Jonah Hex #44

Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by Cristiano Cucina
This issue marks the beginning of a six-book story arc, a first for this title. As such, the writers tell a slightly more decompressed tale than they usually do, taking most of this issue to put a number of key players onto the chess board, but somehow leaving no room for exposition.

It looks as if this story is going to make use of almost every major player from Gray and Palmiotti's series. We see Tallulah Black, Bat Lash, and El Diablo, all of whom we can assume will be Hex's allies in the '6 Gun War'. Right from the beginning, Quentin Turnbull and El Papagayo are set up as antogonists. My only problem with this? I don't remember who either of them are. I have every issue of this incarnation of Hex, and the names are familiar, but I don't remember the stories that featured them, nor do I rememeber why they would go to so much trouble to set a trap for Hex. I hope that subsequent issues will clear this up a bit.

Cucina is a good choice of artist for this story. His work is reminiscent of Jordi Bernet's style, but more realistic - like Bernet mixed with Gulacy. It definitely works for this title. His splashpage of a receeding twister dropping Comanche and horses all over the plains is a strong one.

I'm curious to see how this storyline plays out in Jonah Hex. I've felt for a while that something was needed to shake this book up, and I guess we'll find out if this is it.