“Normally, I’d hang you, but I figure your actions warrant something really cruel and unusual.”
In our premiere episode, Mike and Casey dig into two Jonah Hex stories from two different eras.
First, we look at the character’s first appearance in 1972’s All Star Western #10. In a story by John Albano and Tony DeZuniga, entitled “Welcome to Paradise.” When famed disfigured bounty hunter Jonah Hex is hired by the business leaders of Paradise Corners to deal with a violent gang of killers, he gets a chilly reception from the the local townsfolk he’s protecting.
Then we revisit the first issue of Hex’s most recent relaunch in 2005’s Jonah Hex (vol.2) #1 by Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Luke Ross, titled, “Giving the Devil His Due.” When Hex is hired by a wealthy man to find his kidnapped son, he wanders into an ugly world of underground dog fighting and child murder.
JONAH HEX CONFIRMED KILL COUNT: 23 (+23 this episode)
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Hey guys, great episode! I’ve never been particularly interested in Jonah Hex, the movie being the only real exposure I’ve had. I enjoyed the episode a lot, though, and look forward to more.
I wanted to ask, have you considered doing a series on the Venture Bros.? Venture Bros. is one of my favorite shows of all time and I think that it has a special place in nerddom, tying the old Hanna-Barbera cartoon that we have a lot of nostalgia for to more modern themes and plots; behind the great humor of the show is a surprisingly complex and heartfelt narrative.
Additionally, I wanted to point out that your kill count is short by one; it is pretty dark, but you didn’t count the boy he smothered out of mercy, although I’m not sure what qualifies for your kill count list.
We did count the boy, Jacob Foster, in our count. We mention him at 34:20. And it definitely counts.
As for the Venture Bros., I’m a giant fan of the show. And who knows? Maybe in the future…
Sorry, I missed that! I suppose I was distracted.
Venture Bros would be awesome! I can imagine you both talking about it with the clear appreciation and enthusiasm you have here for Jonah Hex or about Arnold and would be great.
Thanks, David!
I was a big fan of Jonah Hex in the 80’s when I collected comics. I forgot how much I liked him until I listened to the Secret Origins podcast you guys helped with several months ago. I’ve since subscribed to that show and have been buying the Johan Hex anthologies when I can find them. Thanks for reminding me what a great character he is.
Finished this episode today and believed you missed one important aspect of Johan’s that was established in “Giving the Devil His Due.” Jonah finds out that the Wealthy Man was paralyzed by an elephant he was hunting, he simply responds by saying “seems fair.” Later he lies to the Wealthy Man about the nature of his son’s death. This shows Jonah philosophy about life. He isn’t upset or thinks its morally wrong that the Wealthy Man was hunting elephants, as the large majority of us do today. Jonah wouldn’t have bothered to lie about how his kid died if he though that killing elephants was wrong or the Wealthy Man was somehow immoral. He saw that the man was trying to kill an elephant and the elephant fought back.
Fight and die is what he understands. To Jonah the elephant also understands that motto. Even in losing its life the elephant fought hard and took as much as it could from the living. Jonah knows he is going to die an ugly death. He just wants to take as much revenge for his death as he possible can. Because that is fair.
I thought I had touched on that. As Jonah saw it, he tried to kill the elephant. The elephant tried to kill him back. It only seems fair that the elephant would try to stay alive, and got its last licks in on the person who killed it.