All Star Western #5

Isn't that cute? Another reference to Batman. Just in case we forgot that Batman lives in Gotham.

When we last saw Arkham and Hex, Arkham was about to get his head blown off unless Jonah Hex threw down his weapon. This is how Jonah Hex deals with the problem.

That's not a bad way to deal with it!

But before the big oaf with the shotgun can call Hex's bluff, some other guy smashes the supports on the trestle Hex is perched on. A half dozen men rush Hex, remove him from the rubble, and capture him. The big oaf with the shotgun takes Jonah's hat and tells his men to take them down to tunnel six for a bath. That sounds nice!

I'm guessing that Hex will be back for his hat later.

Oh yeah! And his guns too!

Hex and Arkham are tossed in a raging underground river. There's a lot of room underneath Gotham! The river drags them along until they go over a massive underground waterfall. Hex manages to grasp onto a ledge and saves Arkham by grabbing his hand.

I called it! I knew he'd need a new pair of britches!

Jonah and Amadeus save themselves from drowning or plummeting to their deaths but now they're stuck on a ledge by a waterfall in the dark. Hex cain't see no way out so Arkham begins to panic. He screams at Hex and attracts the attention of the residents. No, not bats like the cover suggested.

Are these the early Parliament of Owls?

Whoever they are, they aren't friendly. They attack the duo but don't do much damage. Hex throws a handful of them over the waterfall and the rest seem to disappear into the darkness. But at least they left Hex and Arkham with a couple of torches. That was pretty convenient. They make their way further into the cave looking for a way out. But they enter Dungeon Room 14 and encounter a Giant Bat. It probably has Treasure Type B.

It's a bat! The size of a man!

The back-up story, The Barbary Ghost, shows how all of Yan Mei's family were killed by Bo Long and his gang because Yan Mei's brothers were killing Bo Long's men because Bo Long's men killed Yan Mei's father because Yan Mei's father wouldn't pay the protection money Bo Long wanted! Yan Mei and her grandfather faked their death so that they would be left alone. And that is why Yan Mei has been killing Bo Long's men and searching for Bo Long pretending to be her own ghost.

It's a story. In comic book form. But it isn't new or interesting. Any story someone can come up with doesn't need to be made into a comic book! Let's get some good ideas going! Intrigue me, DC!

This All Star Western didn't accomplish much. It was a bit like a random dungeon crawl. To continue to remain in the top rankings, All Star Western has to do better than this. I have to drop it one rank this month.