Weird Western Tales: Jonah Hex by John AlbanoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Weird Western Tales: Jonah Hex collects All Star Western #10-11 and Weird Western Tales #12-14 and #16-38 featuring Jonah Hex.
I've been a fan of Jonah Hex since Joe Lansdale, Tim Truman, and Sam Glanzman did the Jonah Hex Vertigo books in the 1990s but I've never read his original adventures until now.
Michael Fleisher, John Albano, Cary Bates, Arnold Drake, and Russel Carley handle the writing chores and Tony deZuniga, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, George Moliterni, Noly Panaligan, Rich Buckler, Luis Dominguez, Bill Draut, Oscar Novelle, Frank Springer, and Doug Wildey handle the art.
The stories hit all the Western standards with Jonah being an ace gunfighter and bounty hunter with his own code of honor. If you see him coming, he's coming after you for a reason. His history is hinted at but not fully explored apart from his surrender during the war between the states. We don't find out about his facial scar in this volume. The bad guys inevitably get gunned down by Hex, making for some satisfying tales. John Albano is easily my favorite among the writers.
Art wise, this is a great looking book. JLGL is iconic but Tony deZuniga's EC influenced, gritty art style is by far my favorite. The man knows his away around a desert shoot out. One thing I didn't care for in the book was that sometimes Hex is depicted clean shaven. A guy like Hex spends a lot of time on the plains and has no time for shaving.
That's about all I have to say, I guess. This is great stuff and I hope DC reprints more classic Hex. Hell, they can bring more modern Hex back into print too.
Weird Western Tales: Jonah Hex is a fantastic collection of tales featuring everyone's favorite scarred gunfighter. Five out of five stars.
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