Jonah Hex #18
	Story Title: ‘I Walk Alone’ Writers: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmotti Artist: Val Semeiks Colorist: Roc Schwager Letterer: Rob Leigh Cover by: Bill Sienkiewicz Editors: Nachie Castro Published by: DC Comics
	Reviewed by: Bruce Logan

This was a very odd story, even by Jonah Hex standards. Yet it was also one of the few JH tales that had a ‘mystery’ angle to it. Having read it not once but twice I have shame in admitting that despite being the murder-mystery-detective buff that I am I wasn’t able to pin down this ending right until the point that I actually read it. Oh, I had thought of it but with all the running and riding around I gave equal consideration to the other side. Which other side? Read on for that. Better yet go read the issue because although (possibly) not for everyone this was one jerker of a tale.

For those who haven’t seen the preview pages on the internet, the issue starts with Jonah lounging in a generic forest in the middle of nowhere when he gets a surprise visitor, a woman, who asks for his help against the people pursuing her. Although not the least bit amused by the intrusion Jonah nevertheless steps up to do the needful. However, hearing what the leader of the pursuers has to say and seeing that he is sorely outnumbered Jonah sensibly adopts the peaceful route and hands over (rather pushes) the woman to the men. Other than the bear that in the mean time ate his lunch and was looking to do the same to him it look as if Jonah doesn’t have really all that much to do.

That all changes when darkness falls and the woman makes a second appearance looking all the more haggard and beaten, up to the point where she falls down almost unconscious. In a spot now Jonah relents and gives her asylum only to have her turn on him and that too at the exact moment when the men too show up once again pursuing her. In the ensuing fight all the men and killed and the woman too dies (due to the wound she received when she attacked Jonah, slipped, fell and stabbed herself). As for the gun fight itself in the whole issue this was the one thing that rubbed me the wrong way. I understand that Jonah is a crack-shot and all that but come on not even the ‘just damn lucky’ clause covers his remaining unscathed in this case. I mean just how bad of a shot were each and every single shooter from the other side.

The issue closer is something that I won’t spoil here. What I will do is touch upon how with each passing page my thoughts (for a possible ending) swung the proverbial pendulum swing. In the beginning, I took the woman to really be a captor of the men (who were possibly torturing or had killed her family and were looking to inflict some of the same on her). A couple of pages down the ‘maybe she is loony’ line reared it head and even though it got pushed down for a while towards the middle it never quite got cut off. Even when Jonah helped her the second time all while she telling him her story I was waiting for her to betray him, stab him in the back if you will (although not quite as literally as she tried to do). It was at this time that the thinking of her being mad changed to maybe the side-effects of something the men did to her. At a point I even mused about what it finally did turn out to be but it seemed so…, well, obvious (at least to me) that I didn’t think that it could be that. Then again, sometimes it is the most obvious of thoughts that turn out be true/right, as it did in this case.

The ending is especially hard-hitting not only for Jonah and the people affected (read the issue for that) but also for the reader. Suffice to say, as with quite a few JH stories this one too doesn’t have a happy ending or even a hopeful one.

As gripping and fast paced as J-Squared’s (Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmotti) writing is so the artwork provided by artist Val Semeiks and colorist Rob Schwager. Be it the bewildered innocence or the crazed conniving look of the woman both are covered with equal finesse and depth as is all that falls in between. The leaves the cover and as it is with his style artist Bill Sienkiewicz gives another of his rough, gritty yet oddly fascinating visuals.

Conclusion: My favorite line of the issue is the one that Jonah says (to God) when it starts to rain. It was trademark Jonah dry humor, sadly one of only a handful (not even that) from this issue.

RATING: 8.5/10