Jonah Hex, Vol. 3: Origins

Jonah Hex (2006) (Collected Editions) #3

by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jordi Bernet (Illustrator)

Collecting JONAH HEX #13-18, featuring the never-before-told origin of Jonah Hex plus other tales of his travels in the old West, dodging bullets, righting wrongs and courting death.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Westerns, Dc Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2007

About the author

Justin currently writes Novels, Graphic Novels, Video Games, Screenplays.

He has held various jobs including, fossil hunting, microphotography of 20 million year old insects and plants trapped in amber, seminars and exhibitions on the cleaning, mining and identification of prehistoric insects for the American Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian. He traveled to the mountains of the Dominican Republic and mined amber.

He has also worked as a victim advocate for Victims Assistance of Westchester, a not-for-profit organization that helps victims of crime.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gray and Palmiotti switch over to some multi-part stories in this volume. A good retelling of Jonah's origin, flashing back and forth between past and present as characters from his past reappear. Jordi Bernet's art was hit and miss for me, sometimes gritty, sometimes cartoony. Then we have Tallulah Black's origin, Jonah's reoccuring "love" interest. Phil Noto's art was very good. Finally, there's a messed up story about a woman on the run from a gang of men. It's rare to see Val Semekis's art these days, so it's nice anytime we get some pages from Val.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I keep hopping around in the Jonah Hex chronology depending on which ones I grab on Shopgoodwill. In this volume, there's a two parter about Jonah Hex taking Tellulah Black under his wing as she goes gunning for vengeance. The rest of the stories are one offs depecting various facets of Jonah's origin, like how he got the scar, etc.

With Gray and Palmiotti at the helm, this Jonah Hex run is one of the best runs of the last 25 years and it's shameful that it hasn't been brought back into print. Five out of five stars.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

With this third volume, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, continue their amazing run of the Jonah Hex series. The origin adds much more depth to the character of Jonah Hex. Written in a very interesting manner, it keeps the readers invested throughout. However, I felt that some subtle changes and details could have made the book much more better.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good retelling of Jonah's origin, originally told in his first series back in the 70s/80s. Palmiotti and Gray are joined by artist Jordi Bernet, who has a really nice style that works for westerns. Bernet's signature, though, is stolen from Alex Toth.

The second story featuring the first appearance of Tallulah Black, drawn by Phil Noto, is bloody and full of revenge. Black is a great recurring character and sexual interest for Jonah, too.

The last story just isn't that great. Jonah gets in the middle of something he can't predict, and it just falls flat. Val Semeikis's art is good, but typical comic book style. Doesn't really fit after the superb out-of-the-box art by Bernet and Noto.

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was pretty cool. This was my first experience with Jonah Hex (outside of that god-awful movie) and I must say it was pretty fun.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was freaking awesome. Jonah Hex is a total badass who doesn't fuck around with anyone. He leaves a body count wherever he goes and does it in a way that most Eastwood characters would be jealous of.

Also, the Tallulah Black story was awesome.

[Adam M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still 5 stars, still one of my favorites. You get an introduction to Jonah's father, the tribe that raised him for a time and Ms. Tallulah Black. Tallulah is one of my favorite characters not only in this comic, but in all of comics. What she does for any given Hex story she shows up in cannot be understated.

Again, I love this character and these books. Grain of salt this review.

[Claire Blind Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool stories. I personally liked Tallulah Black. She was really cool. the other stories were kind of depressing though. especially the cannibal one, although i see how it was used to develop the Jonah Hex tormented past character.

[Portobellord · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brutal. The last story hit me hard, punched me in the guts. I'm still thinking about it. You can try to do what you think is right, but you just never know do you?

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bad ass. Like reading a Clint Eastwood spaghetti western on crack.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonah Hex is the ultimate anti-hero.

[Potatowast3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't hand out 5 stars easily when it comes to comic books.

[47Time · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has finally come into its own. It's difficult to put it down at this point, even if it's only one-shots from here on out.

After being on the losing side in a battle during the Civil War, Jonah is whipped senseless and left for dead. We detour through his childhood before we find the origin on his scars. It's a wonder the man isn't dead a hundred times over. Instead he outlives everyone who ever did him harm. Now he wants to punish the men who tortured him years before.

Jonah relives his torture at the hands of the Unionists and the healing he received from a Native Indian. Next is his childhood. He was raised by an abusive father, but one who also rooted in him the sense of justice he became known for later in life. His father left young Jonah in the care of an Apache tribe on his way to California. Jonah earned their trust and became treated as an equal, but was later betrayed by one of them because of the color of his skin. Years later he challenged his betrayer, the Apache chief's son, and killed him in combat. The chief punished Jonah for this, inflicting his well-known scar, but left him alive. Back in the present Jonah is joined by Apache allies to avenge the massacre of the tribe that raised him, even though the same tribe exiled him.

Tallulah is the only one left alive when a group of former soldiers claim her family's land in the name of the government. She joins a brothel where she is found by one of the men. He rapes and mutilates her. She is told to look for Jonah Hex for revenge. He reluctantly accepts her request to teach her how to get the men that destroyed her life. Her training goes well. She is skilled enough to kill her targets, though she gets seriously wounded. Jonah leaves her behind to learn how to live with her revenge.

[Nate]

Opens with a three-part look at various parts of Jonah’s past, including how he got his scar and how he came to be raised by Apaches. Then we get the two-issue “Ballad of Tallulah Black,” about a woman wronged by Rebels turned government agents who recruits Hex in her quest for vengeance. The book ends with a story about Hex encountering possible cannibals.

I’m starting to love this series. It’s gritty and well-written, and the one-and-done story format really suits Jonah Hex, even in the modern age.

[Adhara Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was nice to finally learn about Hex past.

[MrCervero · Rating 5 out of 5]

En este tomo tenemos un par de historias y un relato corto para cerrar.

Comenzamos con el origen de Jonah en tres números con dibujo de Jordi Bernet. La narrativa entremezcla presente y pasado y por fin sabremos como ha obtenido su característica cicatriz.

A continuación "La Balada de Tallulah Black" presentará al personaje y su historia personal a lo largo de dos números muy buenos dibujados por Phil Noto.

Y como colofón el último numero es un relato de lo más interesante, violento y dramático, como ya nos tienen acostumbrados en esta colección, para un cierre perfecto.

Imprescindible por sus historias y su dibujo. Es muy entretenido, con mucha acción y drama. Además Jonah Hex es un gran personaje. 9/10

Edición: Rústica de tapas gruesas y duras, buenas a la vista y tacto. Tamaño reducido y manejable con buen papel (cosido y encolado). Muy buena.

Un saludo.

Guion-9 Dibujo-9 Edicion-7

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonah Hex.... I was unfamiliar with your game. I apologize for waiting so long to read you.

[Oliver Hodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yep, a pretty brutal book, in a similar vein to the brube's Criminal, but tied down into the western setting. Set up some fascinating angles between Hex of confederate and apache culture, and northern and southern whites, women, and native americans. Probably correctly erred on the side of not going to in depth to those contexts as a vigilante with half a face can only shine so much light there, especially in the confines of the horror/action genre.

Like the stand-alone stories or short arcs, as it speeds up pacing and still delivers character development.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely my favorite volume so far. The stories have much more depth and richness, and we see the difficult circumstances of Jonah's history (not to mention the difficult choices he makes in the present).

I so, so wish that Phil Noto drew these exclusively. His art is *by far* the best out of the first three volumes, and his lines and coloring set an atmosphere that were pitch perfect.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little better than the average graphic novel.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great addition to the "Jonah Hex" western book series.

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, so good. I liked getting glimpses of Hex's past and the solo stories are always strong. Liking it.

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the sudden, this modern take on Jonah Hex turned to be sooooo-o good with two longer story arcs and one short but quite surprising and intense tale.
Nice one.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I talk about this book here - https://youtu.be/mJqgwgDPCuE

[Justin Partridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

“As I said earlier, it was the man who was sometimes uncultured, the man of coarse garb and rude weaponry that forged the country. Times will change as they do, men will construct laws and proper courts to judge his fellow citizens to prove he’s civilized.

And sometime in the distant future, folks will speak of the days when handsome cowboys had a noble hand in preserving justice.

But not THESE days, no sir…THESE days belong to Jonah Hex.”

Alright, so now we start to hit some diminishing returns story-wise. Mainly just because these issues spend so much time explaining stuff that it saps the forward momentum of the usual stories. Getting the TORPEDO guy to do most of it definitely helps but I never want to know too terribly much about my gunslingers and we get a bunch of that here.

I WILL SAY THOUGH, I totally understand the retelling/retooling of Hex’s origins. Weirdly I thought they did this earlier but tried to reexplain his choice of uniform but I guess that’s later on. But the explicit distancing of it from his firmly rooted in “Southern Justice” original origins is a good move in terms of using him a modern lead for modern (read:2006) audiences.

Pairing it with this volume’s cameo, Tallulah Black, too is smart. And gives it a lot more oomph to help temper all that “God’s Special White Man and His Trauma” with someone much cooler and complimentary of Hex.

I love Black and happy to see she got brought into the fold this early and with her own mini-arc with Noto no less (who also colors this whole volume with Rob Schwager and it’s magnificent. I guess I forgot he’s mainly a DC person at this point. That’s been neat to see). I remember coming to the book and she’s already a major presence (along with most of the Western Comics side cast) so it’s been REAL cool to see all their introductory issues and even cooler to know that Tallulah got her own whole freakin’ arc.

Ending this stretch of issues with just a straight up single story of what the series has established it is now is the best possible move. It definitely ends this volume on a high note. Just expect a lot of backstory here first. Handsome rendered and still occasionally poetic backstory sure, but like…just do the single stories! It’s what got us in the door! Keep us there! (Who am I kidding? Of course I’m going to keep reading these).

[Michael Emond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving Jonah Hex by these two writers. These are some fun Western tales with some solid art to back up the stories. But I will emphasize it is the writing that is exciting me about this series.

We get two main story arcs here - How Jonah Hex became Jonah Hex. I wish it had been expanded a little more but I appreciated this glimpse into his past. We also get a look at Tullulah black, a scarred woman who turns to Hex for training so she can get revenge on the men that wronged her. A little too horrific for my tastes but still interesting to see another character as scarred as him (inside and out).
The last story about a girl Jonah thinks he is rescuing was off putting. The tone and resolution felt rushed and frustrating. The error Jonah makes could have been easily avoided if the people in the story had just explained what was happening to him.

Overall an enjoyable read of an interesting character.

[Jennifer Juffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no one like Jonah Hex. The stories are put together so very well that I have to collect them.
I think even after I've collected everything and read every aspect of his life... I'll still be wondering about the man whose only two companions are death and the acrid smell of gun-smoke.

[Mhorg · Rating 3 out of 5]

So so

I've always liked Jonah Hex. This volume is so so for the most. His origin is decent, but the rest of the volume isn't really well thought out. The Tallulah black story had been done before and the story about cannibals just isn't well thought out at all.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Palmiotti and Gray continue this amazing world they've built upon. Hex's tweaked origin and Tallulah Black's origin are phenomenal. The art, by all three artists, were good but Jordi Bernet's is outstanding. The plots are always basic and this is what a western is to me. Really enjoyed it.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was really exactly what it says: Origins. More background stories, more origin material, and because of this the story/volume felt more like one story instead of chopped up mini-stories like the previous volumes.