Jonah Hex: the Origin of Starman (unaffiliated with the Knight Clan)

[espanolbot]

Spoilers for an issue from like two years ago
The story begins with Hex tied up in the blazing sun. He'd been ambushed by one of his bounties, a man who has killed roughly a dozen or so sheriffs and deputies across the country. While Hex is tied up, the titular Starman decides to tell him where the two have met before.

A several years ago, an Italian man and his son arriving in New York Harbour, having immigrated following the death of their wife/mum,



The assembled lawmen and officials shoot him in the head and hang the body outside as an "example" to anyone else who wants to waste their time.

The boy waits in the boarding house for nearly before venturing out to look for his dad. Taking directions from the guy who gave them to his dad, he finds his father's body strung up in the street outside.


Turns out that the gun belongs to Hex, who happened to be in New York collecting a bounty.


Hex turns and walks off, but then starts having flashbacks of his own less than great childhood,



He takes the kid to an orphanage, which concludes the story,


The kid has now grown up, now travels the country killing corrupt lawmen and steals their badges, hence his shiny jacket.

The Starman tells Hex that he appreciates him saving his life, and that the country is large enough for the two to operate without meeting each other again. He gives Hex $800, telling him that he takes bounties on said lawmen, and leaves him too it.

Nonetheless, Hex escapes and captures the Starman, and hands him over to the Sheriff who placed the bounty.

Then, with a shocking twist, it appears that the Starman deliberately allowed himself to be captured as he himself had a bounty on the sheriff how placed a bounty on him. It seemed that he'd killed a woman's wife and children, putting the sheriff on his hit list when the widow told him about it.

He locks Hex in a cell while leading Sheriff off to hang him, sending someone to release Hex after an hour or two with the remaining $200 of his own bounty. The Sheriff's been hung in the stable across the street.

Hex decides to just let it drop and goes off to have a drink with the nice women who let him out of his cell.

Oh, and a bit from the preview of Jonah Hex 50,


http://www.newsarama.com/php/multimedia/album.php?aid=32197

Comments

[thehefner]

This series is so great. I don't know how it's survived this long, since no one ever seems to talk about it (and we almost never see scans here) but here's hoping for another 50 issues at least.

[halloweenjack]

Those nuns are disturbingly cute. (Catholic childhood, if you didn't guess already.)

[twomasks]

I'm not sure that Darwyn Cooke can draw women that aren't cute and I, for one, am completely OK with that!

[espanolbot]

Although that is largely true, Cooke only did the second bit with the horse. :)

[ravenous_raven]

oh noes! sold to Indians, whatever will I do! become a bounty hunter, apparently. -_-

[espanolbot]

In this case it was more him remembering what an ass his dad was, beating Jonah and locking him in the cesspit because he blamed him for his wife turning to prostitution, and then selling him to some passing Native Americans for safe passage through their land.

And him being "sold to Indians" isn't why he became a bounty hunter, but it did effect him greatly,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonah_Hex#Significant_dates_in_Jonah.27s_life

He doesn't exactly have a clearcut "my parents were killed by a criminal, I must fight crime!" reason for what he does like Batman does, for example.

[lysythe]

Um, wait, am I missing something? Was the Old West more tolerant of lesbianism than I had known? Why would there be a woman's wife and children?

[espanolbot]

Sorry, typo. The woman's husband and kids were shot.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Hex - he ain't no softy, but he don't stand fer none o' that BS, neither. Slap leather, hombre. *BANG*