Out of the Wilderness and Into the Wild
After their successful run on Jonah Hex, Palmiotti and Gray take the character to a new location but not in a new direction. Let’s all thank the Comic Gods for this. In their previous Jonah Hex series the writing team presented single issue stories about the adventures of Jonah Hex. This allowed anyone at anytime to pick up an issue and enjoy it. I loved the format and really wish more comics would follow. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve picked up a comic with a really great cover and when I open it up its part 4 of 7. When I see this I have to decide if I want to spend the money for the previous 3 issues that I may or may not like or just keep browsing. Guess what I do 95% of the time. This new series doesn’t follow the old format but I don’t care because it was the best thing I read of the new 52.
Hex finds himself taken out of his comfort zone of the Wild West and thrown into Gotham’s Gilded Age. It’s a fresh idea that expands on both the mythology of Hex and Gotham. Jonah has been recruited by local law enforcement to catch a whore murdering psychopath dubbed the Gotham Butcher. Carrying on his own investigation without the police he teams up with another man after the Butcher, Doctor Amadeus Arkham (Yes, of Arkham Asylum fame). This amateur head shrinker spends as much time profiling the killer as he does Jonah Hex. And it is through this internal monologue that the writers introduce Jonah Hex to a potential new audience. Brilliant! The story becomes a genre smash up of Western and Crime Noir and it plays out beautifully.
There are so many details in the story that enrich it. For example, the nervous and strange Dr. Arkham seems to have a mild absinthe addiction that makes him seem all the more mad scientist. Also, through the course of their investigation the two come to believe that the Butcher is actually a duo. One, weathly and intelligent, and the other dumb brute possessing great strength. To me this seems to mirror the very relationship that Arkham and Hex have. I really have no problem with the script or layouts. I do hope though that we have not yet “met” the Butcher. It would be cheap gimmick if the Butcher ended up being Arkham or anyone who had a speaking part in this first issue.

The writing is greatly enhanced by the artwork of Moritat and the exceptional color work of Gabriel Bautista. It’s a grimy sepia tone for most of the pages and it compliments the book very nicely. The faces seem to belong to the time period and some of the expressions on Arkham’s face are priceless. Also, the whores look great!
This book was $3.99 as opposed to the usual $2.99 and its well worth it. The ads are limited and if all comics were as great as this one I’d be happy to pay $3.99. I might have gone postal if there was a Subway Mini-comic in this book.