He was a hero to some, a villain to others,
and wherever he rode people spoke his name in whispers.
Vertigo Comics revived Joe Albano’s DC/Vertigo character and
handed the pen over to novelist Joe R. Lansdale and the art to Timothy Truman
and Sam Glanzman.
This compilation brings together three series of
stories: Two-Gun Mojo, Riders of the Worm and Such, and Shadows West.
The original Jonah, character, story and art were
clearly modeled on the Clint Eastwood incarnation of Forrest Carter’s Josey
Wales, with a mix of George Gilman’s Josiah Hedges thrown in for good measure.
The artwork here is superlative and frame-filled with images
the original could only hint at.
Story wise, well, Lansdale in his introduction states himself
that he recalled when younger he thought that Jonah Hex was involved in a supernatural
West but upon re-reading a run of issues he discovered that was not the case.
In this re-boot, Lansdale plays to his memory rather
than the original character.
The first series, Two Gun Mojo is the least supernatural
aka Weird West of the three, and for this reader far more successful. A lot of
fun is had exploring this version of the West—plays as a sort of lost Josey
Wales film.
The other two stories are practically pure Weird Western
with a heavy dose of Cthulhu Mythos. So much so the stories seem to lose the “Western”
feel. If it weren’t for costume and dialogue props to the Old West, it could be
any setting just so long as we get to the weird aspect of it all.
Don’t get me wrong, I had fun with the volume, but far
more so with the first [and lengthiest] Two Gun Mojo.
More in this vein would be mighty welcome.
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