The forces of evil make themselves known as they intend to eliminate Hex.
What They Say:
What happens when a psychologist and a sociopath have to work together to track down Gotham City’s first serial killer? They’ll soon find that crime in the big city runs deeper than its foundations, and it’s all mapped out in the mysterious Crime Bible – that is, if they don’t kill each other first.
Plus: No zombie is safe in the Wild West when Lazarus Lane summons the demon known as El Diablo!
The Review:
The opening issue of All Star Western was a real treat on a number of levels. I loved the look at old Gotham and how it ties into the present with lineage and families, I got a kick out of Arkham’s early days which could and should be the focus of its own novel if not series of novels about him and what he discovers, and I got into the fun that is Jonah Hex. And it was all done with some solid writing and some very appealing artwork. The second issue brings out more of that for the most part, but it’s a bit shorter since there’s a backup feature here involving El Diablo. I was actually a bit disappointed with that aspect since I wanted a full 28 pages of Hex and this storyline. It’s not a bad story so far, but it’s definitely a different feel and flavor to it even with the same writers if only because of the characters and Jordi Bernet’s artwork.
With the storyline focusing on the Gotham butcher and Hex being brought in to deal with it, the pairing with Arkham worked very well to give us both the brains and brawn aspect, though the brawn has a lot of street smarts about him that lets him hold his own with Arkham who is less experienced in that area. While the two paired off well in the first, it’s a bit more unbalanced here in a fun way as the two men are stuck out on their own as the criminal element has come to take out Hex. It’s four pages of tightly paneled gun fighting and violence as Hex works them over. Moritat’s layouts reminded me heavily of what Charlie Adlard does over on The Walking Dead, having read a few volumes of that prior to this, and it gives it a great kind of intensity, tension and claustrophobia that’s required to make it work just right.
A good part of the book deals with the events that Hex and Arkham face, but it also puts us into the layer of power amongst those in Gotham and it ties it into something very neat. With the people behind the control of Gotham working a dual track, one dealing heavily in the underworld and the other manipulating law enforcement and government, discovering that they’re adherents to the Crime Bible and the whole Religion of Crime is just plain neat, especially coming into this after reading The Question miniseries from a few years ago that dealt heavily with it. There’s a lot to like with it and the way they’ve found themselves with a real problem by having brought in Hex themselves and him being the one who might be able to take them down in the end. The criminal element of Gotham has obviously long been a defining aspect of the city and I really love that they’ve gone back to this time period to explore it.
Release Notes:
This comiXology edition of All Star Western comes with the main cover as released with the print edition and no other extras.
In Summary:
While there’s less pages devoted to the main storyline here, which is disappointing, the actual content itself is solid. The exposition is a bit less than the first but the focus on the characters is thoroughly enjoyable, especially as we get to see Hex cut loose in dealing with a large group of undesirables. Palmiotti and Gray continue to have a very enjoyable book here because the core character of Hex makes it so as they’ve learned him inside and out over the last few years. All Star Western is working a lot of things that can make a book taking place in this time period work just right when connected to the present day. While the Gotham arc is fun, I hope that we do see more of other areas with Hex moving around that could and should be able to impact the modern day. What better way to make an impact than to introduce a new dynasty in its early stages here and give us their presence in the world of today. The back up story is something that I’m not that thrilled about, though I knew it was coming, but it’s enough to change this book from a same-day digital purchase to a +1 purchase going forward, simply because the pages allotted to it were alright, but it’s not why I’m buying the book.
Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
