I'm momentarily at a loss to describe the opening story: not really a crossover, and yet...from 2012,
All-Star Western #10, "The War of Lords and Owls, part 1" Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Moritat.
Tallulah Black has just gotten thrown out of the Wayne Casino--out of a second story window. She came in the middle of a conversation between Lucius Bennett and Alan Wayne, an ancestor of Bruce Wayne's, which was thick with veiled threats. Jonah Hex has to withdraw with Tallulah, taking her for medical treatment to his associate, Dr. Amadeus Arkham. (This series, post-
New 52, was tied to Batman lore; and would stay there for a stretch, largely to establish that the rot in Gotham had been festering for some time.) The Court of Owls also makes an appearance, and they think Jonah will help them achieve their own goals.
At Arkham's, Tallulah wakes up grouchy, with Dr. Arkham finds both intimidating and interesting. She immediately takes Jonah to bed. Later that night, Arkham tries to get answers from a deranged man, who claims the owls were after him since in his job as a chimney sweep, he had seen where they meet. Arkham assumed him to be insane, but the man and a guard are murdered almost impossibly quickly; and after finding a feather Arkham decides he'd best talk to Jonah...
But, also this issue: Bat Lash, in "Unholy Matrimony" Written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti, art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez! Bat is on the verge of being forced to the altar with a very pregnant young woman--one of twins. Despite protestations from the twins and their father, Bat knows the girls weren't
completely identical: one had gotten knocked-up by a livery worker before his accidental death, and they had thought if they roped Bat in he'd have all the money they'd ever need. It's a fun story, that looks great; and despite being the start of a storyline I wasn't real invested in, the rest of the issue was pretty good too.
4 comments:
You REALLY can’t go wrong with a Jose Luis Garcia Lopez-drawn story, no matter the quality of said story. I’ll have to hunt this one down because I kinda want to see how it ends for both Lash (Who’s clearly living his best life) and Jonah & Black.
I’m certainly not against Grey tying in Batlore to Jonah Hex’s history, but there was & could still be, plenty of opportunities to tie in other iconic characters as well, like the Jordans, Tervors, Allen’s, Kent’s, Queen’s etc.
I think a few of those actually did happen.
I was lukewarm about most of this series, though I really liked the storyline where Jonah got sent into the present (of that point). I think it has to do with it reminding me of the Hex series from the original continuity, and I really enjoyed that one too. Gray and Palmiotti had a surprisingly good grasp on the DC universe, especially considering how much they stayed out of the main continuity up to that point.
Agreed. They really did seamlessly weave in the appearances of the ancestors of iconic characters really well into the narrative they created.
They had quite a few iconic characters show up for the present day storyline too (Batman, Superman, Swamp Thing, John Constantine, etc.), and they had a pretty good grasp on them and what makes them work.
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