DC saved some of the absolute gems of the New 52 for this final week, with All Star Western standing head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. I had been a lapsed Jonah Hex reader in the past, picking up the occasional issue when a particular artist (Darwyn Cooke, Eduardo Risso etc) particularly caught my eye. Not only did reading this issue make me eager to read the next one, it actually made me want to go back and pick up all the collected editions of the previous run!
From the beautiful painted cover onwards, this book felt like a great deal of care and attention had been paid to giving readers value for money. The story and art seemed designed to be pored over, soaked up, enjoyed and re-read. Hex himself, and his newfound ally Amadeus Arkham, were both presented as fascinating characters, but perhaps the most interesting character to be found here was Gotham City herself. It’s become something of a cliche, I know, to talk about the setting of a story being a character in it’s own right, but here the point is entirely justified, with Palmiotti and Grey giving us a tantalising glimpse of Batman’s hometown and it’s denizens in their infancy, spectacularly realised by artist Moritat, whose cityscapes alone are worth the price of admission.
Everything about this issue, every word of narration, every exchange of dialogue, every sepia-toned panel of artwork did it’s job perfectly, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.