All-Star Western 1: Guns and Gotham

Comic Info

All-Star Western (3) #3

Reprints All-Star Western (3) #1-6 (November 2011-April 2012). Jonah Hex is a bounty hunter and just rolled into Gotham City. Matching wits with a serial killer, Jonah and his unlikely ally Amadeus Arkham find themselves in more trouble than expected. A trip to the underground in search of stolen children also leads to a confrontation with the legendary Miagani and a demon of immense size. Also El Diablo confronts a town overrun by the undead and a girl known as the Barbary Ghost sets out to avenge the murder of her family.

Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, All-Star Western Volume 1: Guns and Gotham was part of the New 52 relaunch of the DC Universe and features a more incorporated Jonah Hex with the DC Universe plus featured back-up stories in issues All Star Western (3) #2-3 (El Diablo) and All-Star Western (3) #4-6 (The Barbary Ghost).

I like All-Star Western. I have a soft spot for both the DCU and the Marvel Universe’s Western characters since I find it rather interesting that they exist in the world of superheroes as the first superheroes of the universe. In the New 52, the stories are much more incorporated and contain many more aspects of the present day stories since the Jonah Hex story is set in Gotham City.

All-Star Western #6

The Jonah Hex stories essentially are two mystery/suspense Westerns. The Jonah and Arkham combo is kind of fun and almost equals a Holmes and Watson…with a mostly violent Holmes. The quest to find the serial killer leads to a fun showdown and a secret society like a Western Illuminati with appearances by ancestors of some of Gotham’s upper crust. The second story of kidnapped children leads to Gotham’s underground and an encounter with the Miagani which played a prominent role in Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. It also features Bruce Wayne’s ancestors Alan and Catherine Wayne and an early visit to the Batcave. Plus, the story sets up the next storyline with a cameo by Cinnamon and Nighthawk (and hints to the “Night of the Owls”).

Other than All-Star Western (3) #1, each issue features a back-up story. The El Diablo story is a bit undercooked and could have used more development. All-Star Western (3) #4 (February 2012) is the first appearance of the Barbary Ghost, and I hope that she has a future and possible feature stories in upcoming issues. The character shows a lot of promise and is rather interesting.

All-Star Western 1: Guns and Gotham isn’t going to be everyone’s thing since Westerns are a bit of a niche culture, but with more incorporations to the DCU, I hope this series will survive. Jonah Hex the movie didn’t help this series, but hopefully people will overlook that and take a trip to the Wild West (or Wild East in this case). All-Star Western 1: Guns and Gotham is followed by All-Star Western 2: The War of Lords and Owls.

Related Links:

All-Star Western 2:  The War of Lords and Owls

All-Star Western 3:  The Black Diamond Probability

All-Star Western 4:  Gold Standard

All-Star Western 5:  Man Out of Time

All-Star Western 6:  End of the Trail

Jonah Hex (2010)