After Jonah Hex and Tallulah Black’s reunion in ‘All-Star Western’ #10, the diabolical pair are up and about and on the trail of Lucius Bennet. They’ve left Amadeus Arkham back at his home.
As this issue opens, Amadeus is pondering the existence of the Court of Owls and the followers of the Crime Bible. He fears what might happen to Gotham if the two should ever cross paths. He says that there would be awful bloodshed if that should happen. So… want to place your bets on where this arc is headed?
Hex and Black catch up to Bennett riding in a coach and attempt to bring him down. They get into a gunfight with Bennett’s mysterious bodyguard, Mr. Baroque. During the scuffle, Hex notices that Bennett is wearing the skull insignia ring of the Crime Bible followers. After Mr. Baroque is taken down, Tallulah heads in to take her vengeance on Bennett. But, before she can take her shot…
Alright, here come the SPOILERS.
…the Talon appears and takes Bennett away.
With Bennett gone, the Crime Bible followers believe that Hex and Black are responsible for his murder and take it upon themselves to remove the bounty hunter and his unruly partner from the equation. They send their crooked cops to bring in the trio of Hex, Black, and Arkham. However, they quickly learned that Hex might not be the most dangerous of the three.
I’ve spouted off my love of Justin Gray and Jimmy Pamiotti’s stories before so I won’t go into it again other than to say that the pacing, dialogue, and action in this issue are pitch perfect. This is how an action-packed weird western tale should be told! In fact, I’d go so far to say that the tales of the Court of Owls here in ASW are much better than what’s been happening in modern times over in the Batman books.
Top the awesome tales of Gray and Palmiotti with some exquisite artwork from Moritat, and you’ve got one of the best comic titles currently running.
Even the backup tale this month raises the bar. As anyone who’s read my stuff here on ScienceFiction.com or follows me on Twitter will be aware, I’m a huge steampunk fan. This month’s backup story features a character I’ve never seen before called Dr. Terrence Thirteen. Dr. Thirteen is a man of science (with a great steampunk style sensibility). When the local townsfolk encounter a skeletal flaming apparition riding on a demonic black horse, they turn to Dr. Thirteen for assistance. His response, “Just because you cannot fathom the nature of a thing does not make that thing magic!” And he’s off to prove that this demon is not supernatural. It’s a fun start to a story and the introduction to a great new character.
This book might be $1 more than most other DC titles but you get two great stories and four awesome heroes (if they can be called that) for only a buck more. I’d call that well worth the price of admission!
Verdict: Buy
ALL-STAR WESTERN #11
Written by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
Art by Moritat
Backup Art by Scott Kolins
Cover by Rafael Garres
