Jonah Hex #44

Part one of a six-chapter saga kicks off here, and the cover sets an appropriately grim tone: Jonah Hex, pistol raised and hat pulled low, rides a rearing horse atop a massive flaming skull, with crossed revolvers and the title "Six Gun War" blazing across the bottom. It's a striking image that promises the kind of hard-edged Western storytelling Gray and Palmiotti had been delivering throughout this run, rendered with real force by Cristiano Cucina. If you've been following DC's Jonah Hex series, this 2009 issue looks like exactly the right moment to pay close attention.