Wild Western What-Ifs

Secret Six #24

Here’s a switch — all of the main characters of the series, including several of their villains, transplanted into the Wild West. Deadshot is a bounty hunter, Scandal Savage a sheriff, Bane is her deputy, Ragdoll runs a puppet theater, Jeannette is the local saloon’s most expensive entertainment, and Catman is a savage trapper. And Ragdoll’s vile sister Junior is the wealthiest woman in the territory, dedicated to killing everyone in town with her hired army of thugs, led by a mercenary gunfighter called Slade Wilson.

Verdict: Thumbs up. A very, very cool change of pace story. It’s great the way all of the Six’s characters fit into the Western’s archetypes. I wouldn’t mind seeing this kind of story more often, even if it’s not in the Wild West — surely these guys would fit well into lots of other genres.

Jonah Hex #58

Jonah gets in the middle of the aftermath of a whole series of crimes — the murder of a homesteader’s wife, leading to the homesteader killing the man he holds responsible, and the accidental maiming of a bystander. Jonah has been hired by the wealthy widow to bring in the homesteader, but she unexpectedly decides she won’t pay. Something fishy is going on here, and it’ll probably end with Jonah shooting more people.

Verdict: Thumbs up. An excellent and moderately complex mystery story, with an interesting framing device in which the bullets fired help narrate the action. Gotta give credit to artist Giancarlo Caracuzzo — he draws the most disgustingly disfigured Jonah Hex I think I’ve ever seen.

Today’s Cool Links:

• Here’s a Japanese manga strip explaining the strategic alliance between Japan and the U.S., in which America is depicted as a kid wearing a hoodie with bunny ears. My only regret is that it doesn’t appear to have been translated into English yet.
• And here are some absolutely gorgeous color photographs of Depression-era America. Definitely recommended for anyone interested in old photos or just old stuff in general.
• It’s depressing that we’ve let people like this and this wage war on Texas schools and schoolchildren for so many years. Depressing that they’ve done so much damage over the years and that their disciples will keep the war going forever.