A Hex Upon Your House!

JONAH HEX #1

Well, lookee here. What’s this? A Western comic that doesn’t involve zombies, alternate futures, weirdness for weirdness’ sake, or any apparent overarching hoo-ha about superheroes?

I am so in.

Jonah Hex here is presented as a drifter, a problem-solver for hire who lives by his own code and wanders around doing jobs for cash and shooting people who deserve it. If the first issue is any template to judge by, it looks like we’re in for a grand old episodic Western comic with double-crossing varmints, nefarious schemes, and one man’s struggle to reconcile who he is with what he does.

Did I mention that this doesn’t shy away from depictions of violence or pull any punches when it comes to creating emotional situations with no easy answers?

Yeah. This comic was totally Airwolf. Plus, Hex has always had that creepy face thing going for him (about 100 times ookier than any depiction of Two-Face than I’ve ever seen), and the art smartly photoreferences Clint Eastwood for the non-mutilated half of his face. I read this 3 times in a row, and liked it better each time.

Palmiotti and Gray (we’ll be talking about them more in another review) hit this one out of the park. Looks like old-fashioned Westerns are back, and that’s a good thing. The question now is whether or not enough people buy it.

You. Right there. The one looking at your monitor---yeah, you. Go buy this comic.

Best Moment: “Normally, I’d hang you, but I figure your actions warrant something really cruel and unusual.” Heh. Justice, thy name is Hex.

Worst Moment: Hex discovers the lost boy he’s been searching for, and in a rare instance me not spoiling the comic for y’all, it’s a wrenching sequence that you’ll just have to read for yourself.

Comic Book Goodness: 5/5. Unequivocally the best comic I’ve read in a month, and one that, gosh darn it, gives me hope for the industry overall. I’m weepy, y’all.