Mad In Gotham – Review Of All-Star Western #21

Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have put Jonah Hex through a lot in All-Star Western in the last 20 issues. He’s dealt with everything from early Crime Bible disciples to Vandal Savage to Mr. Hyde (yes, as in “Dr. Jekyll and…”. Really.). At the same time, Gray and Palmiotti have created an intricate backdrop that has unfolded from an early Gotham City and spiraled out across post-Civil War America. They’ve populated it with a menagerie of colorful characters, ranging from the familiar, like Amadeus Arkham, to new ones, like The Barbary Ghost. However, starting with issue #19, the writing team has begun to focus on a character with definite ties to the DCnU present, if not the future, time traveling hero: Booster Gold. Does this signal an end to Gray and Palmiotti’s exploration of historical Gotham and its characters?

A closer look at the events of All-Star Western #21, rife with spoilers, after the jump.

While Gray and Palmiotti may not be completely done with historical Gotham, this new issue does seem to be ushering in a bit of a break. To begin with, Booster demonstrates that he not only can he not drive a horse drawn carriage, but that he can also screw it up in the kind of spectacular fashion that only Booster can manage…

There is no way that carriage got up to 88 miles per hour before it went off that cliff.

…careening off a cliff, headed for certain doom. But, since Booster also has the luck typically found only in children, drunks, and fools, the plunge off the cliff sends him and Hex into some kind of time portal. Hex wants none of it.

Unfortunately for Jonah Hex, things go from bad to worse.

In the Year Batman, dudes get stomped.

Look, way back when this series first debuted, Rob gave it some brutally honest feedback when he called it “Crocodile Dundee with dead hookers.” However, it picked up from there and began to take on the much needed, actual “western” elements one would hope for in a book titled All-Star Western, which saved it from being what could have been merely a monthly Jonah Hex team-up book. Whether the reader will be willing to continue following the story into this time travel arc will be dependent on Gray and Palmiotti’s ability to maintain the core Western feel and not seem like a gimmick to pimp the lead character of their new title Batwing, who makes an appearance in this story. I’m hopeful though; Hex begins his time in future Gotham in a throw down with Frank Miller-esque mutants that was unexpected and delightful…in the way that shooting a man named Steaktube in the face can be delightful. Hex indulges in his usual misunderstanding with the local law enforcement, which leads him to a subsequent run in with Batwing, with unfortunate consequences.

However you might feel about the direction of the current arc, the book is worth picking up on the strength of artist Moritat’s work alone. He employs medium to bold lines, with a fair amount of cross hatching when detailing his characters, and his detail in the final close up of Hex’s face on the final page’s reveal is masterfully grotesque. This is the kind of page you want to buy from the artist and put on your wall, if you don’t think it’d keep you awake at night.

It is not unprecedented for Jonah Hex to travel into the future, and even meet Batman. Heck, that even managed to last 18 issues. The success of this arc will lie in how well Gray and Palmiotti continue to develop the ensemble with whom Hex will need to interact so that it continues to feel true to an All-Star Western title and not devolve into Crocodile Dundee With Dead Mutants while the story tries to sort out its footing. I am going to trust Gray and Palmiotti’s instincts for now and continue to follow the series.