How'd you get that scar Mr. Hex?

[theanswer]

Enter your cut contents here.Jonah Hex: No Way Back is a new hardcover trade paperback from Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It's a rather huge original story as well as a retelling of some of Jonah Hex's important milestones. It's meant to act as a jumping on point for new fans turned on to Hex by the upcoming movie or the animated short, but since it's also an original story it's a great buy for current Hex fans as well.

In the company of his half-brother and his polite family, Hex is asked how he got his scar by his nephew. Usually Hex makes up a fake story, like falling asleep in a campfire, but he decides to regale this young lad with the truth.



But rather than explain to the reader all of the dramatic details, the creative team decides to use imagery, allowing those who already aren't familiar with the origin to fill in the gaps with their imagination.



Suggested Tags:
char: jonah hex
creator: jimmy palmiotti
creator: justin gray
creator: tony dezuniga
publisher: dc comics
title: jonah hex

Comments

[jlroberson]

Palmiotti is one of those underrated and quietly dependable talents these days and I really like his & Gray's HEX.

And it's nice to see DeZuniga firing on all cylinders.

[theanswer]

Yeah, the whole book is really some of Palmiotti and Gray's best Hex stuff to date.

It's too bad they can't seem to end their superhero curse though.

[northstarfan]

Seriously. The promise of more DeZuniga Hex made this a "Must buy!"

[filkertom]

Got that. I'm a long-time DeZuniga fan, as in since Savage Tales and the other b/w Conan titles.

[mullon]

I always imagined he got it when his older brother shoved his face into a bunch of coals.

[aaron_bourque]

No, that's Sandor Clegane.

[http://www.google.com/profiles/NielJacoby]

So he got whacked in the face with a flaming ax?

[theanswer]

No, they scarred him with a white hot tomahawk to give him the demon's mark after he played dirty in a duel.

[http://www.google.com/profiles/NielJacoby]

Oh. That's a pretty awesome origin story.

[northstarfan]

Pity the folks behind the movie can't see that.

[theanswer]

I guess the Indian part was feared to be too offensive.

[northstarfan]

Lifting Hex's origin straight from the books would make for scenes potentially chock full of Mighty Whitey, but I still think they could have managed to salvage something that would have at least meant they were making a movie about Jonah Hex. Given Turnbull's presence as the main villain in the film, I think it could even have worked even if they'd had him pick up the scar during his time as a prisoner of the Union and left his time with the Apache as only a reference to where he picked up his tracking abilities. The choice the film writers went with is so generic that it doesn't inspire a lot of hope that they went anywhere good with the rest of the film.

[theanswer]

It doesn't bother me much because Hex is one of the characters whose history allows for multiple interpretations. He's the Batman of old west comic book characters.

[northstarfan]

"Bothered" is too strong a word, I suppose, but when the studio has seemingly decided that instead of the character's antipathy toward the world having come about due to his his being kicked out, let down, and double-crossed by anyone he ever had so much as a scintilla of expectation toward, they're going go with a much blander revenge motivation, I simply have no interest in paying to see their interpretation of the character (and that's not even taking into account Megan Fox and the supernatural angle). YMMV, obviously.

[theanswer]

The supernatural bit shouldn't bother anyone. This is a character who has time traveled one more than one occasion.

[northstarfan]

Due to outside interference; Hex doesn't have time-traveling powers himself. Likewise, while he's brushed up against the supernatural in his adventures, Hex himself is simply a man. He doesn't have any powers aside from sheer cussedness, and to the fans that aspect of the character appeals to, adding a supernatural element to Hex himself is an unnecessary embellishment.

[theanswer]

Yes, but like I pointed out, his history allows for other interpretations.

[northstarfan]

And, as I've pointed out, the one the studio is promoting holds zero interest for me.

[theanswer]

But you're basing that on a trailer. In the comics Jonah Hex's reputation is steeped in myth and he even embellishes or sometimes downplays the story of how he got his scar. For all you know you the story present in the trailer could be a made-up story in context.

[northstarfan]

Yes, I am basing my opinion on whether or not I have any interest in a movie on the advertising material that is supposed to be giving me an idea of what the movie is about. The story the studio has decided to present in the cause of getting butts in seats is apparently, "bounty hunter whose family was murdered in front of him and whose face was terribly scarred in that same attack is hired to save the world (with the help of his plucky prostitute sidekick) from his arch-enemy, who is intent on releasing supernatural chaos".

That story and these characters are something far enough removed from what I enjoy in the Jonah Hex comics that this is not a movie I want to go see. Articles on the film's development and production, the film itself, and interviews with the actors and the fellows who write the comic have not convinced me otherwise. Maybe I'll think differently when the reviews start coming in, or if I catch the movie on Netflix or on TV down the line. For now, my reaction is determined by the available information, and no amount of "but the movie might be totally different from what they're presenting!" guesswork counts toward shifting it.

[aaron_bourque]

The folks behind the movie made the wrong fucking movie.

Any Jonah Hex movie is supposed to be in the vein of Unforgiven, not an even more over the top and implausible Wild Wild West.

[foxhack]

But it's a superhero movie! Because DC makes superhero comics!

[aaron_bourque]

ARGH BUT JONAH HEX ISN'T A SUPERHERO, JUST BECAUSE HE'S A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER DOESN'T MAKE HIM A SUPERHERO, HE IS A WESTERN HERO WHICH CARRIES A WHOLE DIFFERENT KIND OF TROPES AND EXPECTATIONS ARGH, HE'S ALSO NOT JUST A WESTERN HERO, HE'S A TRAGIC WESTERN HERO LIKE BILL MUNNY FROM UNFORGIVEN, OR DAN EVANS IN THE RECENT 3:10 TO YUMA, STUPID HOLLYWOOD, I MEAN WHY WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO EMULATE WILD WILD WEST, THAT MOVIE WAS A STINKER AND BARELY MADE IT'S OWN PRODUCTION MONIES BACK, ARGH.

Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque; I'm not mad at you, foxhack, just Hollywood.

[starwolf_oakley]

I knew it had something to do with an Indian tribe that Jonah was friends with. If Wikipedia is to be believed, the other participant in the duel had played dirty, sabotaging Jonah's weapon. Jonah played "dirty" by using a knife on said cheater and killing him. It can be argued self-defense, but I guess the tribe didn't believe Jonah saying "But he cheated first!"

[foxhack]

Lemme guess, the family gets horribly butchered by the middle or end of this mini.

Hex isn't allowed to have any sort of normal relationship. :(

[theanswer]

No, they live.

However, they do kill Jonah's dog.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I note that Hex's scar is not quite as... EMPHATIC as it normally if - his face looks almost normal. I can only presume that this is to tie in with the upcoming movie version, which does something similar. Still, it's a bit of a shame, since I would have liked to have seen how the usual gaping-cheek-hole version would look when rendered in a more realistic art style than it usually is.

[psychopathicus_rex]

...'normally IS'; whoopsie.

[theanswer]

Well no, Hex has a revolving door of artists and that usually means his scar has a varying degree of severity.

Also, the artist on this created Jonah Hex.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Really? This is the same guy? Wow. Well, his artwork has certainly changed since then, is all I can say, 'cause I certainly didn't recognize it.
And yes, of course it changes from artist to artist, but most of the interpretations of it that I've seen have shown it as a fairly gaping opening in his cheek.

[theanswer]

The cheek coming and going was a problem in the original series too. But in these pages it just looks less severe because of the shading. In the rest of the trade it looks worse.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Hmm. I guess that makes sense. I'll take your word about the rest of the trade, as I haven't read it.