds by punching him with the woman's purse.

A few hours later, several wagons from nearby Guthrie show up to investigate the explosion. In town Jonah is lamenting that he only has 50 cents to his name. Down the sidewalk comes a small boy running from a shopkeeper. The boy has stolen a small bag of grain and runs into Jonah. The shopkeeper catches the boy, but Jonah intervenes and gives the man a quarter for the grain. The man starts to protest but Jonah quietly says that the quarter will cover it. Jonah sends the boy on his way with an admonition to not let thievin become a habit.

A short while later in the saloon Jonah is about to get a drink when a man by the name of Reuben Gittes offers to share a bottle with him. Jonah takes up the offer and the man says that he has admired the fine way that Jonah handled the purse-snatchers on the train and then calls him by name. Gittes explains that he has a pistol under the table aimed at Jonah and that Gittes work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

Gittes explains that he isn't after the bounty on Jonah, he has been sent to Guthrie to investigate a series of explosions that have been plaguing the railroad. He has been offered $5,000 to bring in the saboteur. He knows Jonah reputation for tracking down men and offers Jonah $1,000 to help him. Jonah asks why Gittes doesn't just kill him now & collect the $10,000 on his head. Gittes explains that it would do his health no good to be known as the man who killed Jonah Hex. Jonah agrees to Gittes' terms and starts tracking the saboteur.

For hours he follws a trail that appears to be made by two people with a wagon that has a 'bum wheel'. Eventiually he comes upon a large ranch that has seen better days. As he rides up the owner, Roy Cooper, steps out and threatens Jonah with a rifle. Just then the young boy, Billy, Jonah helped earlier runs out of the house and explains that Jonah paid for the grain. Roy apologizes and explains that there have been robbers in the area and he has to be careful.

Roy continues working on repairing his buckboard wheel and eventually starts bad mouthing the railroads. He catches himself and then invites Jonah for dinner. During dinner, Jonah probes for Roy's opinion of the railroad and Roy starts talking about how the railroad has started taking cattle drives away and a man like him has a hard time making ends meet. After dinner Jonah excuses himself and leaves only to climb a nearby hill so that he can continue to watch the cabin after dark.

Soon, Roy & Billy get in the buckboard and Jonah follows them to a railroad trestle. The tracks come around a huge bend near some rocks and then go across a gorge. Roy's plan is to blow up the rocks and knock them onto the track. Billy asks why they just don't blow up the bridge. Roy explains that the engineer will see the rocks and have time to stop the train. If the trestle was gone folks would die in the crash.

Jonah steps out from the shadows, pistols drawn. Jonah says that he is going to have to take them in but then Gittes steps out behind Jonah. Gittes tosses some ankle-irons to Jonah and tells Jonah to put them on himself so Gittes can collect the $15,000 himself. Gittes laughingly explains that his plan is to kill Jonah for the $10,000 and then kill Roy for the $5,000 but he will explain that Roy killed Jonah first. Before Gittes can pull the trigger, Billy jumps up on a boulder with a stick of dynamite and a match. Billy tells Gittes to drop the pistol.

Gittes decides to drop Billy instead and shoots the boy. Billy falls backwards onto the trestle and the dynamite explodes. Roy lunges at Gittes but is gunned down and when Jonah attempts to tackle Gittes he falls, due to the ankle-irons and Gittes pistol whips him. Gittes is about to shoot Jonah in the head when he is knocked out with a rock by Roy, who dies right afterward.

Sometime later we find Gittes shackled to the railroad track. Jonah is sitting atop his horse next to him. Jonah explains that since the bridge is blown up somebody has to warn the train but since Jonah is going to be busy burying Roy and Billy, Jonah will leave Gittes there. Gittes starts screaming that it is still too dark for the train to see him. Jonah says that's not a problem. the train will stop to find out what the big bump was.

Jonah turns and rides off, leaving Gittes screaming in the dark.


Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3 Running Total - 159
Jonah's injuries - pistol whipped, but not knocked out
Timeline - 1874. But, let's go back to the first sentence.

1. The Union Pacific does run through Oklahoma, starting in 1964.
2. Guthrie, Oklahoma was founded on April 22, 1889 during one of the land runs.
3. The previous issue took place around 1876 & 1877 due to a timeline continuing from a reference to Mexican President Porfirio Diaz.

I think any ranting at this point would be pointless. But, understand that I am ranting on the inside.

Besides all of this, I did enjoy this issue with Gittes pulling a great double-cross and everyone threatening everyone else with dynamites, rock, rifles & pistols. Jonah is kinda helpless through the whole thing but gets the final say in a very gruesome EC kinda way.

Next Issue: More bad geography and Jonah almost gets religion.

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!

Weird Western Tales #45 "Night of the Gun"

Weird Western Tales #45 Mar/Apr 1978

"Night of the Gun"
Gerry Conway - story, Dick Ayers and George Evans - art, Jim Starlin - cover

We have a new writer and a new direction for Scalphunter. Gerry Conway takes over the typewriter starting in this issue and we are plunked down square in St. Louis, Missouri in March, 1862. The Civil War has been raging for almost a year and Scalphunter strides boldly down the center of the street, people run from him and Union soldiers eye him carefully.

Suddenly the night is broken by a man getting thrown out through the doors of Clancy's saloon. Two Union soldiers run out of the saloon, their intention is to finish what they started with Bat Lash. Scalphunter quickly draws a knife and expertly throws it into the chest of one soldier while Lash swiftly gathers his wits and pumps four slugs into the other soldier. A crowd gathers and Bat Lash makes his introduction and gives his thanks to Scalphunter. Savage states that he has taken no sides in this fight but other soldiers quickly appear and the two men race away down a nearby alley and into an open doorway.

Lash realizes they are in a back storeroom of the saloon and he starts sampling some of the higher class wares of the establishment as he queries Scalphunter as to why a white man is wearing Kiowa warpaint. Savage ponders for a moment or two and then tells his story, of being kidnapped as a small child, raised by Kiowas and then finally being captured and returned home. Lash asks what Savage is doing in St Louis and the reply is that General Sterling Price was rumored to be hiding near Savages home and the Union soldiers came in and burned the town, killing several people in the process.

Cathy Masefield, a local newspaper woman, had been digging into Savages birth records and found out that the Savage's had a daughter. After Brian was kidnapped, the Savages shipped their daughter, Samantha, off to St. Louis to be raised by her grandmother. The grandmother took out adoption papers and as Cathy is about to tell Savage some more about his sister, Union soldiers ride up and start shooting. Savage tried to carry Cathy to safety but she was struck by a bullet and he took her to Doc Grey.

Scalphunter rushed back to his village but the soldiers had already been there and all but wiped out his people.

Bat Lash sits quietly and recalls his own trek of vengeance after the death of his parents then tells Scalphunter that he will need some money to be able to locate his missing sister and offers a way to make that money, if Scalphunter doesn't mind bending the law. Savage states that he does not respect the law of the White-eyes so Lash takes his new partner to the office of one Cyrus Calhoun.

Lash explains to Calhoun that Scalphunter is a white man that runs guns for a living and he would be more than able to help them handle that new Gatling Gun. The idea is that however owns the gun will be able to get rich off of it and be able to control the tide of the war. Gatling is shipping his prototype to Washington for the War Dept. and they plan to steal it.

Lash and Scalphunter take off into the night, riding east and near dawn they come to a high train trestle. Lash explains that the train will be coming around noon and he plans to blow up the bridge. He hands Scalphunter several stick of dynamite and confesses his fear of heights. Scalphunter quickly and easily clambers up the trestle and plants the explosives when suddenly Lash hears someone behind him.

Four men come riding up the canyon and are shooting at Lash. Bat returns fire and Scalphunter turns the battle in his favor by leaping from the bridge and stabbing two of the horsemen.

Bat Lash takes advantage of the diversion and quickly shoots the two remaining horsemen. Just then ten more horsemen top a nearby ridge and the leader, Bear Barker states that Lash and Scalphunter have just killed his scouts. Bear also demands to know why Lash and Scalphunter were planting explosives. Barker figures that there is gold on that train but Bat explains that there is a treasure greater than gold and if they are allowed to live, he will split it with the thieves. Barker agrees and soon the whistle of the train is heard.

Lash gives Scalphunter a rifle and asks if he can hit the dynamite from the edge of the ridge where they have taken up hiding. Savage takes aim, hits the dynamite and the entire bridge erupts, sending the locomotive and all the cars down into the gorge. At that point Bear Barker and Bat Lash are celebrating but Scalphunter merely scowls and mutters "I have done evil......" Barker wants to know what Scalphunter is referring do for doesn't he also hate the soldiers? Scalphunter explains that there is no honor is killing a man you cannot see.

They all make their way to the bottom of the gorge to find a boxcar labeled "Property Federal Government" sitting upright. Scalphunter and Lash start prying open the boxcar door. As the door slides open, Bear starts getting anxious about putting his hands on the gold. The crated Gatling Gun survived the fall and the crate is bolted and chained to the floor. Lash and Scalphunter enter the boxcar and go around to the back of the crate and start opening it. Bear, thinking that he will be happy to soon kill Lash and Scalphunter, starts shouting that he wants the gold now.

Lash grabs the handle of the gun and opens fire through the front of the crate, killing Bear and his men. Scalphunter stands silently by, looking at the carnage and then stares at Lash. There is a moment where both men try to read each other and Scalphunter picks up a large chunk of the busted crate. Lash asks what Sclphunter's plans are and he replies that there is no honor is killing men in this manner, soldiers should not be allowed to wipe out each other like bugs and he is going to destroy the gun.

Scalphunter starts pounding away at the gun but Lash quickly knocks him out with the but of his pistol. When Scalphunter comes to he is alone in the boxcar, the Gatling gun and Bat Lash both gone. Gone, but now with a vengeful Indian warrior after them.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - One soldier in St. Louis, two bushwackers in the gorge and an entire train of Union soldiers (50? 100?) and the train crew (Let's say 4). Being conservative that puts this issues total at 57!
Running Total - 83
Compared to Jonah Hex- 83 vs 35 Scalphunter takes the lead in a big way.
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total- 12
Injuries - Knocked out with a pistol butt
Timeline - One night and the next day in March 1862

I have to admit I enjoyed Conway's run on Scalphunter a lot more than I did Fleisher's. Conway gave us a believable reason for Savage to move from the frontier and into 'civilization' even though it could be said that he lifted it from the TV series "The Quest" that ran two years prior. This was also a starting point in an acceptable ongoing continuity for Scalphunter, one that impressed me way back when I read it when the books hit the stands.

One thing that bothered me about this story was that Scalphunter plants the dynamite, knowing that Lash planned on blowing the bridge and killing the soldiers and he even accepted the responsibility of firing the shot to set off the explosives. Why, once it happened, did he suddenly have all of this remorse? Did he not know what he was doing? That was the one glaring moment that Scalphunter was acting totally out of character. Also, didn't he realize what the Gatling Gun would do? It's almost like he was in a daze through those parts of the story.

I did like that Cathy Masefield was removed from the series, I didn't think she really added much to the book.

Next Issue: Scalphunter gets even and Bat Lash gets lucky.

Jonah Hex #30 "Birth of a Bounty Hunter!"

Jonah Hex #30 Nov. 1979

"Birth of a Bounty Hunter!"

Michael Fleisher, story - Luis Dominguez, art & cover

Jonah Hex strides down the street, folks run for cover, and a young dandy nearby questions a old-timer in a rocker as to why folks are fleeing. The old man explains who and what Jonah Hex is and who & why he will be killing the folks that need a good killing (in this case, the Cranston Boys down by the express depot (not to be confused with the Home Depot, but I digress within double parentheses yet!)). The young dandy is amazed that anyone would be come a bounty hunter and the old timer says that he has wondered about it as well, but wondering is one thing and walking up to Jonah Hex and asking is something entirely different.

Jonah continues his trek down the street, but he has overheard the two men talking and his mind races back to the Civil War where he is embroiled in a bloody fight. His platoon has managed to corner the Union boys and are winning the battle, but then Jonah rides off in order to scout out a suspected Union paymaster delivery that his platoon has been planning on raiding.

Later, Jonah has taken up position on a cliff overlooking the road and spies the paymaster wagon, but he is discovered by two Union soldiers on patrol. They knock him out and take him back to camp for questioning. When Jonah comes to, he is tied to a tree and being doused with water. The Union captain asks Jonah where his outfit is, but Jonah only replies with his name, rank (Lt.), and serial number (according to the Geneva Convention, first adopted in 1863). One of the Union soldiers offers to 'soften him up' for more questioning, but the Captain declines. Just then several sticks of dynamite land in the camp, blowing four Union soldiers to hell and halfway back.

A Corporal comes running out of the carnage to report to the Captain that the Rebs have them surrounded and the remaining soldiers take cover behind the paymaster wagon, leaving Jonah tied to tree, watching the explosions and gunfire in the distance. Jonah is baffled, because his platoon didn't have that much firepower. Finally, Eddie Cantwell, one of Jonah's men, emerges from the brush and orders the Unions men to throw down their weapons and sit down against a nearby cliff. Eddie then unties Jonah and confesses to Hex that they are all alone. Eddie had gotten worried about Jonah not coming back and rounded up some dynamite and cartridges. He built several fires and tossed the dynamite & bullets into the fires to simulate random gunfire and cannons in order to trick the Union men. Eddie tells Jonah to grab his gear and Eddie will tend to the prisoners.

Jonah gets his jacket and gunbelt and is surprised to hear gunfire. Running around the paymaster wagon, Jonah is horrified to see Eddie using a Gatling gun to mow down the Union men! Jonah berates Eddie for killing prisoners of war, but Eddie says that there was no way that their platoon could effectively guard that many prisoners, besides, Eddie didn't want any witnesses to he and Jonah making off with the paymaster's chest, holding more than $100,000 ($2.1 million today) in gold coins.

Jonah protests that the money belongs to the Confederacy and Eddie says that he could shoot Jonah and take the money for himself. Jonah agrees with Eddie but then Eddie relents and they take the money to their superiors.

Then, on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Courthouse (which is an entire town, not just a courthouse) in a house owned by Wilmer McLean, Lee surrendered to Grant, thus ending the war.

Two weeks later, on April 23, 1865, Jonah Hex and the 7th light cavalry, surrendered at the federal stockade in Lynchburg, Virginia. So how do we reconcile this with WWT #29 and the Fort Charlotte massacre? Is it possible that Jonah, having once joined the Confederacy, surrendering to the Union, then basically being made a scapegoat by the Union for the slaughter of his platoon, had enough anger at the Union behavior and decided to rejoin the Confederacy and then surrender once the war was over? Earlier stories with Turnbull (the man with the Eagle topped cane) never addressed why Turnbull's thirst for vengeance never surfaced prior to WWT #22 (or we just hadn't seen it prior to that issue). Anyway, I find it odd that the survivors of the massacre, who had also sworn vengeance on Jonah, never tried to to get their revenge during the remainder of the Civil War, prior to Turnbull's kangaroo court. Communication back then, obviously wasn't what it is today, and it could be that Jonah returned to the Confederacy, explained the massacre, was reinstated into the military, and the survivors either did not hear of the outcome or refused to believe it. Personally, I think it is a topic that needs to be handled and could make for some good story-telling by the current chroniclers of Jonah's exploits.

Back to the story! Jonah and the 7th surrender and he and Eddie part ways. There is a brief recap of Jonah being scarred by the Apache and then in the winter of 1866, Jonah is sitting in a saloon eating dinner. The sheriff comes bursting in, demanding that every man in the place join his posse because the Anderson boys just robbed the bank. Jonah keeps eating as everyone hits the door. Jonah explains to the sheriff that HE didn't have any money in the bank and it's not his fight. The sheriff calmly explains that Jonah will be stashing his brains in his boots if he doesn't get up & help them recover the money.

Needless to say, Jonah does help.

Several hours later finds the posse having cornered the crooks in Hampton's Bog. That means that the crooks can't get out, but it also means that since the crooks have their back to a cliff and bog full of dead trees in front of them, they can wait out the posse without fear of being charged or shot. The Sheriff decides to wait them out, should only take a week or so. Upon hearing that, Jonah gets hopping mad at the thought of being with the idiot posse for that long, grabs a rope and heads for the high ground. As he storms off, one of the deputies asks the sheriff if HE thinks Jonah knows that there is a $1,000 bounty on each of the crooks. The sheriff doubts it and decides not to tell Jonah.

Up on top of the cliff overlooking the Anderson gang, Jonah fixes a rope to a dead tree and decides to slide down and surprise the gang. But Jonah, obviously having not heard of Positive Confession, thinks that the tree doesn't look to sturdy and it swiftly breaks, dashing Jonah to the ground. The seven Andersons hear the crash, but before they can collect their thoughts, Jonah is on his feet and has the drop on them. Three of them draw on Hex and he mows them down like ripe wheat, causing the remaining four to surrender.

Jonah brings them back to the sheriff, who promptly strings them up from the nearest cottonwood. Jonah asks why there isn't a trial and the sheriff explains that everyone there saw them steal the money, they have the money on them and what is the town supposed to do, support all of the crooks for 8 months waiting for a judge to ride through? After the hanging, the sheriff tells Jonah that there wasn't any reward, otherwise he would have cut Jonah in for 10%, but would Jonah like a deputy job for $30 bucks a month ($381)?

Jonah declines and the sheriff doesn't blame him one bit. The sheriff does tell Jonah that there is money to be made in bounty hunting, matter of fact, the sheriff has a wanted poster with him that has big money. He pulls it out and hands it to Jonah. The poster is for $10,000 ($127,000) for the murderer and bank robber named.... Edward Cantwell!

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Jonah - We see Jonah shooting a Union soldier in battle and then killing the three Andersons. Total - 4

Running total - 240

Jonah's Injuries - Knocked out by a rifle butt and falls off a cliff.

Timeline - I'm not sure WHEN this story starts, but the flashback does cover prior to April 1865, 1865 for sure, and the winter of 1866 (with a recap of Jonah's scarring also in 1866).

I did enjoy the story, seeing more of Jonah's past and his old acquaintances. It was pretty bothersome (alright, downright jarring) to try to reconcile this story with the Fort Charlotte massacre. I do think that there is a story that needs to be told placed between the massacre and this tale. I can only assume that the massacre took place prior to this story, otherwise Eddie would have died in the massacre or swore vengeance upon Hex.

But honestly, my favorite part of the book HAS to be the cover. It has everything... Guns, people running scared,

a subtle reflection of Jonah going for his gun, and cheesecake!!

Next Issue - Jonah is chased outta town, old friends meet, and Arbee Stoneham teaches Jonah a lesson he'll never forget.