Hexes, Virgins and a Bong(o)

Jonah Hex #7-8

#7 Sees Hex chasing a killer into a town full of more killers. When they kill his bounty and refuse to give him back a valued rifle he proceeds to kill every damn one of 'em. #8 has him taking a bountythat turns out to be bogus. When the scam's up he leave's the coward to his deserving fate.

Both very solid entries into what has been an on-again/off-again series. The Clint-inspired look still bothers the piss out of me but otherwise I enjoyed both of these stories. It's nice to have a book on the reading list that is just out and out story. No worries about continuity of character development. If Hex has proven anything it's that the more consistent a character he is, the better off the stories are.Ther art in issue * suffers a bit, with two fill in artists for one story, after Luke Ross' departure in issue #7, but hopefully that is a temporary problem. We'll see with the coming issues though. I'm definitely curious as to Marvel's recent Western offerings, seeing as I've mostly enjoyed this series, but nothing has looked enticing enough to get me to bite.

American Virgin #3-4

The conclusion of the first arc, Head, sees Adam going to Swaziland to confront his girlfriends killers and discovering she wasn't as pure and honest as she'd led him to believe. Still on the fence about this one. I'm definitely enjoying the story, I just can't imagine it continuing to be enjoyable. Where Y the Last man has its various mysteries to carry it when it drags, AV really only has the characters to fall back on. But, if anyone can continue to develop a book like this it's Steven Seagle. During its rather farfetched moments it's definitely the characters that keep you reading. Adam's crisis of faith, despite being take to such an extreme, is so relatable that as you keep reading you find yourself asking the same questions. Do you kill the men that destroyed your life? Even when you find out that that life (or at least a major part of it) is a lie? Cloonan's art is great, getting better with every issue I think. Due in part to Jimm Rugg's excellent inking I think, something I don't mention enough. But, Rugg deserves it, his work here is out ant out excellent. I'll likely be buying the next arc, I'm curious as to where it's going, I just hope I won't be disappointed.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All

An FCBD offering, yeah I'm a little late with the review, sue me. I know I'll be getting lynched, but I've never read any of the Bongo comics line. I've even got the first Futurama trade and haven't really gotten into it, though I've tried a few times I think. So, consider this my first real exposure. There are some great parodies here, but overall I just didn't love it. The Archie Dissassembled joke was pretty damn funny though. But, hey, it was free so I really can't complain too much. I'm sick of the friggin comic book guy though.

-L