Jonah Hex #9

DeZuniga's stark black-and-white cover for this September 2006 issue captures Jonah Hex at full gallop through a frontier street, one arm wrapped around a frightened young woman while armed men fall away on either side — red bloodlines streaking across the composition like whip cracks. The scratchy, painterly linework gives the whole scene a gritty, pulp-Western energy that suits the scarred bounty hunter perfectly. Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, this is the kind of single-issue Western storytelling that made their Jonah Hex run a genuine treat for fans of hardboiled frontier action.