MichikoS
09-12-2006, 01:44 PM
El Diablo!
The most recent issue of Jonah Hex, #11, co-stars this enigmatic Western character first introduced in All-Star Western back in the 1970s.
I know there was a late '80s series, but I confess to not ever having read a single issue. I do know it was an updated, modern-era character called El Diablo, not the original.
THIS El Diablo's a Spirit of Vengeance, the alter ego of Lazarus Lane. The character is beautifully handled by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti in this issue, as is the relationship between Jonah and Lazarus. It's obvious that the two characters have met before, but the writers wisely don't waste the reader's time filling you in. Everything you need to know comes through the dialogue between the two men. The art is absolutely spectacular, by David Michael Beck. Wow.
I've been not wholly enamored of this current incarnation of Jonah Hex, though I like it enough to continue buying it every month. This month's story is a 100% winner, though, starting off with a spectacular Art Thibert "hangin'" cover. It's a vengeance story, pure and simple, with different parties involved in revenging themselves, with the expected consequences. A very nicely constructed morality play, like John Albano used to write (though not as gritty).
El Diablo is spooky. Scary spooky, the way he should be. And Lazarus is quite a likeable character who seems to have accepted his strange fate as the host for a Spirit of Vengeance. The interactions between Lazarus and Jonah are priceless. Jonah is such a hardcase, but he obviously has a grudging respect for Lazarus, and genuinely fears El Diablo.
Jonah's eventual fate as a stuffed sideshow attraction is foretold, too. It all fits together so nicely. This is the Jonah Hex that we've all been waiting for! Anybody else like this issue as much as I did?
Michi
The most recent issue of Jonah Hex, #11, co-stars this enigmatic Western character first introduced in All-Star Western back in the 1970s.
I know there was a late '80s series, but I confess to not ever having read a single issue. I do know it was an updated, modern-era character called El Diablo, not the original.
THIS El Diablo's a Spirit of Vengeance, the alter ego of Lazarus Lane. The character is beautifully handled by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti in this issue, as is the relationship between Jonah and Lazarus. It's obvious that the two characters have met before, but the writers wisely don't waste the reader's time filling you in. Everything you need to know comes through the dialogue between the two men. The art is absolutely spectacular, by David Michael Beck. Wow.
I've been not wholly enamored of this current incarnation of Jonah Hex, though I like it enough to continue buying it every month. This month's story is a 100% winner, though, starting off with a spectacular Art Thibert "hangin'" cover. It's a vengeance story, pure and simple, with different parties involved in revenging themselves, with the expected consequences. A very nicely constructed morality play, like John Albano used to write (though not as gritty).
El Diablo is spooky. Scary spooky, the way he should be. And Lazarus is quite a likeable character who seems to have accepted his strange fate as the host for a Spirit of Vengeance. The interactions between Lazarus and Jonah are priceless. Jonah is such a hardcase, but he obviously has a grudging respect for Lazarus, and genuinely fears El Diablo.
Jonah's eventual fate as a stuffed sideshow attraction is foretold, too. It all fits together so nicely. This is the Jonah Hex that we've all been waiting for! Anybody else like this issue as much as I did?
Michi