Jonah Hex: Shadows West by Joe R. Lansdale

 

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.

Pursued Starring Robert Mitchum

 

This 1947 film written by Niven Busch and directed by Raoul Walsh is considered the first noir Western, and indeed, it listed as such in Frant and Hodgkiss’s volume Renegade Westerns.

It has long been championed by Martin Scorsese who paid out of pocket for its restoration.

So, how is the film?

It is indeed dark, moody, flash-back filled, rife with Freudian overtones.

It has all the requisite ingredients of an urban noir film.

I found the flashbacks and Freudian pre-destination a bit much for my tastes but…it is not a bad film and the sleepy-eyed cool of Robert Mitchum makes all hum along at a brisk pace.

No A to my eye, but I lack the expertise of Mr. Scorsese, I would bet his side of the ledger over mine.

“The Alchemist” by Loren D. Estleman

 

The long man smelled like a French king.

The scent, heavy with crushed violets and lime water and oil of oleander, was his principal distinguishing feature after his great height, which compelled him to bow his head to clear the lintel and afterwards stand with shoulders rounded and his hat off to avoid colliding with the objects that hung from the beams. The hat was a new Stetson, blocked into the Texas pinch, with a brown leather sweatband to which clung a number of cut hairs. He had been to see Juan Morales then, and after his haircut and shave had visited the Aztec Baths and had his brown wool suit brushed and his white shirt boiled in corn water and pressed with a flatiron while he soaked away the hard crust of sweat and sand that had formed like a salt rind during the long ride from the border. His plastered hair was black and glossy, he wore a gringo mustache with ends that trailed, and his thinker’s face was long with sorrow. To his vest was pinned a five-pointed star and a shield, nickel plated, without engraving.

A winner of the Spur Award for Short Fiction in 1996 and expanded into the novel Journey of the Dead in 1998, this is undoubtedly written like a dream.

Adding to the dreaminess is the somewhat metaphysical nature of the theme.

Both versions of the tale are, undoubtedly, one of the most original takes on the Pat Garrett/Billy the Kid mythos.

Estleman is a fine writer, the craft is art here. I was at a little remove due to the oddness of the approach but that does not diminish what the author presents.

No matter the take away, what is rendered is art.

Rio Conchos

 

A tight 1964 Western based on a Clair Huffaker novel, translated to the screen by Joseph Landon and directed by Gordon Douglas.

The cast is led by a superlative Richard Boone, with an early and impressive appearance by Jim Brown and Tony Franciosa having a blast in a “never cast it that way these days” role.

The late Elmore Leonard was once asked what actor gave voice to his dialogue as he conceived it—he said, one man, Richard Boone.

Boone’s performance is nearly the entire show here. From leer, to snarl, to quiet moment, to tough or incredulous line readings—top hand the entire way.

Unfortunately, what keeps this film from traipsing into A territory is a wooden performance by Stuart Whitman. His cavalry officer is so ramrod straight and present in too many scene to really shake off this imposing effect.

But…what is good here, is very good.

Well worth a look or a second look for those who are already fans of tough-minded westerns.

“The Therefore Hog” by A.B. Guthrie

 

We went downstairs, where Slaughter said he’d have a little hair of the dog and wound up with most of the pelt.

This brief tale by Guthrie was selected as one of the 100 Best by Mr. Lewis.

I shall split with the fine editor here. I usually dovetail with his tastes just fine, but this first-person dialect laden story is of the “I’m joshin’ with ya in this ol’ yarn” variety.

Your tolerance for such fare may be higher, and in that case this may be a winner for you.

A Thunder of Drums

 

This 1961 film stars Richard Boone as a hardened cavalry officer and George Hamilton as the fresh lieutenant with much to learn.

What drew me to this, initially, was the supporting role played by Charles Bronson, but, I must admit, this was a bit of a letdown as he plays against type as a lazy recruit with a mindless chuckle.

Didn’t quite work for this viewer.

But we do have a script by James Warner Bellah based on his superlative story, “Command.”

The cavalry aspects of the script have an authentic snap to them but, unfortunately the non-military elements are middle-grade soap opera.

What does shine here is Richard Boone. Tough. Wise. Authoritative.

If there is a reason to view this B-Western he is it.

Superlative performance.

Comanche Captives by Fred Grove

 

From here he could see the pattern of the white-topped encampment. Wagons, tongues pointed inward, corralled in a rectangle: that shape because, in event of attack, it allowed greater movement and afforded easier penning of stock without the confusion and whirlpool effect of the circle, a defensive tactic learned from Mackenzie. The troopers’ shelter tents just outside. Next the mules and horses, then the sentries. Besides being staked out, sidelined and guarded, most of the animals wore chain-connected leather hobbles attached to picket ropes. Until just before dark the stock had been grazed away from the train, which assured grass near camp when moved in later. Baldwin’s own mount was on iron picket pin and hobbles close to the ambulance.

This 1963 Spur Winning novel might best be called a “Calvary Procedural.”

It is tight on cavalry protocol, not just battle tactics, but the minutia of travel, bivouac, and all the other mundane aspects usually glossed over in action-only novels.

Lest I make that sound like the novel is event-free, not at all. It is terse and swiftly paced. Grove has a way to weave his details so that the day to day feels part and parcel of the narrative without being mere “info-dump.”

The plot is simple: Get these people from here to there safely.

In many respects it is one of formula but, it is more than that. While not a delve deep into character story, we still learn enough along the way about these individuals via their actions and reactions to events to come to know them.

It is easy to see why this one picked up top honors.