Jonah Hex: From Rock Creek AR to the Big Screen
“Hex is not a figment of a writer’s imagination as much as he is a logical extension of the average common man—slow to fight but deadly in effect.”
-Charles D. Brown (From Trail Talk, 1977)
As many of you may have noticed there is a new Josh Brolin film coming out Friday June 18th (this weekend) by the name of Jonah Hex. It had just occurred to me the other day how common it has become to see Brolin playing the role of a cowboy. Hell I think he was even playing a bit of a cowboy when he shot that gay senator played by Sean Penn in “Milk”. But this isn’t about Brolin’s acting chops; this is more about the character being played by Brolin. Only recently much to my chagrin I found that I had the first three original issues of Jonah Hex circa 1976-77. In all fairness these are most likely my brothers comics but I’ve kept them safe for the better portion of my life so they are partially mine too. I’d like to give a special thanks to my friend and fellow comic book enthusiast Tommy Cash for assisting me in stumbling upon these books. In all fairness I did not know at all what I had.
Hex actually originated in a DC comic book series called Weird Western Tales and according to the then managing editor Joe Orlando the character went through the ringer almost being canceled a few times while also being passed around by various artists and writers before being taken over by writer Michael Fleisher and artist Garcia Lopez. The survival of Hex can be witnessed in correspondence found at the end of each issue of WWT & Jonah Hex in a section called Trail Talk which was merely Q & A’s between Orlando and cult readers of the series.
The fact that the character has experienced a cult following for the past thirty something years perhaps says something about the appeal of a partially cliché cowboy figure. Hex who carries the burden of having what seems like both emotional and physical scars is a deadly man for hire. Dawning the gray of the confederacy he is an all too familiar representation of a defeated past for most southerners. Still the gray also resembles that of truth because although Hex is most often a hired hand he still fights on the side of good when he sees injustice being done.
The overall violence found within this first issue did surprise me somewhat considering that it had the Comics Code Authority stamp. I think the fact that it was a genre comic with very little blood helped it sneak beneath the radar. There were no busty women found within its yellowed pages, which I think is perhaps one major improvement that the film is making. It was more than wise for them to cast Miss Eye Candy Megan Fox as the brothel babe/busty heroine/saloon girl. She’s a damn fine woman proving that you can have almost any girl to hike her skirt for you in the old West regardless of what your face looked like just as long as you were a bad ass with a six gun. Judging from the new comic series and trailers from the film it seems that the facial disfigurement appears to hold pretty true to the original comic. In the back of Jonah Hex number 3 a reader comments on the artistic preference of having the strips of flesh hanging down over the right side of his mouth and whether this could be changed. Orlando replies that that particular aspect lends itself to Hex’s grotesque and frightening appearance. It does somewhat bother me as well but I believe that it’s suppose to. That’s the point. Still if I were Jonah I would have probably taken a buck knife to that loose skin a long time ago.
In Trail Talk one reader, Larry Lisowski of Levittown N.Y. comments on how Hex is patterned after the Clint Eastwood “Stranger” character as portrayed in the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns. I thought that this was very interesting especially since in the newest special edition issue number one of Jonah Hex the artist Luke Ross has taken it upon himself to make Jonah look almost identical to Eastwood, at least the one side of his face that isn’t mangled. As I said earlier the first story in this issue number one almost mirrors the story in the original issue number one by Michael Fleisher written in 1976. Done by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray the writing has a much more literary almost florid quality to it which heightens the clichéd underbelly found in most western oriented tales. The artwork is very well done, but almost too well done as compared to the original gritty style drawn by Garcia Lopez; Luke Ross’ work is very polished and refined. The faces look too much like they were stolen from actual models.
Another reader from the original Trail Talk goes on to discuss key points in the illustration of gun fighting and it’s limitations in the still art form and how this challenge was met with excellent story telling which may at times also come off as cliché. Once again that word cliché rolls around very freely within the Western genre but that is because it’s so wrapped up in American folklore. The cliché aspect of the Western is perhaps one of the things, which both attracts and detracts interest from perspective readers. This same reader points out that the clichés are due to the finite number of plots in a western comic. I think the essence of every well-done western, whether it is a TV series like Deadwood or a comic book series like Jonah Hex, demands excellent writing. It’s the limitation of the genre, which affords the opportunity to write unique work.
One of my favorite things about these comics is the advertisement found within and I’m not just talking about the ads for sea monkeys. There was one Aquaman and Twinkies Cakes advertisement called “That Dirty Beach” which was freaking hilarious!
If I can’t find it online I will copy it for your reading pleasure.
Initially the readers aren’t given details about how Hex becomes scarred. We know of course by now through the trailers that it was that bastard Quentin Turnbull played by John Malkovich who did the deed right after murdering his family. I personally would have liked them to leave it out of the first film and make it a part of a prequel or perhaps even have it divulged in an upcoming sequel. Assuming that this film does well enough to merit another film. The readability of the Hex series had no initial baring on how he wound up with the scars it was perhaps partially the intrigue or curiosity of how he received them that appealed to readers I think.
Hex is of course an illustration of how you can go on to do great and heroic things regardless of whatever scars you carry. At the same time I’m sure the movie will go on to exaggerate how little Hex seems to care unless it regards vengeance, money, or quite possibly a woman.
I’m hoping that the film isn’t awful. I have high expectations for it now since I’ve read the first three original comics and it has that cool cult fan appeal going for it. Plus the first original issue partially takes place in Arkansas! What’s there not to like about it? You can’t say Megan Fox! Plus you’ve got Brolin and Malkovich. They’re both grade “A” actors not to mention Will Arnett oh and apparently Wes Bentley plays “Adelman Lusk” whoever that is. Wes Bentley is an Arkansas boy so there you go. This movie has roots in this state. Go watch it! Let me know what you think. All I know is that Megan Fox looked damn fine in that corset she was wearing and I know there’s going to be plenty of leg and garters showing or at least there had better be.
The filmmakers have already skittered off the path by giving Hex the power to revive the dead. That wasn’t at all part of the original character. Hex was like Batman in that he was just a normal individual with amazing abilities. He was a crack shot with the pistol and he was fast as lightning and he wasn’t afraid to play dirty if the situation required it. I know this whole thing about him reviving the dead is most likely a gimmick for plot development but I think filmmakers ultimately put off the original cult fan base when they pull shit like that. Of course I haven’t read any of the later comics in the series but I know that Hex eventually travels outside his own time period and through various dimensions later on. My first experience with the character was actually while watching a Batman Beyond episode on the cartoon network. While the episode was good the character lacked staying power. Once again I’ll reiterate that I hope the film does it justice. Jonah Hex seems to be the one American western comic book character that has seemed to survive through out the years. It will be too bad if this movie tanks causing the character to be shelved for another thirty something years.
