Jonah Hex, Vol. 1: Face Full of Violence

Jonah Hex (2006) (Collected Editions) #1

by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, Luke Ross (Illustrator)

DC's legendary gunslinger returns in this action-packed collection featuring the first six issues of the acclaimed new series! The mysterious bounty hunter and thinking man's killer was a hero to some; a villain to others; and wherever he rode, people spoke his name in whispers.

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2006

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]

Now this is what I want to read when I think of Jonah Hex. Six gritty western tales inspired by the "Man with No Name". Luke Ross even draws Jonah as Clint Eastwood with scars. Ross's art is really damn good. This doesn't have the neutered feeling that the All-Star Western series that follows this one did.

[Dan Schwent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thus begins one of the best runs of the last 25 years. Apart from the Tony DeZuniga stuff, the art isn't as good as it would later be, nor is the coloring, but Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti had a handle on Jonah Hex from day one. Six done in one tales featuring the baddest bounty hunter the Old West has to offer. It doesn't get much better than this.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sublime collection of six standalone issues of the new series of Jonah Hex. The art is beautiful, the writing is solid, and the scenarios are very, very violent. Hex's hideously scarred face is truly hard to look at, but he's an old-school hero, who dispatches swift justice to evildoers in the post-Civil War old west.

The touchstone is Sergio Leone's "Man With No Name" trilogy, as well as spaghetti westerns in general. Clint Eastwood is obviously the model for Luke Ross's conception of Hex, and sometimes it's a little too obvious, but other than that I have no complaints. This volume is as entertaining and addictive as the best violent B westerns of the '70s.

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories though I would prefer a more focused narrative as opposed to a collection of stories.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually into western themed books but this one was very good. Bounty hunters, gunslingers, and damsels in distress.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars A collection of six different Jonah Hex stories that show u as just how badass the titular character is. Beautiful art by Luke Ross, and I love how Jonah is modeled after Clint Eastwood in these stories.

[Peter Derk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonah Hex, and this volume, are a great example of what you can do when you've got a couple stories to tell and a character that nobody really cares about.

In that way, I think Jonah Hex is my dream character to write.

If you know anything about Jonah Hex, it's probably that he fought for the south in the Civil War. But it's more complicated than that.

Born in 1838, Hex had a real dickhead of a dad who sold him into slavery to some Apache people.

Now, this is probably mostly bullshit, I don't think there are a lot of cases of a white person being sold into slavery to American Indians, however American Indians did often make war captives into slaves, and different American Indian groups participated in the enslavement of African slaves to different degrees, running the gamut from taking part in giving African slaves sanctuary to enslaving them themselves.

That said, it's a fiction probably meant to demonstrate that Hex Sr. was a real bastard. Who sells their own son into slavery?

Hex saved some big time chief guy during his time as a young slave, and he was brought into the Apache family.

THEN, he joined up during the Civil War...for the South.

And this is what makes the character a little, um, challenging. However, Hex's fictional character biography states that Hex joined because he believed in southern independence, but as the war wore on, although he was conflicted because he believed there were a lot of good people fighting for the south, having been a slave himself, he wasn't so hot on continued slavery.

And this is where it gets complicated. Does anyone have a taste for a Confederate soldier who has decided the Civil War was about state's rights as opposed to slavery?

And I think this is why Hex can work and, simultaneously, can't work.

Everyone likes a redemption story, and at the same time, we mostly like redemption stories where the redeemable character hasn't actually done anything bad.

I always point to the movie Ant-Man on this.

In the movie, Scott Lang is a recently-released prisoner trying to work a menial job and get visitation rights for his daughter. Turning his life around after committing the terrible crime of finding out a company he was working for was ripping off its customers and essentially refunding those ripped-off customers their money.

First of all, even if he was imprisoned, he would be seen as a hero for doing this. This is like Robin Hood shit, except even more justified as the riches were stolen directly from the poor to line the pockets of the rich.

Secondly, would anyone see this as a crime that warranted being imprisoned? Who is afraid that Scott Lang is going to correctly issue refunds to more people if he's not stopped!?

Third, I get it, maybe this is like a corporate greed/power/assholery thing, but I think a more likely outcome is that the company would discover what Lang did, DEFINITELY fire his ass, but ultimately take the L, recognizing that the alternative would be a court case where, in all likelihood, they would've lost more than just the money they skimmed off of customers. The smart move for a company like this is to spin it such that they're like, "Thanks to our star employee, Scott Lang, we discovered this glitch in the system, and we've already issued refunds." C'mon, guys, you don't become a big, rich company by getting outsmarted this easily.

If you want to tell a story of redemption, Hex seems like the way to go. THAT shit is a hole to dig yourself out of. I mean, forget Spider-Man not beating the shit out of a criminal, who coincidentally kills his uncle, Hex directly participated in some shit that perpetuated slavery. He's not blameless, it's not just coincidence, and he's genuinely in need of going pretty far to find redemption.

Which is why I think it's great: the need to go pretty far, and even then, perhaps being unable to reach it. Perhaps being irredeemable.

And having no clear path. It's not like there's someone out there who can objectively say whether he succeeds or not. There's not actuary table for this sort of thing. It's going to be up to Hex and Hex alone to determine whether he's made up for his past. And it's a complicated past! Can he own what he did, even though his start was being sold into slavery as a boy? Does he feel responsible for his choices, and if so, to what extent?

It's complicated. And that's why it's great.

It's complicated. And that's why nobody wants to hear it.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collects the first six issues of the 2006-2011 Jonah Hex run. Later volumes have some extended story lines but these issues are all done-in-one. All six are well written, tightly scripted, gritty western stories.

Most of the issues are drawn by Luke Ross. I like his art a lot but not the coloring, especially the skin tones. It looks like it may have been done on computer and often looks unnatural. It’s especially jarring when compared to the covers which look great. It’s a shame because Ross draws a great Jonan Hex and often gives him a Clint Eastwood look. Co-creator Tony DeZuniga provided the art for one story. His art is even scratchier than usual and I love it. Although I didn’t care for the coloring, this is still an excellent collection of stories.

[Adam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for Jonah Hex stories and All-American Western titles. This book has some of the early issues that the series would outgrow. For me it's really weird to see Jonah drawn exactly as a copy of Clint Eastwood with the Hex scars. It nearly ruins it.

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are the heroes though. Hex gets lots of different illustrators over time, but these two as the writers keep the quality up. They just get this title and this character.

Again, I'm partial to this character so I recommend these books to anyone who likes western themes. This isn't the best title in this series, but it's a fantastic introduction.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old Fashioned Comic fun - each issue in the collection a complete story and the few recurring characters are kept fresh and interesting through sparse use.

** Reading through the whole run so the same review will be used for most.

[Rural Soul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stories but not the best according to worth of character like Jonah Woodson Hex.

[Burton Olivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ruled. And I love that Ross used Clint Eastwood as a model for Hex.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredibly refreshing collection, in that it consists entirely of single-issue stories. Of course, that in and of itself would be worth nothing were it not for the fact that the stories included are exceptionally good. I'd never read any Jonah Hex comics (or western comics in general) before picking this book up, but now that I have, I've purchased the next two trades in the series, as well as the Showcase reprints of the original series. Not having read any western comics before this, I can't really compare them to anything except the movies upon which these stories were doubtlessly based. Artist Luke Ross's model for Hex is obviously Clint Eastwood, and the character comes across as a disfigured cross between Josey Wales and Joe/Manco/Blondie from the three films Eastwood made with Sergio Leone. The content is appropriately dark and violent, like the spaghetti westerns. If you like the genre, I wholeheartedly recommend this comic. I can't wait to read more.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book looks great and reads quickly, but it just didn't do it for me. It felt more like a stylish retread of generic Westerns, especially Spaghetti Westerns, but without any real original content or statement on the material, or even a clearly defined protagonist. Are we supposed to like Jonah Hex because he has a cryptic moral code and can kill people without remorse? I suspect this isn't the best book to start with, if you're unfamiliar the Jonah Hex, as it explains nothing about him, or bothers to make him compelling. I've only seen this character in a Batman cartoon and one issue of a limited series from the 90's, where he was fighting monsters. I would've preferred something more in that mold of pseudo-horror or scifi in a Western setting for good goofy fun, as the stories in this particular collection felt more like stock Western premisses with very little new spin.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always had a soft spot in my heart for this character, and I was intrigued by the idea of bringing him back. The short stories in this first collection of the current series felt like updated versions of some of the classic old tales, though I have to say the artwork didn't do much for me. So far this series is fairly disposable fun, but I'll try the next volume at some point to see if it picks up any momentum.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pure pulp and the stories are too fragmented and short to carry much resonance. However, this a terse, hard violent re-envisioning of a 70's pulp wester comic series and I love terse, hard and violent westerns.

[Korynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amazingly beautiful collection of short stories involving Jonah Hex, scarred bounty hunter. Each story is well-framed, unique and concise, with lovely art and a dynamic anti-hero.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some fun stories (if a bit repetitive) but Jonah wasn't mean enough and a bit too eager to help anyone and everyone in need for my taste.

[47Time · Rating 3 out of 5]

While each story is a solid slice of the harsh life in the West, little is memorable in this volume. Still, it's a good introduction to the hard-as-nails Jonah Hex, a man with a strong sense of judgement and considerable skills with a gun. He is purposefully shown to not be invincible, but he never gives up a bounty and refuses to be bribed. He's a prime example of an anti-hero. You won't get any laughs from this volume, but I suppose that's fitting for the setting.

Jonah Hex is hired to find a missing boy. Unfortunately, his target is terminal with rabies and Jonah decides to put him out of his misery. The next story shows that greed can kill. The third story has train and coach robbers that are in cahoots with lawmen and posing as Apache. Then Jonah gets embroiled between an angry father, his mute daughter and her lover whom the father accuses of raping his daughter. In the end the daughter reveals that the father raped her, so he gets the noose while the lovebirds are reunited. A proper shootout at a house in the middle of nowhere shows Jonah's skills with a gun even when outmatched numerically by his opponents. Jonah's target gets away after having bribed the authorities. That is until 10 years later when Jonah mows him down with a Gatling gun. The town ruled by nuns with guns is pretty cool. The fanatical Sister Agatha is keeping the town of Salvation pure even if she has to kill all sinners with her own hands. This is by far the most tragic tale in which Jonah is reunited with a lover from his past, but she is killed by Agatha who in reality is another of Jonah aquaintances - a deadly creature that meets her well-deserved end here.

[Justin Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Should I bring shovels?“ “No. You’ll be digging with yer nails.”

God, remember ongoing comic series, y’all? It’s almost as if I’ve dreamed it now. We’ve definitely enjoyed a anthology format boom here recently, but it makes me sound and feel incredibly old to remember going to a shop just knowing there was going to be an issue of Jonah Hex somewhere in my pull-box or on the shelves with some insanely high numbering in some form or fashion. HEADY DAYS, fellow nerds, heady days.

My glibness aside this has been one of the few Early Aughts Comics Rereads that hasn’t been a complete disaster and/or just a total slog. I’m looking squarely at you, Bendis Avengers. Obviously, it hasn’t aged amazingly. There’s certainly some abrasive and slightly glaring stuff you have to sift through and the comic itself isn’t in the place or narratively certain position to start really examining and deconstructing just yet (but it definitely gets there from what I can remember).

But just like to sit and read this thing just wholly being it’s own Thing from page one panel one (while also totally nailing the anthology/episodic nature of the original volume) is some truly striking comics. And something that’s totally easy to just sink back into too. It’s nice to feel like that reading a comic again. Especially one that I have such a connection to as a reader/creative.

Weird thing to think and feel about The Cowboy Comic I know but what do you want from me? At least it’s not S*alped.

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sięgnięcie po serię z Hexem było naturalnym wyborem po lekturze serii "All Star Western" wydanej już kilka lat temu w zakończonej serii New 52/Nowe DC Comics. Jonah Hex, ex-żołnierz konfederacji, aktualnie łowca głów, na Dziki Zachodzie jest bardzo dobrze znany. Głównie z tego, że bardzo dobrze i celnie strzela. I się nie ceregieli, jeżeli sięga już po rewolwer.

W tym zbiorze mamy sześć, nie powiązanych ze sobą opowiadań, które tyczą się zwykłych zleceń Hexa, przy których jak zwykle piętrzą się problemy. Raz w poszukiwaniu zaginionego chłopca, Jonah trafi na specyficzną arenę, gdzie chłopcy walczą ze zwierzętami. Raz, aby doprowadzić cel swojego zlecenia, będzie musiał stawić czoła prawdziwej armii wrogów. Jego dociekliwość wpędzi go też prawie kilka razy do grobu.

Dzieje się tu sporo, a kule lubią latać w powietrzu. Komiks bywa dosadnie brutalny i w sumie dobrze ukazuje brud Dawnego Dzikiego Zachodu. Nie ulega też kwestii, iż rysownik inspirował się bardzo mocno postacią Clint Eastwood z serii filmów w reżyserii Sergio Leone. W niektórych miejscach wręcz wygląda jak aktor, ale to mi nie przeszkadza w odbiorze całości. Przeciwnie.

Jonah Hex w tym wydaniu to piekielnie dobra pozycja, którą wypada znać każdemu entuzjaście komiksów ze stajni DC. Dla nieco dojrzalszych odbiorców będzie to prawdziwa uczta.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having never have read a single Jonah Hex comic, nor having any grasp on what the character is about aside from being part of a Wild West setting, I quite enjoyed this. This run as written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti features a bunch of standalone Jonah Hex adventures across a grim, blood-soaked rendition of the uncivilized and unconquered West. I like the one off issue storytelling method used by Gray and Pamiotti early on since it allows for the reader (especially one as uninitiated as I) to come to terms with who Hex is by encountering a range of different situations. It's easy to grasp that Hex is a capable gunslinger who has a strong moral compass but also doesn't fret when he needs to take life for any reason. There's a lot of clear influences from the spaghetti westerns and other adventure pulps, but the modern sheen of dark and realistic storytelling adds an interesting dimension here. The artwork even evokes a Clint Eastwood-esque look for Hex that feels like a natural fit. I can't say the artwork fully won me over though, there are ample moments where the backgrounds seemed a little too dull and undercooked, and the non-Jonah Hex characters were barely memorable. Still, I'm excited to keep reading on and getting more insight into what seems to be a lesser explored side of the DC universe.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke Ross is the artist for five of the six stories collected here and his art looks great. He leans toward realism and I love how his Jonah Hex looks like a horribly disfigured, young Clint Eastwood. Seems appropriate for the character without being distracting.

Jonah Hex co-creator Tony DeZuniga draws the other issue and his scratchier, grittier style is also very cool. I haven't checked, but I hope he came back for other issues in the series.

What surprised me most about the collection is that each issue is a self-contained adventure. That's a style of comic that we don't see enough of anymore and it's especially welcome when each story is as powerful as these are. They occasionally build off a Western trope, but always with a focus on character and building tension. I finally "get" Jonah Hex and can't wait to read more.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

After hearing for years how enjoyable Jonah Hex is on the iFanboy podcast, I happened to see it cheap on Comixology and thought, why not? Man, I've been missing out. This is really fun. Its a grim and gritty Western telling short-form stories. Think Clint Eastwood meets Lone Wolf and Cub. In fact, the artist in most of the issues in this first volume draws Jonah like Clint Eastwood with scars. While I can't tell if the story is going to build on itself in future issues or not, even if it doesn't, the stories were so enjoyable that I'll definitely be reading more of this. The interior art is really strong (though some of the covers are a bit weak, if we're being honest) and I found the cowboy dialogue to be fun and snappy too. All in all, this was a really strong opening volume and I'd recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Westerns. I can't wait to read more!

[Doctor Doom · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book started out poorly with the writer thinking he was a theologian when in reality he knew nothing of the Scriptures, the love of God, the power of Christ's death and resurrection that can save any and all sinners who turn to Him in faith. What has that got to do with a Jonah Hex book you say? My point exactly. Stay off stuff you know nothing about and tell a good yarn.
Telling a good yarn was what they did when they stayed off of theology. I liked the fact the main artist drew Hex to look like Clint Eastwood as the outlaw Josey Wales ['ceptin' o' course for Jonah's trademark scars. By the end of the book he was even talkin' like 'im IMHO. Could have been 5 stars but for the first 9 pages worth of bad theology.

[Brendan T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a little of this back in the day but it’s way better than memory served me. Just solid western tales with great art. Would be great to see another stab at Jonah Hex as a film that really embraces the western genre and keeps things simple. A real movie and not something that acts as a trailer for 20 mediocre CGI shitfests and bad TV shows. Pretty unlikely you could get that made, but hey, it’s a nice thought.

Hell, even a semi-episodic TV show would be great with mostly standalone episodes and a few mythology oriented ones. Classic TV formatting that’s sadly gone away in the age of streaming.

This is all nonsense and besides the point but the book is damn good.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti deliver the gritty, old west tales that you'd expect from Jonah Hex. Here, six tales are told and they all illustrate who Hex is. They're all separate and could have been better with a few more strings of continuity but they were all very good. Luke Ross handled most of the art chores and his art was a very good mix with the story elements. Overall, very well done.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always been one of my favorite comic book characters, clear back to when I was reading them as a child of the 70s. Of course they were darker stories back then in comparison to the superhero books DC put out, and even darker than many of the other western comics released, but there were limitations because of the comics code. Though not as profane and horror-filled as the Lansdale stories short stories of the 90s, the writers do a good job of striking a middle balance.

[Jaime Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are gritty Western tales starring the grotesquely scarred bounty hunter, Jonah Hex.
The bad guys are ruthless and unforgiving and Jonah Hex is the guy to give out justice that is equally ruthless and unforgiving.
Imagine the Punisher Western style and you'll get an idea of what you are about to read.
These stories are expertly written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti and wonderfully drawn by Luke Ross. (Making Jonah Hex look like Clint Eastwood is a nice touch)
Highly Recommended.

[Matt Reid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been meaning to give Jonah hex a go for a while and I’m really glad I finally did, some classic western bounty hunter action! The stories are great and really captured the gritty side of the western genre. The art was ok though I didn’t like that he had been drawn to look just like Clint Eastwood for most the stories in this book. It didn’t ruin anything but just felt too on the nose for my liking. Otherwise a great book will certainly read more.