Anyone else reading this book? I'm enjoying it. It's one of the few books from the "New 52" that has any staying power for me. Funny thing is, I didn't read many of Jonah's stories back in the day. In point of fact, I believe I first encountered the character when he appeared in a JLA-JSA crossover along with Miss Liberty, the Black Pirate, the Viking Prince and Enemy Ace. I was a regular reader of Hex, the book that plopped him down in a post-apocalyptic 21 Century. I enjoyed that book alot, although I sometimes get the impression that no one else did. I've always been a sucker for "fish out of water" stories. Perhaps that's why I like the new book - so far, at least, Hex has spent very little time actually in the West. The premise of the book is that Jonah comes to Gotham City in pursuit of a criminal and meets up with Amadeus Arkham. The two become somewhat reluctant "anti-buddies", in pursuit of the dark forces that rule behind the scenes in Gotham, and later, New Orleans. While Jonah Hex remains the main star of the book, a few issues in they started having back-up stories featuring various other "Western" characters like El Diablo, the Barbary Ghost and Nighthawk and Cinnamon. These last two have crossed over with the main story, meeting up with Jonah in the Big Easy. By and large the back-ups have been entertaining. Lately, the book has been crossing over with the "Tennis Court of Owls" thing that they've been tying together the Bat-books with, but since I haven't been reading them, that part really doesn't mean much to me. Coming up next in the back-up story, we are promised Bat Lash, another character I don't know much about.
The art on this is good, it suits the characters and the timeframe. The main attraction for me is the deranged "non-friendship" between Hex and Arkham, as they to deal with one another's unpleasant clashing personalities whie also dealing with the various odd threats that they face at the same time.
All in all, it's a fun book.
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...I bought the earliest ASWs with Jonah , including the first , IIRC , FWIW.........
Yes, I'm reading this as well. This is one of the very few DC comics that I'm actually finding enjoyable. The combination of Hex and Arkham have made a great odd couple.
I'm trade-waiting, but I did read the first issue and really enjoyed it.
I wasn't a big Hex fan in his first runs in Weird Western and Jonah Hex, although I did buy and read the books, and was one of those fans you suspected couldn't stand the SF Hex. But I really enjoyed the last run of the character, by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, who are also writing the new series.
I've already ordered the first trade from Amazon, and now I can't wait!
I was about to add All Star Western to my DCnU review thread because it's one of the best comics out there, certainly the best non-superhero book from either DC or Marvel. It rates an A, for sure. Unlike the previous Jonah Hex series (was it retitled bevause of the bad movie?) which was storyarcs that may or may not directly follow one another, ASW is a continued work, granting us a slice of this extraordinary man's life.
Jonah is both a pragmatic and a romantic with his own moral code. He is a warrior who now must protect the masses who shun him from the elite that abuses them. He wants to return to the open-skyed plains yet is trapped in these corrupt cities because he will not give up the chase once he has started. A violent man, bred on violence, rewarded by violence has become the killer for justice, giving him a third companion (after gunsmoke and Death, of course).
He has been saddled with Doctor Amadeus Arkham (Winner of the West's "Doctor Smith Award" for most annoying sidekick) yet Hex does need him to gain entry into high society and guide him through the politics of city life. But will his travels with Hex drive the good Doctor mad? Or inspire him to confine the criminals away from society to safeguard these damaged souls from people like Jonah?
The link with the new Batman series became more apparent once I reread both books. In fact, Jonah is in New Orleans to track down a wealthy fugitive whose house was filled with stuffed....owls!
The back-ups are great as well. El Diablo remind us that the West was Weird, the Barbary Ghost expands and diversifies DC's past and Rollin Hand Nighthawk and Cinnamon are obscure characters who, Post Zero Hour were actually part of the reincarnation chain of Hawkman & Hawkwoman.
So let's ride!
This is one of those books on which I really need to get caught up. I have loved the two or three issues that I've read, but am woefully behind. It's one of those that I won't read if I'm tired or have any danger of falling asleep, nor if I have somewhere to go in twenty minutes. It's a heftier read than most, I've found. But good. Always good.
I'm a big Jonah Hex fan; I have all of his titles going back to All-Star Western #10 (first series, 1972). I'm enjoying this series, as it has chosen to move away from the done-in-one approach of the last Jonah Hex series and do some continued stories, more like the first, long-running Jonah Hex series.
Also, I like the odd-couple pairing of Hex and Dr. Amadeus Arkham. They aren't friends, and they aren't really partners, but they make an interesting team.
I'm trade waiting this one and I'm really looking forward to it.
I finally got caught up on this book, and I love it. The art by Moritat somehow perfectly compliments Palmiotti and Gray's writing. I wouldn't think that an artist with such a European look would be so ideal for a Western gunslinger like Hex. I also really liked Patrick Scherberger's art on the Nighthawk and Cinnamon back-up feature.
I read the first Barbary Ghost back-up and didn't read anymore. Blech. Not for me.
But I really enjoy reading Amadeus Arkham as the persnickety prude vs. bad-ass "who gives a *&#%" Jonah Hex.
I notice that this book is now extending the super-powered costumed crusader back into the 1800's DCU. For that, this book is clearly treading ground new to even Palmiotti and Gray's masterful pre-New52 run.
The latest issue has a back-up feature starring Dr. Terrence Thirteen. I don't remember Dr. Thirteen beign a 19th Century character before, is that new?
I think it's supposed to be either his grandfather or great-grandfather.
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