Review of All-Star Western 30-34

All-Star Western, issues 30-34. Written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. Art by Staz Johnson, Fabrizio Fiorentino, and Darwyn Cooke (issue 34)

Having returned to his own era, Jonah has trouble convincing his “deadly duo” compatriot Tallulah Black that his surgically-repaired face is indeed him. But his new face does keep him out of trouble, as he is a wanted man. But his new face bears no resemblance at all to the one of the wanted poster.

He and Tallulah lose out on a bounty, and are drugged and run out of town tied to their horses. Before they can wreak their revenge back in the town, they are fell upon by highwaymen. That does not go well for the highwaymen. Jonah re-collects his bounty, and heads back into town. 

After spending a few quiet days with Tallulah, the couple hear word of a man who has taken up the mantle of Jonah Hex, and they investigate the impostor. They have to decide if they want to confront the man who was taken Jonah’s name, or with Hex’s new face and plenty of money, pack up and move on, under new names.

 

These are the last issues of this run, and it is unclear if Jonah will return to the DC Comics family any time soon. But this was a nice way to send the man off into the sunset, at least for the time being. Palmiotti and Gray tied up the time-travel story from earlier in the run with this ending, answering a few of the “timey-wimey” questions that were raised in that earlier arc. Darwyn Cooke’s art style was a perfect complement for the wrap-up story of issue 34.

This run has also included regular backup stories, and issues 30 and 31 contained the last of these. They told the story Madame .44, a fun story made even more so by the terrific art of José Luis Garcia-López.

When a favorite comic series ends, it always tempting to be angry and curse the publishing company for cutting short your story. But this title lasted almost three years, which is a pretty good run these days from a Western title. And DC did give Palmiotti and Gray plenty of time to wrap up their story, and they wrapped it up in style.

Sure, I’ll miss this title, but I am very satisfied with what we got here. A long story, with a strong beginning, an intriguing middle, and a satisfying end.

Source: my daughter and I have been purchasing this title from various comic shops.