Jonah Hex # 9
DC COMICS
WRITER: Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray
ARTIST/COVER: Tony DeZuniga

Jonah Hex is haunted by the memory of a young girl whose death he accidentally brought about years ago. So every year, he visits her grave and every year, someone tries to kill him there. The story is told in an effective manner but the twist at the end looks highly contrived. The inclusion of an Indian medicine woman also comes out of nowhere-- like we need a positive Native American role model in this issue to balance an Indian attack earlier on. It is also odd to see Hex becoming such a softy-- and a loverboy to boot. This guy is suppose to be so durned hardened to the world that any signs of feeling from him are downright shocking. Yet in this issue, he practically sheds tears. Classic Hex artist, DeZuniga turns in an adequate effort, capturing the sordidness of Hex's life but at the same time, his work looks excessively scratchy-- much like his latter work on the earlier incarnation of Hex. Perhaps it was just the inker at the time but his early work on Hex was much better.