Jonah Hex #53 - DC

This was a great issue. I know I've raved about this book and it's neat, fascinating stories, but . . I loved this issue. On the original run of this character, they had a habit of having a colorful guest artist in every few issues or so. That's what this issue kind of reminded me of. It featured some great art, and cover, by Billy Tucci. Plus, Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti's story was equal to the usual standards that I've come to expect here. Jonah shows up in a dance hall looking for a partner in his current bounty hunter mission. He hires one of the girls to play a grieving widow on a train that's about to get robbed. The guys he's after are Jeb and Walt Hager. They rob banks and trains and have a gang. But what's not revealed until later is that they're also part of a much larger family. A family that includes many members just like them, but . . not as well known. Anyways, long story short . . Jonah hides on the train, and from his vantage point ends up taking out most of the gang. However, when the Rangers show up, Jonah finds out the hard way that they're actually extended family. And while they weren't big fans of Walt or Jeb's . . they're still family. And the woman that Jonah hired from the dance hall is actually married to one of them. So when they show up, she feels more confident and clocks Jonah on the back of the head. But . . she doesn't finish the job. When Jonah wakes up . . he does to the rest of the family what he did to their errant siblings and gang. It's a simple tale. Yes. With a few interesting twists and turns, but . . this time I really think it was Billy's art that made the book exceptionally enjoyable. I've said this before, but it just amazes me that it's 2010 and one of my favorite books is a western. Whodathunkit?