Our tale begins sometime in the 1880's in Gotham City. Gotham is dark and nasty but a bounty hunter has just ridden into town and by page three he is already graphically using his twin six guns to dispense his brand of justice. Across town, police are investigating the grisly murder of a prostitute. Above the shrouded, blood soaked corpse, the word METUS is written in the woman's blood. Metus is Latin for "Fear", so we are told by Doctor Amadeus Arkham-five murders and five times the word "Fear" had been at the crime scene...each in a different language. Hex arrives on the scene, much to the dismay of Police Chief Cromwell.
Hex and Arkham end up in a bar where the doc tries to unravel the bounty hunter's inner workings. Soon after, Hex spies an old lady friend named Belle and proceeds to defend her honor by pretty much busting up the place and laying waste to just about everyone in it. he quizzes Belle about the person being called "The Gotham butcher" and she reveals very little except he has a hand like a claw and a silver shaped skull ring. Hex advises her to leave town.
She should have taken his advise because several pages later she is found pretty bloodied up, strung up, eyes torn out and all. And a bloody message for bounty hunter: JONAH HEX LEAVE TOWN.
That's not going to happen.
That evening, Hex and Arkham attend a charity event at the home of Mayor Cobblepot. Among the guests are such members of Gotham's aristocracy as Cyrus Pickney and Alan Wayne.Members of the former Union Army, dressed in their finest, are not thrilled to see a bedraggled bounty hunter dressed in Confederate grey. but one thing is certain: they are all wearing skull rings.
Wow! This book was a total surprise. A big fan of Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti's previous work, I never thought the book could be this good and this entertaining. In fact, I picked it up on a whim, having decided originally not to read the title. I am so glad I did because this book rocks! The writing is crisp and I absolutely love the Gotham City reference points that appear throughout. C'mon: Arkham, Cobblepot, Wayne. It truly roots this boot, at least the introductory issues, in Gotham City mythos as opposed to Hex just wandering through the West from town to town. Maybe after the introductory story arc, that will happen. But for now, it's nice to see this take. As expected, Hex is a rough, tough cowboy that would have mopped up every Marvel Western hero.
But this book is so over the top in the grit and gore it's truly a Vertigo book brought mainstream. Blood and guts help but the fact the entire story is told in various degrees of sepia tone gives it that Old Time Western feel, where most photographs would have been in shades of brown and gray as opposed to black and white. I mentioned earlier it feels like DEADWOOD. All that's missing is the frequent four lettered words. I cannot recommend this book enough and truly look forward to where it goes from here.
BTW: the mysterious hooded woman appears in the crowded bar at the top of page 10.
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