All Star Western #6 Review

Jonah Hex figures out one mystery, but begins a new chase in All Star Western #6!

All Star Western #6

In this month’s main feature, Jonah Hex and Dr. Arkham have gotten away from a tribe of Indians thought to be extinct, only to run into a giant, prehistoric bat!  After Hex kills and decapitates the monster bat, they have earned the respect of the bat men tribe.  They are shown the way out of the underground caverns which happens to be right at the front step of Wayne Manor.  They get help and bust up the child slave labor camp that was underground, and things become clear to Hex.  The man behind it all was the father of the very child they were looking for to begin with.  They learn that Moody has escaped to New Orleans.  Hex sends message ahead to old friends Cinnamon and Nighthawk that he’s coming for the escaped criminal.

This particular issue from Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Moritat shows exactly how cool and great this series has been.  Right away, we have Jonah Hex battling a giant monster bat (not something I’d ever expect, but so thankful to have seen).  The fight doesn’t last long, but it doesn’t have to.  The real magic of this issue is what happens next.  As brutal as Hex can be as the world’s most infamous bounty hunter, he’s also incredibly intelligent.  He proves that a character doesn’t have to be a Bruce Wayne to understand a world in a way that remains hidden to others.  It’s that Hex travels in both the light and the dark and can understand not only what’s the right thing to do or the right way to live, but also how a cold blooded criminal may think.  When you get right down to it, that’s what makes Hex fun.  He’s rough and tough, but has a sharp brain knows how to get results.

Moritat’s art is incredible.  There’s a beauty to it that isn’t expected.  There’s a grit to it but it’s so damn gorgeous all at the same time.  The title page proves his talent.  Yes, it’s freakin’ awesome to get a full page of Jonah Hex squaring off against a giant bat, but it’s more than just what you might see on a Meatloaf cover that’s overly fueled with dark testosterone.  It’s dynamic and something that transcends a rock and roll cover.  It’s just freaking awesome.  Then, what starts with a giant bat, ends with a truly beautiful full cover page with Cinnamon and Nighthawk that has a completely different effect.  It’s softer, and more fitting for classic western characters.  It’s a type of image that when it came, I immediately got excited for the next issue.

In the back up Barbary Ghost story, Gray and Pamiotti’s new Asian heroine finally gets her revenge when she finally tracks down her sworn enemy.  She learns that her mother is alive, but when she’s unable to get her whereabouts from Bo, it doesn’t stop her from taking her final revenge against him.

This backup story, much like the El Diablo story in issues 2 and 3, is short, but there’s a classic feel to it.  These types of quick hit stories was a staple of old DC and Marvel anthologies of the 70s and early 80s.  While they aren’t as deep or decompressed as the comics we read these days, they give just the right amount of story and action in their fast paced format to be entertaining.  I guess a good way to approach a back up story is to not expect anything that would be on the same level as the main story.  They are short format for a reason and they are written to be just that – quick and fun.  Phil Winslade’s art in the Barbary Ghost story is not only fits the story well, but also fits the series too.  It looks like it belongs in All Star Western, but it also fits the art style of those old anthology books.  That makes the entire series feel like I’ve gotten a box full of old western books and it makes the experience reading it all that much more fun.

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Tags: All-Star Western Jimmy Palmiotti Jonah Hex Justin Gray Moritat New DCU