"A Cold Way to Die!"
Gerry Conway, story - Dick Ayers & Romeo Tanghal, art - Luis Dominguez, cover 
Immediately after last issue is where we are and Scalphunter is fighting with Wilks for the past thirty minutes. The two men grapple and fall to the ground, knocking over a huge pot of stew that is cooking over a pit filled with coals and a blazing fire. The soldiers stand around, making wagers on who will win while Jase is aghast over this fight that started over her.
Wilks gains the upper hand atop Scalphunter and is holding the warrior's head closer and closer to the flames. Finally Scalphunter executes a maneuver and flips Wilks end over end, landing Wilks hand first into the flames. Wilks starts screaming and Scalphunter takes advantage of the chaos to grab Jase and make for the corral. Scalphunter starts to liberate two horses when a pair of guards try to stop them. Scalphunter grabs one of their rifles and knocks both men out. He and Jase mount up and ride off.
Back at the camp Saunders tells the men to get a surgeon but Wilks shrugs it off, wrapping his hand in a bandage. Saunders learns that Scalphunter and Jase have escaped and says to let them go, since the camp is only a mile from the Rebel line. Wilks, however, says that he'd rather meet the Devil in Hell than let them escape.
Scalphunter and Jase ride through the night, the snow falling around them. They ride in silence until Jase speaks out, saying they are now both deserters. She wanted to join the war to honor her brother who died fighting, but now she realizes that war is senseless and cruel and she way ready to abandon her post as it was. She asks Scalphunter where he will go but the Kiowa doesn't answer. Instead he listens because he had just heard the snap of a branch behind them.
The soldiers are about a mile away, but the cold morning air carries their voices to Scalphunter's ears. Saunders says they should turn back but Wilks has taken control of the men and their fury now and he urges the patrol onward.
Scalphunter and Jase arrive at a frozen lake and on the shore is an ice house. They make their way inside and hide. The soldiers are only five minutes behind them and when they arrive at the ice house they dismount and approach on foot. As they draw closer two of the soldiers foolishly walk in front of the sluice and two massive blocks of ice come careening down the chute. The men try to dodge them but are crushed and injuries by the frozen weapons. Jase asks if those men are dead and Scalphunter cites that they may be, but the others are alive and the two of them must hide. He grabs a pair of ice tongs and they head into the darkness.
The soldiers regroup and make their way into the cold structure and the four of them split up. A creaking board overhead draws Wilks' attention and he climbs the ladder to the second floor. Scalphunter drops on him from above, binding him with the tongs around Wilks chest and the two men slam forward to the first floor. Two other soldiers hear the war cry of Scalphunter and head for the exit, but the are quickly engulfed by falling ice that Jase has toppled onto them, using a long pole for leverage.
Meanwhile Wilks is trying to manipulate his rifle to get a shot at his captor but Scalphunter continues squeezing the tongs until there is a loud snap when Wilks' spine gives way and he falls forward, dead.
The last soldier has finally found Jase and he is closing in menacingly. He is one that was hit by the ice outside and he says that his arm hurts horribly, but Jase COULD make it allllll better. As he steps closer a trap door in the floor gives way and he falls onto the frozen lake. The ice breaks and he is pulled under the surface.
Jase stands there, scared and trembling as Scalphunter walks up and they leave the building. Later as the sun is setting she tells Scalphunter that if he stays in the North he'll be hunted as a deserter. He replies that he is heading west, back to his home in the plains. Jase agrees and says she will also go home, even though she feels so lost. Ke-Woh-No-Tey says that she will find her way and she wishes she had his confidence. They briefly hold hands and the Kiowa brave rides off into the night.
Statistics for this issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - I'm giving Scalphunter one kill, Wilks. We don't know how many soldiers were chasing them, but I think the two hit by ice were only injured. Jase, managed to kill two herself.
Running Total - 130
Compared to Jonah Hex - 30th appearance and Scalphunter has 130 vs Jonah's 115 (in JH #2) (I made a miscount somewhere along the line and I'll have to correct Jonah's stats at a later date)
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total - 20
Injuries - None
Timeline - One evening and the next day.
This one was pretty good, a lot of action, the bad guys getting what they deserved and I'm always ALWAYS a sucker for winter westerns (The Hateful Eight is a gem in my eyes). This was a very nice end to Weird Western, it went out while still on a monthly status and Scalphunter did get a backup spot in Jonah's new book.
And I liked the idea of Ke-Woh-No-Tey heading back home to the plains once more. Gerry Conway had a wonderful run on this book, took the character places we thought we would never see him go and built a nice supporting cast along the way with some great story arcs as well. Big kudos for him and having a consistent timeline.
Ads this issue include:
Green Lantern and Twinkies rescue the Bobsled Run
House ad for a new book by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, called The New Teen Titans.
Two page house ad for the new Jonah Hex book
The new Superman/Spider-man teamup book with Hulk and Wonder Woman gets a nice ad
Next time: We get back regular reviews of Jonah Hex but I'll be revisiting the other appearances of Scalphunter in Jonah's book as well as in the Super Spectacular!
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