"Cowardice"
It is night in Blackburn, Kansas at Holly Mae's Saloon and Dancehall. Jonah is losing a few games of checkers with an old timer when Holly comes up and announces that everyone should drink up. In the morning Blackburn is going dry and she will be out of business due to the National Prohibition Party but she is heading to Texas to start a new establishment. Jonah has a few choice words regarding other people's morals and their propensity to force said unto others.
After a few more drinks, Jonah considers have a talk with the local church group in the morning.
We cut to three men in prison attire running as hard as they can across the countryside. They come upon a family eating dinner by the campfire outside their tent home. The prisoners gun down all three, dad and the grown son and daughter. After eating the family's meal they strip the bodies and one of the prisoners is complaining that the other two are wearing all the mens clothes, so what is he to do? Another of the prisoners shoots him in the head and the remaining two ride off.
Morning in Blackburn and the church is shutting down Holly Mae's. Suddenly a wagon comes down the street. A young man looks in the back of the wagon and is frightened off. Jonah looks inside and sees the bodies of the murdered family. He asks who that is and someone states it is sheriff Steadman and his son and daughter. There is also the murdered prisoner as well.
Deputy Gardner arrives and asks the wagon driver what is going on. The driver replies that he found them killed when he was driving past this morning and shows discarded prison clothes. Gardner says a telegram came in last night about a prison break up in Durango but the deputy just left it on the sheriff's desk. The wagon driver asks if they are gonna get up a posse and the deputy says that it doesn't concern them, he'll see to it that the men are captured. Hex tosses a query of "By yerself?"
Gardner is having nothing of having a drunkard assist him and he and Jonah exchange barbs. Holly Mae intervenes as well as the old checker player, telling Gardner that he best listen. Gardner tells the old man to shut up and he shoots back with "This here's Jonah Hex". At that point, the wagon driver tells Gardner that Hex is the real deal.
Finally Gardner relents, saying that Hex will get any bounty that is offered. Jonah says they will settle up once the prisoners are in custody or their graves. Gardner says they will be brought in for a proper trial to which Jonah replies "Ya say that now". Jonah also tells Holly Mae to not leave town just yet.
We find the two prisoners riding up to the farm of Simon Millwood. The prisoners ask if the two horses in the pen are all that Millwood has. He affirms their suspicion and one of the prisoners says that his horse is lame. Millwood examines a hoof and sees that the horse has thrown a shoe and has stone bruises. This horse can't be ridden even with a new shoe. A prisoner sees someone coming and they force Millwood into his cabin. They ask if Millwood has any weapons, just a shotgun and a Winchester.
The prisoners tell Millwood to get rid of the oncoming riders and not say a word about the two of them.
As Jonah rides up he points to hoof tracks by the trough and tells Gardner that the prisoners are here. Jonah says that they stopped here because one of the horses threw a shoe and that this ain't gonna end without bullets. Millwood recognizes Gardner but not Hex and says that he can get rid of them. The prisoners tell him to stay put. Gardner calls out for Millwood to come out for a minute.
Jonah says that ain't gonna work and if Millwood ain't dead, Gardner is gonna get him killed. Just then the door starts to open and Gardner says that Millwood is coming out now. A shot rings out and Gardner is hit in the shoulder. A prisoner has Millwood around the neck, using him as a shield and tells Hex to drop his guns. Jonah replies with "No" and a gunshot that catches the prisoner in the neck.
The second con rushes out the door, guns blazing and is mowed down by Hex. In the ensuing silence, Millwood lays on the porch, shaking and crying and Gardner drawing his weapon on Hex. Jonah ignores him and assists Millwood to his feet, telling Gardner to holster the gun before Hex takes it from him. Gardner dismounts and tells Hex that he is being brought up on charges. Jonah turns on him and slaps the pistol out of his hands.
Jonah grabs him and says that those men had been tried and locked up, escaped and killed three people and maybe more.
and then throws him to the ground. Gardner lies in the dirt, saying he never wanted to be a deputy, Steadman pinned the star on him last year and he hasn't been able to take it off, but now is the time. Jonah tells him to leave it there, they are gonna get a drink.
As evening falls, Gardner, Hex and a wagon of corpses come rolling into Blackburn. The town is emptying Holly Mae's and they ask if Deputy Gardner got the killers. Hex tells them it is Sheriff Gardner and he has a proclamation to overturn. Gardner stares at Hex and Hex replies that a sheriff has to make tough decisions.
Gardner takes a deep breath and tells the crowd to put the sign back up on the saloon. They start to disagree, saying that Steadman backed them and Gardner says that Steadman is dead, HE is now the sheriff and he says the saloon stays open.
Later there is much celebrating in the saloon and the old timer is congratulating the new sheriff on his decision. Holly Mae whispers a thank you into Jonah's ear and he says she can thank him later upstairs. Just then several armed men barge in with evil intent in their eyes. Hex tells the sheriff it is time to step up. Gardner approaches the men and we see him point over to Hex and the men turn and run. Hex looks over at the old man and says..
Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Jonah - Two prisoners.
Running Total - 742 (432 past, 55 future, 15 Vertigo, 240 V2)
Jonah's Injuries - None.
Timeline - Takes place within one day.
Rape Percentage - 25% (10 of 39)
Kansas didn't have statewide prohibition until 1881 but this seemed to be a local restriction only enacted in Blackburn (a fictional town) but the temperance movement had a very strong hold throughout the state, so we really can't put a date on here other than between Hex's scarring and 1881.
This story wasn't a bad one but it had two things that I am tired of: art by Rafa Garres and Palmiotti and Gray's obsession with unlikable Christians. Garres art is muddy, blurred, hyper kinetic and very hard to understand at times. The anti-Christian trope is understandable from Jonah's viewpoint but they are always depicted as hypocrites and busybodies (something that Fleisher didn't make an absolute).
I would rank this one as a "read it if you want to read everything with Jonah in it"
Next issue: Jonah learns that it really sucks to be on the wrong side of an HMO.
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