All-Star Western #22 Review

I suppose it should have been obvious that if Booster Gold could wind up back in Jonah Hex's era, it would only be a matter of time before Hex himself was dragged into the future. Hex fans who miss the straightforward days of the character's pre-New 52 series might grimace at the thought of Hex parading about 21st Century Gotham, but Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are able to mine a great deal of fun out of this latest twist on the "man out of time" formula.

A few months back I noted my disappointment that the Jonah Hex/Amadeus Arkham dynamic had been cut short by Hex's departure from Gotham. Appropriately, much of this issue hinges on the new dynamic between Hex and Arkham's modern descendant. Over the course of the story, Dr. Arkham slowly comes to the realization that his latest patient may be telling the truth about being a time-displaced bounty hunter. And as their paths become more intertwined, it's amusing to see how similar to the two Arkhams can be when the bullets begin flying.

It's a fun issue from start to finish, enough so that the absence of the usual backup feature isn't felt at all. This issue continues to build on the historical Gotham mythology first begun by Grant Morrison and furthered by Palmiotti and Gray over the past two years. As strange as it sounds, this latest plot twist feels like a natural outgrowth of what has come before.

The shift to the present allows Moritat a chance to branch out a great deal from the usual dusty landscapes and seedy bar rooms of past storylines. Luckily, Gotham is seedy enough that his textured style is still a strong fit. As usual, there's a fair amount of discrepancy in the detail from panel to panel. Some panels see Moritat devote painstaking attention ti every scar and crag on Hex's face, while others feature characters that are little more than loose outlines. But when Moritat is on top of his game, he paints a picture of Gotham that's tough to beat.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

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