Welcome back, old man.
It feels really good to type those words and mean them. Ever since the stealthy announcement back in January that Jonah was getting a new series this year, I've been a mite worried as to what that would look like, partially because of how badly he was handled in that Justice League: Warworld movie. I also did a fair amount of speculating as to what this book might look like, and it looks like we've landed somewhere between "Bounty-Hunting Wild West Hex" and "Brand-New Reimagined Hex": A miniseries in a traditional setting, yet with a new twist that retains Jonah's heart.
It's wild how many moments in this first issue echo ones from all across Hex history (I should know, as I'm a bit of an expert on that). The opening pages are similar to the opening of Jonah Hex (vol. 2) #1, he finds himself haunted in a manner that may or may not be genuine (as seen in JHv2#9, not to mention the situation with his dead daughter sprinkled throughout J&J's run), there's an allusion to the crows seen in the 2010 Jonah Hex movie, the young stable hand rattles off references to events from JH#7, JHv2#13, and Two-Gun Mojo, and of course the bounty hunter sports the "Old Man Hex" look we first saw in the Jonah Hex Spectacular way back in 1978.
On that note, if we have to put a date on this story (and ya know I love to do that), I'd say this takes place at the turn of the 20th Century, either before or after JHv2#25, as Jonah has apparently given up his old ways (another echo, this time to JHv2#34, an issue I know very well), and is so reluctant to return to them that he not only turns the other cheek after getting walloped in the face, he goes so far as to take a hatchet to his pistols when the temptation to wield them again arises. This is a Hex who is bound and determined to not participate in his own story, and I love that.
As for the story...oh my. There's tinges of Vertigo, but this ain't the crass humor of Lansdale. Michael Walsh is dead serious and creepy, in both his words and art. That flower the little girl, Annie, gives to Hex is one of the few bright spots in this issue, the rest is just foreboding, including the fact that we don't know who'd doing the narration here (points for sticking with J&J's decision to not give Hex an interior monologue). I have no idea where all of this is going, but I'm happy to say that we're off to a great start. I look forward to reading -- and reviewing -- the next one.
One last thing: I am seriously weirded out that there's multiple covers to choose from! Like for almost the entirety of Jonah's existence, he's gotten one cover per issue. Only exceptions I can think of are JHv2#50 and JHv2#56, that's it. Now I have FIVE to choose from? With EVERY issue? Decadence!
