JONAH HEX Celebrates Year 5 With Comics, Movie, Animation
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Newsarama.com Vaneta Rogers
newsarama.com – Tue Apr 27, 1:30 pm ET
As notorious gunslinger Jonah Hex hits theaters in June, writers of the monthly Jonah Hex comic are making sure fans of the film can keep enjoying the character's adventures.
Jonah Hex #56, being released on June 2nd, reiterates Jonah's origin story while also telling new adventures about the Western anti-hero by the book's co-writers, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.
The two writers launched the comic back in 2005, surprising readers with its gritty yet compelling stories of the harsh realities of the Old West. And in an age when most DC comic books that aren't about superheroes live short lives - particularly one in an unusual genre like Western - this Jonah Hex series is approaching five years of continuous, monthly publication.
And the series shows no signs of stopping its record, as it continues to attract top level artists and earn rave reviews.
The series will likely receive even more attention after June 18th, when Warner Bros. releases the Jonah Hex film starring Josh Brolin as the title character, with Megan Fox and John Malkovich.
And Jonah Hex gets even more love in July when Batman: Under the Hood comes out on DVD with an animated short featuring the Western character, a story that is based on a story Palmiotti and Gray wrote for the comic series.
Newsarama spoke with Palmiotti and Gray about the comic, the animated DVD story, and the movie and what comes next for Jonah.
Newsarama: Justin and Jimmy, the Jonah Hex #56 solicitation tells the character's origin story again. Is the hope to have this be a jumping-on point for people who see the movie and want to grab the comic?
Jimmy Palmiotti: At first it was going to be an oversized issue, then that got changed on us and we figured we'd have some fun with the issue and format anyway...so we got Darwyn Cooke to do the cover and we did two eleven page stories on the inside. One is illustrated by Phil Winslade and the other by C.P. Smith. Overall, there is a lot in this single issue and I think, yes, it's as a good jumping-on point as any. We try to treat all the issues this way all the time. Fifty-four issues in and we are still trying to hook the casual reader.
Justin Gray: We have a pair of short stories and one of them takes place right after Hex's father abandons him in the custody of the Apache while he continues on in search of gold. It shows the progression of Hex's teenage years as a slave and a strange ritual that earns him the respect of the tribe. It also earns the ire of Noh Tante, the chief's son who hates him.
Palmiotti: The other is about an elderly woman who hires Jonah to protect her in case some people buying her land get out of hand. The story itself deals with some historical legends in a way and makes for another interesting tale.
Nrama: You guys used to do a lot of done-in-ones with the comic, but have also been building upon recurring characters and stories lately. Will that trend continue?
Gray: Yes, we tend to loop back to threads we started in past issues, but the idea is to continue making these one issue tales and weave them together rather than following a traditional serialized format. I think it keeps the book open and accessible, but gives long time readers a sense of cohesiveness in the book.
Palmiotti: On some level, the readers like some familiar characters to show up from time to time, like Tallulah and Starman and such and we like to give the readers what they want. There are issues where we see they have some connection to issues that came before them, but we're careful not to confuse a new reader, so we make sure it's easy to grasp on all levels first.
Nrama: You're coming up on the five-year anniversary of when you two started writing Jonah Hex. Did you ever think the comic would last this long and influence a major film release?
Palmiotti: Nope... no way... never in a million years!
I still remember bugging Dan DiDio about the property and honest, until Hex, we never wrote a series that got past the 12-issue mark. So that was one thing.
Another was that for 54 months, the title has never shipped late and never not shipped outside the first week of the month - something that's been done with Countdown and 52, but we are at the 54-week mark and we are proud of it.
As far as influencing the film, we are happy about that, but honest, it's a character created by John Albano and Tony Dezuniga and not us, so we are proud to continue the tradition, leave our mark and such, and yes, happy to put it back to the spotlight to get picked up as a feature. But our legacy will be the characters we created along the way like Tallulah Black and Starman. We hope to be given a chance to do more with those characters down the line.
Gray: That's always been the joke. We didn't expect the book to last 12 issues, and since then, we've been doing the seemingly impossible by keeping a Western rolling along. It's very exciting that there's a film. We both hope it does well not only for Jonah Hex, but for everyone involved and the Western film genre.
Nrama: Looking back at the last five years of stories, what has stood out to you about the stories you've told? Have you done what you thought you'd do with the comic, or has it kind of taken on a life of its own?
Palmiotti: It totally has taken on a life of its own, and that's awesome. At one point when starting, I kept thinking if the book goes on for a while, what would we do story wise? And now that's a joke. We have so many stories to tell about our favorite bounty hunter that we actually almost work a year in advance of publication. I never imagine I would have 6 trade books on the shelve with Jonah Hex , featuring our writing. It is a dream come true and as always, I thank D.C. entertainment for making it happen.