The Many Phases of Jonah Hex - The Early Hex

Jonah Hex is a rare character in comics. Not only is he a Western in a world dominated by superheroes, but he is probably the longest running western character out there (except for the Lone Ranger, but that is a whole other cowboy), having started in 1972 (36 years, can you believe it?). And in that 30+ year span there has been barely a handful of writers chronicle the adventures of Mr. Hex, John Albano, Michael Fleisher, Joe Landsdale, and the team of Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti. Granted there have been two others, David Micheline & Arnold Drake, but these two haven't done more than 4 stories combined.

Let's take a look at each of the phases of Jonah Hex. First up, Jonah Albano and the early Hex.

Jonah first appeared in All-Star Western #10 and throughout that story the scarred side of his face was covered in shadow. It wasn't until the end of the story when Jonah lights a cigar and along with a terror stricken outlaw we saw the hideous disfigurement that Jonah bore, even then it was in semi-shadows. His past was a mystery and at times even his abilities appeared to be a mystery as he dogged outlaws seemingly without need for water or rest.

All-Star Western #11 had a Jonah Hex that worked for very little money ($100) because life was cheap and Albano used realistic bounties. Jonah ends up falling for a beautiful woman, getting suckered but eventually learning the truth and turns her and her husband in. Jonah has a soft spot for beautiful women in distress and can be fooled.

Weird Western Tales #12 (the name changed with that issue) has Jonah being chased out of town by the locals, a theme that gets repeated often. The townsfolk are willing to tolerate Hex in order to clean up their town, but they don't want him hanging around because of the trouble that he draws. Later Jonah encounters a very young Indian girl and helps her and her tribe that are being victimized by the loacls. Jonah is defending the innocent, another theme that ends up being a core value of Hex's. Albano also gives Jonah a 'side-kick' with a wolf named Iron-Jaws.

The 'Weird' in Weird Western Tales started to surface in issue #13. Jonah is more in the background than before but at one point the main outlaw becomes a victim of his own imagination with the shadows of the night following him. Finally the shadows come to life in the form of Jonah Hex & Iron-Jaws. Jonah was almost a personification of the night and the outlaw's fears.

Jonah's valuing of an innocent seems to only extend to women & children, however. In WWT #14, Iron-Jaws is bitten by a rattlesnake and and when Jonah takes the wolf to a doctor, the doc refuses to see the wolf because he already has a patient. Without another thought, Jonah tosses the broken-legged human patient out the window. It appears that male adults, in the eyes of Jonah Hex, can never be truly innocent and worthy of compassion.

Jonah protects a woman's feeling for her outlaw fiance in WWT #16. Jonah hides the truth about her boyfriend's lying and killing in order to protect her, but it does appear that he keeps the money her boyfriend stole. This Hex story really does not have any 'weirdness' to live up to the title of the book.

The weirdness of the book, sometimes supplied by El Diablo or an offbeat backup story, shows up occasionally in a Hex story. It is not so much of a supernatural bent but rather the ironic twist that often characterized the EC and DC 'mystery' books. In #17 a villianous hanging female judge ends up dying by hanging herself when she falls off a cliff and her scarf gets tangled on a branch. We also see more of the self-serving Jonah Hex. During a holdup of the town bank, Jonah has no interest in helping the locals. He sits eating breakfast as the bank is dynamited and people are slaughtered in the middle of the street. Once he is offered money, he goes into action tracking down the villians. Once his job is done, he exacts revenge on behalf of orphaned children, again, voluntarilly protecting the innocent.

Issue #18 is the closest that Jonah comes to encountering the supernatural (until the new series) when he is hired to protect a 'werewolf/wild child'. Hex is again the victim of a swindle and is not the instrument of vengence, that is given over to another twist of irony.

Irony rears it's ugly head again in #19 when an escaped outlaw is the victim of a waterhole that he poisoned. #21, the last for Albano, was again showing the compassion that Jonah has, even in the midst of his ongoing killing. He gets a doctor for an old woman and donates bounty money for a children's hospital.

The Albano Hex was a mystery. Why was he so scarred? Why did he still wear Confederate grey? He had his own set of priorities and those seemed to be mostly set by the availability of money. Yet he also had compassion for young children for a reason that wouldn't be revealed for a few years and by another writer.

Only ten issues, but John Albano managed to lay the foundation for a character that was tough enough to live in the old west on it's own terms. Hex showed up at a time in the country when folks were fed up with the Viet-Nam war and were looking for a 'hero' that handled things the old fashioned way, with his wits, fists, and pistols. Hex was the right character at the right time.

Weird Western Tales #13 "The Killer's Last Wish!"

Weird Western Tales #13 Aug-Sept 1972
"The Killer's Last Wish!"
John Albano, story - Tony Dezuniga, art

The story starts off with Jonah gunning down an unknown man. Jonah is riding across the desert followed by his wolf, Iron-Jaws. Jonah loads up the corpse on his horse and continues riding on. Later he comes upon a small shack and gets fired upon from a covered wagon. Jonah returns fire and shouts out that the gunman has just two seconds before Jonah shoots him dead.

The gunman is an old man who suddenly recognizes Jonah's voice. The old man jumps out of his hiding place and shouts that he is Windy Taylor, the man who taught Jonah how to shoot. Later while they are visting, we learn that Windy had requested that Jonah come to Windy' ranch. Jonah shows Windy the corpse on Jonah's horse and asks if Windy recognizes him. Windy verifies that the dead man is one of the men trying to run him off his ranch.

Jonah starts to bury the corpse but Windy points him over to three other graves, buddies of the dead man, and who all work for a man named Fenwick. After the man is buried, Jonah and Windy are eating supper. Suddenly they hear gunfire and when they run outside there are several men on horses riding away. They have shot & killed all of Windy's cattle. Jonah saddles up & takes off after the men and tells Windy to tie up Iron-Jaws. Windy shouts back that all he really wanted Jonah to do was help straighten out Windy's son.

Meanwhile in town, Fenwick greets the men who shot the cattle. Fenwick offers the men some sherry but they are wanting to get paid and get gone. They tell Fenwick that Windy has hired Jonah Hex and Hex has already killed the fella that was supposed to bushwhack Jonah. Fenwick states that he has no idea who Hex is.

Later that evening, these two men, Will & Boone, are riding far out of town. They discuss if Hex will hunt them down for killing the cattle. They decide that they are far enough away from town to camp for the night. Will starts telling stories about Hex, about how Hex is immortal and can cast spells. The other man, Boone, leaves to gather firewood. A few minutes later, Will hears a sound and thinks he hears a wild steer. He fires at it and then discovers that he has shot & killed Boone coming back with an armload of firewood. Will is shouting at Boone, telling him he is sorry for shooting him.

Just then we hear Jonah tell Will that Boone can't hear anything. Will panics and start running through the underbrush, yelling that Hex won't catch him. Will suddenly falls off a cliff, screaming all the way down.

Back at Windy's ranch, Windy fires at an unknown rider coming towards his ranch. The man dismounts and shouts that he is Tod, Windy's son. Windy says that he is surprised Tod is back since they had that big arguement last week. Tod has come back only to pack, he is sick of being treated like a stepson. Tod says that he is heading east but he will be needing a lot of money to get started. When Windy's back is turned, Tod pulls a pistol and shoots Windy in the back. As Windy falls a large wad of cash goes airborne in the cabin. Windy gasps that he was going to give Tod the money to start over.

Tod starts ranting, saying that he had asked for the money a hundred times before, but Windy had always refused. That is why Tod had to make a deal with Fenwick to kill Windy for $500. Tod leaves the cabin and we see Iron-Jaws lunging against the chain that is holding him.

Tod rides into town to meet Fenwick & get his money. Fenwick offers him more cash if Tod will find and kill Jonah Hex. Tod says that Fenwick probably has about a thousand dollars in his office so Tod shoots & kills Fenwick and then steals the money. Tod rides out of town and several miles later he gets ready to bed down for the night. He keeps having this odd feeling that he has been followed. He imagines that shadows are shaped like men. Slowly one of the shadows takes shape until it appears to be Jonah Hex and Iron-Jaws.

Tod demands to know who he is going to kill. Jonah tells Tod his name and that he is tracking the killer of his friend. And that trail leads east. Tod admits that he is heading east, and he'll continue to head east after he has killed Hex. Tod draws and as he is about to pull the trigger, Jonah's bullet strikes him in the chest. Tod staggers several steps, eastward, and then collapses in a nearby creek.

The next morning, Jonah is riding out of town. Several townsfolk comment on Jonah bringing in two bodies and requesting that Windy will be buried on his ranch but that Tod's body will be shipped east.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 3
Running Total: 20
Jonah's Injuries - None
Timeline - This takes place prior to Iron-Jaws death in the next issue, which I've placed around 1867. Oddly, Jonah has his Confederate hat, but not the black one he had been sporting.

This early story from Albano keeps the mystical superstitious stories surrounding Hex. The later Fleisher stories dropped this in favor of characterization. Was the change for the better? I think to get the character started it was a wonderful way to build mystery and build readership but I think that the current series that DC is publishing is striking a good balance between the two types of Hex. There are times I enjoy these older stories, other times I enjoy the later stories.Next Issue: A stakeout, rabies, killer cats and bodies left to rot.

Weird Western Tales #18 "The Hoax"

Back in the saddle after we few weeks of handling business. And as promised, a shirtless Hex pic just for Sally.

Weird Western Tales #18 July-Aug 1973
"The Hoax"
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art - Luis Domiguez, cover

Back when Jonah was in Weird Western Tales they actually tried to make the cover weird. This is one of those covers with Jonah about to be attacked by what looks like a werewolf. What kid wouldn't buy that?

The story starts off with two men on horseback shooting an old prospector off of his horse. They go through his pockets finding a claim to a gold mine but then they notice a man washing up on the other side of a nearby stream. They wade across the stream, asking the man if he saw or heard what had just happened. The man replies that he heard & saw, but maybe that old man needed killing, it doesn't concern him anyway. The two ambushers decide that it will be better if there are no witnesses. The man turns to revel his hideously scarred face. The two men realize that it is Jonah Hex, but they draw on him anyway, failing miserably.

Jonah hears the old man dying. The old man begs Jonah to take the mine claim to his daughter will be arriving in Esmerelda, a nearby town. Jonah says that he'll do it for $100, and then the old man dies. In the nearby town, Jonah finds the woman in a hotel and he gives her the tale of her dead father, the claim for the mine, and his request for the $100. She tells Jonah to take the money from her purse. She also asks who will place the killers behind bars and Jonah states that he has killed them and he leaves.

Later that night an angry crowd storms into the saloon where Jonah is eating. They say that Jonah sold the daughter a phony claim and took advantage of her blindness. Jonah punches the holy living crap out of one man and draws his pistols. He explains that he only delivered the claim and didn't know she was blind. There is a tense standoff between Jonah and the mob, with the mob realizing that they had superior numbers, but none of them are willing to be the first ones gunned down. Just then J.M. Marberry walks in and berates the mob. Marberry tells the sheriff that he will take personal responsibility for Jonah while Hex is in town.

As Marberry and Jonah are walking down the street talking, Marberry asks Jonah how good he is with a gun. Just then a man calls to Jonah, Jonah draws his pistol and shoots the man dead. A bullet hits the ground next to Hex and he sees another man shooting at him from a nearby roof. Jonah returns fire & starts chasing the man as he runs from roof to roof. Jonah is keeping pace with him down in the street. Eventually the shooter runs out of rooftops and Jonah shoots & kills him.

Marberry is amazed at Jonah's gun ability and Jonah explains that one of the men was the father of a crook that Jonah gunned down. The other man was probably a hired gun to help. The Sheriff calls it self defense & lets Jonah go on his way. Marberry follows Jonah and tells Jonah that he has something to show him in a nearby barn. In the barn Marberry lights a lantern and displays for Jonah what appears to be some sort of animal man in a cage. Marberry explains that he accidentally caught this creature in a trap and believes that this creature is the leader of a coyote pack that has been killing local livestock. Marberry is convinced that this was a young child raised by cototes. He wants to hire Jonah for protection since Marberry is planning on showing this creature & is sure that folks will be wanting to steal the profits. Hex decides to go in with Marberry 50-50.

The next afternoon Marberry has a tent set up & is charging 50 cents ($8) a head to see the amazing wolf-boy. Folks are flocking in and are amazed at the snarling beast. However, one person is very disturbed by what he has seen and then suddenly has a revelation.

Some time later a Mr. Colby shows up at the tent. The man who had the revelation (Clem) is with him, as are a few other gunmen. Colby tells Marberry that Clem noticed a diamond shaped scar on the wolf-boy's neck. Fifteen years ago Indians attacked a wagon train that Colby was on and took Colby's son, who had a diamond scar on his neck. Colby claims that the wolf-boy is his son & therefore belongs to him. Colby starts to draw on Marberry to take the creature but Jonah shoots the pistol from Colby's hand.

Colby states that since the wolf-boy only means money to Marberry, maybe Marberry would be interested in selling him. Colby will mortgage his ranch to get the money and Jonah refuses his half of the money. Marberry tells Jonah that they aren't really selling the boy but actually collecting a reward for finding him. If Jonah meets Marberry tomorrow at noon in the saloon, he'll split with him 50-50.

The next day in the saloon the sheriff and a few men walk in on Hex and hold him at gunpoint. They say that Marberry just told them about how Jonah duped Marberry and Colby both. Jonah smashes a bottle across one man's head and then uses his body as a shield from the gunfire. He throws the unconscious man at the other men and then beats the holy living crap out of the sheriff and his deputies.

Meanwhile, outside of town at a watering hole is Marberry and a young man who is washing the wolf-boy makeup off. They are laughing about how lucky they were to find that old prospector who told them about Colby's son and the diamond shaped scar. They revel in how they 'sold' the wolf-boy to Colby and how the wolf-boy escaped and how they managed to pin the whole hoax on Jonah while they made off with the $5,000 ($81,000).

After a full day of riding they notice that they are being trailed by Hex. The young man's horse falls because of a gopher hole. Marberry leaves him to Hex who ties the man to his own horse and tells him to tell the sheriff the whole truth or Jonah will personally pistol whip him to death. The young man says that he'll even tell how they sold the phony gold mine to the old prospector. Jonah whips the horse, sending it back to town.

Several hours later Marberry comes upon a farmhouse and asks if they would sell him a fresh horse. The farmer refuses to sell, so Marberry guns him down, steals a fresh horse and then shoots the wife when she comes out screaming. Marberry rides further on and camps down for the night in the rain. He awakens the next morning to the smell of bacon and sees a cowboy at a nearby camp making breakfast. He wanders over only to discover that it is Hex. Jonah comments that he had to make his own breakfast because the farmer coupls a few miles back weren't in the breakfast mood.

Marberry jumps on his horse and takes off again and finally comes upon three Indians hunting. He panics and shoots, killing two of them. The third Indian manages to bury an arrow in the middle of Marberry's chest. Standing over Marberry, the Indian asks why he attacked them, they were only hunting game. The Indian rides off as Jonah rides up. As Jonah kneels next to Marberry, here is the finally coversation:

Marberry: I sold that rancher Colby a 'phony' son for $5,000 for supposedly finding his long lost boy for him, right?
Jonah: Yeah...
Marberry: ...so maybe Colby will enjoy hearing who it was that finally did me in ....
Jonah: Ah don't understand...an Injun got you!
Marberry: That's right, gunfighter...(choke!) ..an Indian split my insides with an arrow... a pale-skinned Indian with a diamond-shaped scar on his neck!
Jonah: Wal, Ah'll be danged... Ah'll be danged.

Statistics for the issue
Men killed by Jonah: 4
Running Total: 39
Jonah's Injuries: None
Timeline: An early story when Jonah had his hat with the striped band.

I enjoyed this story. It was a lot harder and lengthier to relate than to read. A bunch of folks coming in & out of the story and more than a few swindles going on. I couldn't tell why Marberry was a respected member of the community early on but that really wasn't important. Jonah getting hoodwinked on a business deal was also a nice touch. But this issue does answer the question: Who is bad enough in the DC Universe to punch left handed and still knock a guy horizontal in midair... and also punch outside the frame... with a bad sound effect?


Answer: Jonah Hex!

Next Issue: A prison break and poisoned waterholes

Jonah Hex #5 & All Star Western #10 "Welcome to Paradise"

If you came here wanting to read All-Star Western #10, just scroll down a little....
Jonah Hex #5 Oct 1977
no title
Michael Fleisher, story - Jose Luis Garcia Lopez & Romeo Tanghal, art - Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, cover

A dreaded deadline must have caught Fleisher & company in a lurch (not unlike myself) and they decided to reprint All-Star Western #10 with a new page of art in front & a new page of art behind. Our story starts with Jonah's horse being shot out from under him by a pursuing sheriff & posse. As they round the bend, Jonah is nowhere to be found. Shortly they come upon Mrs. Thornton riding in her buckboard. The sheriff explains about Jonah Hex being wanted and she says that she hasn't seen Hex in more than 5 years. She says that she remembers him coming into Paradise Corners like it was yesterday.... flashback to.....

All-Star Western #10 Feb-Mar 1972
"Welcome to Paradise"
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art

Jonah comes riding into town, dragging two dead bodies behind his horse, causing quite a stir through the town. He walks into a store (bank?) and speaking to three businessman states that they owe him $100 each for the bodies. As they pay him off, they explain that three more of the gang they hired Hex to find have just ridden into town. They are across the street in the saloon & have undoubtedly seen Hex ride into town.

Jonah climbs into a second floor window in the saloon, frightening a dance-hall girl, but managing to keep her quiet. As Hex exits her room, he sees the gang on either side of the entrance to the saloon, waiting to ambush him. He gets the drop on two of them, killing them quickly. The third runs out & Jonah jumps the rail and heads out the door, slamming into a young boy walking in the road. The young boy gives Jonah a good chewing out and then walks off. Everyone in the street is staring and Jonah shouts out a threat & they all run off.

The three businessmen come out & offer Jonah $200 for the two he shot. Jonah tells them he'll collect later, he is going to the blacksmith, get his horse and hunt down Big Jim himself. When Jonah gets to the blacksmith, he finds the smithy getting ready to whip Jonah's horse to correct him from rearing up. Jonah grabs the whip and knocks the smithy cold with one punch.

Later... in a cabin several miles from town (& that's EXACTLY what the caption box says) the escaped gang member, Cody, is talking to Lee Marvin, uh, Big Jim. Big Jim tells Cody to fetch some water from the well and Cody is very hesitant, but he goes out anyway. At the well he is drawing water and Jonah appears out of the shadows. Jonah strikes a match and for the first time ever, we get to see the right half of Jonah's face. Remember, through the whole story his face has been in shadow & they have only spoken of his scars. Cody reaches for his pistol and is gunned down before he knows what hits him. Big Jim hears Cody dying and then another shot stops Cody's begging.

Jim panics and crawls out the back window and when he sees a shadow he empties his pistol into it, but it is only a tree stump. He jumps on his horse and rides off, mile after mile after mile. Finally he stops to walk his horse and there on a hilltop, backlit by the full moon is Jonah Hex.

Jim takes off running in a panic for hour after hour. Finally he comes upon a farmhouse but Jonah is close behind, Cody's corpse on the back of the horse. Finally Jim comes out of the farmhouse, holding a gun to a young woman's head. Jonah asks why Jim thinks Jonah cares what happens to that woman when the young boy from town starts begging Jonah not to hurt his mom. Jonah drops his gunbelt and Jim throws the woman to the ground. He jumps onto Jonah's horse and starts to ride off but jonah pulls his knife and throws it right into Jim's back.

Jonah carries the fainted woman into the farmhouse. The boy is gushing admiration for Jonah and explains that he ain't got a pa. As Jonah gets ready to ride off, the boy asks if he will come back to visit. Jonah asks what for and the boy stammers about his mom's apple dumplings. Jonah hauls the two corpses off and says he might come back.

In town, Jonah collects his $400 and asks what happened to the boy's pa. The businessmen explain that he was killed in an indian raid years ago and that the woman is going to lose the farm due to $300 in back taxes. Jonah pays her back taxes and then asks about buying a house on the outskirts of town. The businessmen stammer that the house is sold and then they tell him that there isn't a house for sale in the whole territory. Jonah chortles that they think he would ever think about living in their stinking desert hole. As Jonah rides off, the three men thank their lucky stars that Jonah is moving on.

Jonah rides out to the farmhouse to get some of those apple dumplings. A shot knocks his hat off and he jumps off his horse, circles around and manages to get the drop on the gunman. It's the widow. She tells Jonah that Jonah has become a hero to her son and that she doesn't want Jonah anywhere around. Jonah rides off saying that he doesn't like either one of them. A few minutes later Jonah meets the young boy, obviously running away and he has intentions of leaving with Jonah. Jonah tells the boy that he hates him, hates him like poison. Riding further on, Jonah comes to the sign reading "Welcome to Paradise Corners". With one swift punch, he levels the sign & rides off.

End of Flashback.

The sheriff tells Mrs. Thronton all that happened five years ago, but now Hex is a wanted killer. The sheriff & the posse ride off. A few minutes later Jonah crawls out from under the canvas in the back of the buckboard. Mrs. Thornton says that she has paid Jonah back for saving her farm five years ago and that Jonah needs to do is ride off and never coming back to Paradise Corners. Jonah heads out on horseback.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 2 are dead at the beginning & he kills 4 more. We'll count it at 6. Running Total: (as of ASW 10) 6, (as of JH 5) 125
Jonah's injuries - none
Timeline - The flashback takes place five years prior to our current "Jonah - Wanted Man" arc. But we'll have to place this one in the timeline sometime later.

All in all a great story. Placing the Albano Hex up against the Fleisher Hex is somewhat jarring. Albano's Hex worked in a west where life was cheap, $100 was enough to hire a man to hunt you down, shoot you & drag your corpse back to town. In Fleisher's west it took $5,000 for someone to risk their life to kill you. It also seemed that Albano's Hex used fear a lot more than Fleisher's Hex did. That's saying a lot, since Fleisher wrote almost 100 stories for Jonah and Albano wrote about a dozen. Maybe Fleisher thought that the fear angle had been played up too much and I have to admit, the title of the book that carried most of Albano's stories was Weird Western Tales.

Fleisher worked very hard making Jonah more of a man & less of a demon & at times I wonder if it was for the better. But then I look at El Diablo and realize that Fleisher made the right choice.

I also wanted to go on record saying that this cover always confused me. I thought that Lee m
Marvin was showing Jonah how tough he was by shooting Jonah's hat. Oh well.

Jonah Hex #6: (on time, I promise) White water rafting, dynamite, and the return of Noly Panaligan (at least on inks)
or
All-Star Western #11: Jonah fights off buzzards & gets suckered by a woman

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?!?!?!

All-Star Western #11 "The Hundred Dollar Deal"

All-Star Western #11
"The Hundred Dollar Deal "
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art

First off, extra special thanks to Cesar for sending me scans of this issue all the way from Brazil. Second, since I'm trying to catch up on some posts, here is the second appearance of Jonah Hex.

This story starts off with a young man in a derby getting the drop on Jonah and stealing Jonah's horse. As the young man rides off, Jonah grabs his gun and draws a bead on him, but the horse thief faints and falls off the horse. Jonah catches up to him and as the vultures gather on the young man, Jonah mounts up to ride off.

The next page, Jonah has had a change of heart and is having target practice with the vultures when the young man wakes up. He tells Jonah that he only stole the horse to get away from three men who are after him, thinking he killed a man named Hillsworth. Jonah responds "Whut the blazes you tellin' me fer? Ah ain't no danged parson." The man offers Jonah $100 ($1,600 in today's $$) to take him back to his sister's farm. Jonah accepts the deal.

While they are riding, they encounter the three men who think that Jonah has probably aided in the murder of Hillsworth. The men suddenly recognize Jonah and pull their weapons. Jonah throws the young man off the horse and then shoots all three of the attackers.

That night, Jonah and the man show up at the farm. A woman comes out and Jonah drags the unconscious man into the house. After the woman puts the man to bed (she refers to him as Terry), she thanks Jonah Hex for bringing him back. Jonah tells her to keep the thanks & pay him the $100. Jonah explains that her brother offered $100 to keep Hillsworth's men away. The woman can't believe that her brother killed Hillsworth but just then the door swings open and Hillsworth's son and a couple of men pull guns on her & Jonah.

Jonah kicks the door shut, shots at the door & shoots out the oil lamp. Jonah jumps out the back window. The woman is huddled in the dark when she hears gunfire. The front door slowly opens and Jonah walks in. The woman throws her arms around Jonah and expresses her fear that Jonah might have been killed. Hex tells her to hold on and take a good look at his scarred face. She says that it's what is inside a man that counts and she grabs Jonah and kisses him. She hears her brother stirring and goes to tend to him as Jonah goes outside to bury the three men he just shot.

While outside, Jonah mulls over his options.



A week later, while Jonah is standing watch on a hill overlooking the farm, Terry tells his sister to pack her things to get ready to leave. She asks "what about Jonah?" Terry asks if she wants Jonah to discover that Terry & the woman are really married, that he lied only to get Jonah suckered in by her feminine wiles. As they head for the door, Jonah is standing there. Terry draws on Jonah but Jonah shoots the gun out of Terry's hand. Jonah takes both of them captive and heads them to town.

The deputy tells Jonah that the sheriff will be back from Dodge tomorrow and once they check Jonah's story, then he'll get any reward. Jonah starts to head across the street for the saloon, but the woman starts crying, begging Jonah not to leave. Jonah leaves anyway and as he is knocking back a bottle a salesman walks into the saloon selling jewelry. He offers to sell Jonah a very nice ring for only $100. The story ends with the salesman being thrown out the window.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - 6 men shot.
Running Total: 12
Jonah's Injuries - none
Timeline - Nothing to really give any clues as to when this story takes place, but it does appear to take place in Kansas, due to the refernce to Dodge.

All in all, a pretty good story with Jonah being deceived but eventually getting even. A nice view into Jonah's dealings with women. A very nice 2nd appearance

Next Issue: A name change for the book, an Indian Princess, small pox, and Iron-Jaws

Weird Western Tales #19 "Demon on my Trail"

Yup, a bonus this week. I located issue #19!! (This is not the issue with ACTING!!)

Weird Western Tales #19 Sept/Oct, 1973
"Demon on my Trail"
John Albano - story, Tony DeZuniga - art

This story starts out in a 'Western State Penitentiary' in 1867. There are a bunch of convicts busting rocks. The prisoner in charge of water, Teddy Chandler, warns the other cons not to drink it and it turns out he has poisoned the guards. When the guards fall sick, the cons make a break for it. Several of them are shot (& presumably die, this IS WWT after all) with only Chandler, "The Gentleman Killer", getting away with the help of a black friend, Orion.

As they away, the Chandler poisons all the water holes along the way in case they are followed. At one point they stop and finally notice a rider that has been following them. The rider is Jonah Hex, still wearing the black hat with the striped band. Jonah draws on them & shoots the Chandler. While taking both of them back for the reward, they come upon a wagon that has been destroyed by a Comanche raid. Everyone is slaughtered except for one little boy. While Jonah is getting the boy out of the wagon, the Chandler gets a pistol & pulls it on Jonah.

Chandler & Orion leave Jonah and the boy out in the desert to die, except Orion has compassion & drops a canteen for them. Carrying the boy, Jonah starts off on foot. A few days later Jonah wakes up in a cabin being tended to by a lovely woman. He had appeared, almost dead, on their doorstep. The boy had a fever but since Jonah gave him all the water, taking none for himself, the boy is now well. Jonah recovers from his dehydration, purchases a horse & pistols from the woman's father & takes off after the escapee & his buddy, but not before the woman takes note that Jonah is so gentle & kind.

Meanwhile, the Chandler & Orion are taking inventory of their water supply. Chandler learns that they have 'lost' a canteen & now there is only enough water for one man to make it out of the desert. He turns and shoots Orion & leaves him to die. Jonah continues after them & notices vultures circling over the dying friend. Jonah gives him water & attempts to help him, but he dies anyway. Jonah covers the body with stones & continues in his search.

While tracking Chandler on con into the coming darkness, Jonah notes that his prey is a 'wily cuss, doubling back on me' when suddenly a bullet hits the ground in front of his horse. Jonah jumps off the horse and fires up into the hills after the Chandler. Sometime later, Jonah finally comes upon Chandler laying next to a waterhole, laughing. It turns out that Jonah had accidentally pierced Chandler's canteen and in the darkness he didn't recognize one of the waterholes that he had poisoned earlier and has taken several drinks of the poisoned water.

Chandler dies & Jonah notes that at least he had a sense of humor.

Statistics for this issue
Men killed by Jonah - Can you believe zero? The official scorecard would read:
Guards - 3
Indians - 2
Chandler - 3, including himself.
Running Total: 39
Jonah's Injuries - Dehydration
Timeline - Blatantly stated, 1867, which would place the other issues with the black hat in roughly the same year or so. Chronologically, this is one of the earliest stories of Jonah Hex as a bounty hunter since he was scarred in 1866.This was my first comic that featured Jonah Hex & I bought it for the cover alone. I bought a lot of the 'scary books' and the picture of Jonah on the front looked creepy enough for me to buy it. I was also purchasing Weird War Tales at the time& I figured this would be ghost stories & such in the old west. It turned out to be better. A good issue, with circumstances playing a large part & Jonah just reacting to them, rather than causing things to happen. I felt that the story focused more on the con than on Jonah, but that made us see Jonah through the eyes of the people around him. The artwork was incredible, often with the art spilling out of the frames all over the page, even with word balloons stretching across two frames. Almost perfect work.

Next Issue: Indians attack a fort and Jonah gets personal with Eileen.

Weird Western Tales #21 "The Gunfighter"

Weird Western Tales #21 - Jan-Feb 1974
"The Gunfighter "
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art.
Jonah goes after a gang that has robbed a stage coach & killed it's passengers. He gets the drop on them while they sit around the campfire. He shoots and kills one and shoots another then kicks him in the face. Later, while taking the surviving 3 back to the law, the injured Jaspar dies from his wounds.

A snowstorm starts and Jonah & his three charges take shelter with an elderly woman & her daughter, Valerie. The next morning, one of the men comes down with a fever. While Jonah is talking to the woman of the house, Valerie (in her 20's) frees the remaining robber (Roy), who then grabs a fireplace poker and beats Jonah to the ground.

Roy & Valerie take off. Jonah is left with the old woman to take care of him & he has fever dreams of the Civil War. After a few weeks, he is better and leaves. As he rides off, we see the last robber holding a knife & sneaking up on the old woman.

Two days later, Jonah catches up with Roy & Valerie. He manages to lasso Roy around the neck & strangle him until Roy is dead. Jonah is then taking Valerie & Roy's body back to town for the reward. During the night Valerie tries to sneak away & gets captured by three man. They suggest that they intend to rape her but Jonah finds her and strangles one & shoots the other two dead. Jonah & Valerie arrive back at the farmhouse to find the old woman stabbed. Jonah fetches the doc and the old woman pulls through. The doc mentions that Jonah has donated $400 to the children's hospital.

4 days later, Jonah tracks down the last of the stage robbers and shoots him square between the eyes.

Stats for the issue:
Killed by Jonah:
Shot - 5
Strangled - 2
Running Total - 49
Jonah's injuries: Beat with a poker.
Timeline: Nothing to indicate any particular year. I would not place this during or immediately after his marriage to Mei Ling.

A fairly enjoyable issue. Jonah & Valerie bicker back & forth and Jonah pretends that he doesn't care much for people, but the truth gets out when he is worried about the old woman and then donates to the children's hospital. DeZungia's art is fierce and sometimes creepy, but nothing is weirder than this panel where Jonah strangles the would-be rapist as Valerie does some weird Voodoo dance of death.

Next Issue: Lee Van Cleef and a black man eats watermelon.

Weird Western Tales #16 "Grasshopper Courage"

Weird Western Tales #16 - Feb/Mar 1973
"Grasshopper Courage"
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art - Nick Cardy, cover.

Jonah's story is the backup feature with the lead story & cover being handled by El Diablo.

Jonah rides into town, asking about two men that might have ridden in. A fella reading a newspaper smarts off to Jonah & Jonah slowly walks up onto the porch & kicks the chair out from under the man. The guy starts threatening Jonah until he learns his identity and then politely answers Jonah's question.

Jonah walks down the street towards the barber shop where the men are. They come running out, guns blazing but Jonah dives to the ground, fires two shots & kills both of them. The sheriff shows up & levels his rifle at Jonah, who knocks it out of his hands and draws on him. Jonah explains who the dead men are and then goes to the hotel to get some sleep.

Meanwhile a bunch of townspeople gather to complain to the sheriff that he is doing nothing to stop the Scorth Donnigan gang. The shreiff explains that he needs a few deputies. The people aren't buying his excuse & give him 48 hours to bring that gang in or they will elect a new sheriff.

The next morning, Amy Gauwell, the shriff's fiance, tries to hire Jonah to help the Sheriff catch the Donnigan gang. Jonah will have none of it until Amy tells him she will pay $500 (that's about $7,000 in today's money). Jonah then happily takes the job. Jonah tags along with the sheriff.

A few hours later they ride up to an 'oasis' saloon and question the owner. The owner denies seeing anybody and after Jonah & the sheriff leave, the owner explains to his young son that you should never give information away for free. Jonah is standing in the doorway, overhears his confession of the lie and then throws the man through the front window & proceeds to hang him for lying. The man confesses that he has seen the Donnigan gang that day. Jonah & the sheriff track the gang down and Jonah shoots one dead. They both get into a heated gun battle with the gang & the sheriff gets shot.

Jonah sneaks up behind the rest of the gang and shoots the remaining three but ends up stuck in quicksand. The sheriff shows up and has Jonah drop his guns before he will rescue him. Once he rescues Jonah, the sheriff confesses to being in with the Donnigan gang. He takes the money and starts to ride off, mentioning a cute senorita south of the border that is waiting for him. Just then , one of the gang, with his dying breath, manages to shoot & kill the sheriff.

Jonah takes the bodies back to town & tells Amy that the sheriff's last thoughts were of her. No mention is made of the money, but Jonah is said to be heading for Mexico.

Stats in this issue

Men killed by Jonah

Shot ------- 6
Running Total: 28

Jonah's injuries

None, surprisingly

Timeline

There is no mention of any dates, but Jonah is wearing the black hat he acquired in #14, so it is probably around 1867.

The story is good and DeZuniga's art literally seems to move all over the page. Almost every page has someone that can't be contained within the borders of each frame, the best page is here.
I'm not sure how often quicksand showed up in the old west, but it was pretty convienent this time. Jonah ends up tangling with quicksand years later down in Brazil.

Next Issue: Dynamite, shootings and wheelchair death!!!

Weird Western Tales #14 "Killers Die Alone"

Weird Western Tales #14 – Oct/Nov 1972
"Killers Die Alone"
John Albano, story – Tony DeZuniga, art

Jonah is camped out asleep when Iron Jaws, his wolf, attacks a rattlesnake and ends up getting bitten. Jonah takes the wolf to the nearest town, an hour away. Once there, he barges into a doctor’s office demanding that the doc look at the wolf. The doc explains that he is with a patient. Jonah gently sets down Iron Jaws, opens up the window and then tosses the patient out the window, broken legs, crutches and all.

The man hobbles to the nearby saloon and tells his friends, Dan & Butcher, that Jonah is in town. They wait outside the doc’s office and when Jonah leaves, they pistolwhip him and then drag him quite a distance out of town. The two men explain that they are avenging their brother’s death at the guns of Jonah. They then beat Jonah with a rifle and then lead him even farther out into the desert. They tie him spread-eagled in the sand and leave him to die alone. Dan comments that this is Butcher’s greatest fear.

Hours later, Ironjaws comes to Jonah’s rescue. Dragging himself across the desert, Ironjaws eventually chews through the ropes on Jonah’s right hand. Jonah then frees himself, but not before Ironjaws dies from exposure/thirst/snakebite. Jonah covers the wolf’s body with rocks and then heads back to town.

Once in town, he storms into the doc’s office demanding water, clothes & a gun. Once outfitted, he goes after Dan & Butcher, who have held up the express office, killed the stationmaster, & left town.

The next evening Jonah tracks down the pair & shoots Dan. As Butcher is trying to escape, he is attacked by a mountain lion. Butcher manages to shoot & kill the lion, but not before getting bitten. Butcher then surrenders to Jonah in order to be taken to a doctor. Jonah tells Butcher that it’s a four hour ride back to town & Butcher will be dead by then because the mountain lion was clearly rabid. Butcher then start begging Jonah to stay with him so he won’t die alone.

Jonah grabs the dead Dan, throws it on Butcher, telling him that his brother will keep him company. Jonah rides off as Butcher lies there pleading “…Hex… Hex…don’t leave me…”

Stats in this issue

Men killed by Jonah

Shot ---------1

Abandoned ---- 1

Running Total: 22

Jonah's injuries

Pistol whipped

Beaten with rifle

Timeline

This story takes place between Jonah’s scarring in 1866 and WWT #19 that is stated as occurring in 1867. During this story Jonah takes a hat from the doctor. This hat is flat & black with a striped headband and it appears in issues #14, #16, & #19 (It may appear in 15, 17, & 18. I currently do not own those). In issue #20, he is once again wearing his normal gray hat.

This issue also contains “The Replacement” by John Albano and “Anachronism” by Don Kaar with art by Alex Toth. This last story is very nice in that the pages are landscape, you have to turn the book sideways to read it.

The Hex story is fair. Jonah doesn’t do a whole lot, the story is basically about Jonah & his relationship with the wolf. Personally, if that wolf can track Jonah across a desert, drag himself out there and then gnaw through the ropes before dying, Jonah needs to find someone that can raise that beast from the dead. How bas-ass would that be, Jonah with a zombie wolf?

This issue shows that Jonah will repay a kindness from an animal, but casually toss an injured man out a window. The ending seems kind of rushed but it still seems fitting that Jonah is heading off for a steak as a man dies. It also appears that he is giving up the bounty that would have been posted on Dan & Butcher. Also, leaving a man to die of rabies is pretty cold-hearted, but then tossing the rotting corpse of his brother on top of him? That gives me chills. I can imagine that the vultures would be lining up to that buffet. (The DC dept of health requests that you use a clean plate for seconds)

Some of the timing of the story seems rather awkward as well. At the opening of the story, Jonah is asleep for the night, an hour later in town, the doc is seeing a patient and the saloon is open. I’m not sure what time this is supposed to be, but “hours later” Jonah is in the desert & it appears that the sun is coming up. Once Jonah is tied down, the sun is high in the sky. When Jonah gets back to the docs house, it is dark once again.

Next Issue: a lying sheriff and a pit of quicksand

Weird Western Tales #12 "Promise to a Princess"

Weird Western Tales #12 June-July 1972
"Promise to a Princess"
John Albano, story - Tony DeZuniga, art - Joe Kubert, cover.

Jonah is having breakfast when two gunmen walk into the saloon and threaten to shoot him. Jonah kills both of them without leaving his seat by shooting under the table. The townspeople, led by Mr. Craig, decide they have had enough of the dangerous Hex and plan on lynching him.

Just then a horse comes into town with a dead rider that has an arrow in his back. Jonah leaves town during the confusion. Now the townspeople have to decide what to do about the Indian problem.

The next day, while Jonah is bathing in a stream, Little Fawn, a Pawnee princess (who appears to be about 9 or 10), grabs Jonah's gun and kidnaps him. With the help of her wolf, Iron Jaws, she directs Jonah back to her tribes location. While they are crossing a bridge, the brigde breaks and Little Fawn accidentally shoots Jonah in the left shoulder. Jonah rescues her from the river and takes her back home.


At the tribe's village, Jonah learns that Mr. Craig has delivered blankets treated with small pox to the tribe. Craig is just waiting for the tribe to die. While Jonah & the chief are talking, Little Fawn faints from small pox. Jonah decides to find a doctor & get some medicine. While leaving the village, Jonah kills at least two of Craigs men that are watching the village.

It takes almost two days for Jonah to catch up with the doc, but he gets some medicine & goes back to the village. The entire village is dead but it's unclear if it is the work of the pox or Craig's men. Jonah finds Little Fawns body and then makes a vow over her grave that he will make Craig pay.

Jonah rides back to town to discover that the town is infected with small pox and that Craig is dying. Jonah gives Craig the medicine and just as Craig is about to drink it, Jonah shoots the bottle in Craig's hand, thus dooming him to die from the pox. Jonah gets on his horse, General, and takes Iron Jaw the wolf & leaves town.



Stats for the issue
Killed by Jonah:
Shot - 4
Doomed to die by smallpox - 1
Running Total: 17
Jonah's injuries:
Shot in left shoulder
Timeline: Since the Pawnee Indians were moved from Nebraska to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) in 1874, this would be one of the earlier stories taking place between 1866 & 1874.

A good issue with Jonah showing compassion for the helpless and those being treated unfairly.There were several large panels in the artwork with two splash pages. He was pretty ruthless by allowing Craig to think he was saved and then destroying the medicine in front of him. The terrain didn't resemble Nebraska, but some folks don't bother to research where various Indian tribes lived. This issue also had an El Diablo story, a Bat Lash story, and a Pow-Wow Smith reprint.

Next Issue: The Prodigal Son goes absolutely stark raving bananas.