Um, has Jonah Hex ever met a black person?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I mean, he's wearing a Confederate uniform. Some modern writer must have addressed how weird that is to today's audiences. They wisely sidestepped it completely when Jonah Hex appeared on Legends of Tomorrow, the comics version is still dressed like a soldier on the side of slavery....long after the war ended.

That's...kinda messed up.

[JackDaw]

I mean, he's wearing a Confederate uniform. Some modern writer must have addressed how weird that is to today's audiences. They wisely sidestepped it completely when Jonah Hex appeared on Legends of Tomorrow, the comics version is still dressed like a soldier on the side of slavery....long after the war ended.

That's...kinda messed up.

He fought on the confederate side.

Given his upbringing...and the mores of his time...it wouldn't be a complete nonsense to write him as if he he was a politically correct middle class 21st century American. Thankfully that's not been done to date...which is why he's one of the few really distinct DC characters. In my top ten.

[keeen]

I can at least partially answer this: In All-Star Western #21 by Gray/Palmiotti/Moritat, Booster Gold brings Hex to the future.

- Hex is stopped by a black police officer and expresses nonjudgemental surprise at seeing a "colored fella" with a badge

- Batwing attacks him and refers to him as a "redneck in a racially insensitive costume" before beating him up and taking him to Arkham

I really liked that series, thanks for giving me a reason to flip through a couple issues.

[JackDaw]

I can at least partially answer this: In All-Star Western #21 by Gray/Palmiotti/Moritat, Booster Gold brings Hex to the future.

- Hex is stopped by a black police officer and expresses nonjudgemental surprise at seeing a "colored fella" with a badge

- Batwing attacks him and refers to him as a "redneck in a racially insensitive costume" before beating him up and taking him to Arkham

I really liked that series, thanks for giving me a reason to flip through a couple issues.

Batwing duffed up Jonah? Thankfully time had erased that detail from my memory...mind you one of very few DC series that I will re-read sometime. That and the Jonah Hex series that preceded it, has to be strong contender for best long DC run in last 10 years.

[keeen]

Batwing duffed up Jonah? Thankfully time had erased that detail from my memory...mind you one of very few DC series that I will re-read sometime. That and the Jonah Hex series that preceded it, has to be strong contender for best long DC run in last 10 years.

Out of curiosity, do you recall how when he returns to the past, that 21st century girl he's picked up in the future just abruptly dies? That bothered me so much it actually caused me to re-evaluate my estimation of the whole series! But as you suggested, time heals all wounds, lol.

[TRS80]

Yes, of course he has. He was sold as a slave to indians, as well. And, he always stands against slavery. Its part of why he went awol. He wears the confederate colors to honor his brothers in arms.

Controversy warning! What you learned in school isn't the whole story.

The civil war was fought over tariffs and states rights. If it was about slavery, then they would have abolished slavery in the union border states as well. To Jonah hex, a born rebel, he was defending the underdog and his home from an oppressive regime. The point is that you can be a proud southerner, a confederate supporter, and be against slavery.

[JackDaw]

Out of curiosity, do you recall how when he returns to the past, that 21st century girl he's picked up in the future just abruptly dies? That bothered me so much it actually caused me to re-evaluate my estimation of the whole series! But as you suggested, time heals all wounds, lol.

Yes, Gina (Green), I think. She was a wonderful character. Tough call...because it wouldn't have felt right for her and Jonah to split up, or Jonah to stay in 21st century. But without a split what would have happened to dear old Talulah? On balance, the last few issues were a wonderful end to the series...I loved that Jonah avoided the grim fate predicted by the old series, without dis-honouring any of the old tales.

Probably time that I re-read the run...I was scratching my head as i plodded into town last week, trying to remember whether Iron Jaws (the wolf) appeared in the Palmiotti/Gray run....really liked the original Fleisher stories that featured him.

[LordAllMIghty]

Yes, of course he has. He was sold as a slave to indians, as well. And, he always stands against slavery. Its part of why he went awol. He wears the confederate colors to honor his brothers in arms.

Controversy warning! What you learned in school isn't the whole story.

The civil war was fought over tariffs and states rights. If it was about slavery, then they would have abolished slavery in the union border states as well. To Jonah hex, a born rebel, he was defending the underdog and his home from an oppressive regime. The point is that you can be a proud southerner, a confederate supporter, and be against slavery.

I agree you can be a southern and be against slavery but the confederate flag is still considered raciest.

[TRS80]

I agree you can be a southern and be against slavery but the confederate flag is still considered raciest.

Yes. Today the confederate flag has been bastardized into a symbol of racism. But, it wasnt until the second KKK that it became associated with hate mongering. In Jonah's natural time it had a deeper meaning. To my knowledge Jonah Hex never displayed a confederate flag. Just his coat and hat were part of a confederate soldier's uniform. Racists dont go around waving confederate jackets and hats.

[Jim Kelly]

You gotta wonder why, after the war ended, Jonah Hex didn't get in his SUV, swing by the local Walmart and buy himself a hoody and a pair of jeans on his credit card.

Oh right. It was the 19th century and Jonah, being a member of a disgraced army, had little means. And in the 19th century poor folk didn't have a lot of clothes. Jonah would've had to go to a tailor and have himself measured for a new set of clothes to be cut and sewn to order--and he would've had to have some way to pay for that--because a new set of clothes wouldn't come cheap. More likely he would've had to get his clothes third or fourth-hand, re-resold from someone who no longer had use for their clothes, like dead Confederate soldiers.

It seems most likely the whole reason Hex joined the Confederate Army in the first place was because they'd feed and clothe him and put a roof over his head. And the clothes he got in the army were probably of a better quality than anything he'd worn before then in his lifetime.

But hey, 19th century people ought to have had our disposable culture values, where we consume materials at an alarming rate and have no thought for what that does to the planet.

[Kuwagaton]

I don't think it has anything to do with materialism or disposable values. I'd agree with TRS that being on either side during the war didn't necessarily have bearing on how you viewed race or slavery, even if odds are pretty high that he wouldn't be anywhere close to tolerant. But the only way it would make sense to have him discard the uniform (permanently) is if you bring him to modern times and choose to have him embrace the later 20th century as his environment.

[Kyer]

I don't think it has anything to do with materialism or disposable values. I'd agree with TRS that being on either side during the war didn't necessarily have bearing on how you viewed race or slavery, even if odds are pretty high that he wouldn't be anywhere close to tolerant. But the only way it would make sense to have him discard the uniform (permanently) is if you bring him to modern times and choose to have him embrace the later 20th century as his environment.

Even then he should keep the uniform and just apply fabric dye because modern clothing of the past decade doesn't last a darn anymore. His old uniform even with how long he's had it will undoubtedly still outlast a brand new cheaply made seams/thin fabric shirt at Walmart. (Don't even get me started on shoes.)

[cmkeller]

Pre-New 52, Jonah Hex met Green Lantern John Stewart during the Crisis on Infinite Earths and treated him no differently than Firebrand and Psimon, the white characters who came together with John.

[Trey Strain]

Nobody has to read it.

[Jim Kelly]

There were plenty of stories where Jonah met black people in the Old South and the Old West. The question itself makes no sense to me--as I tried to point out before. It would be an anachronism for Jonah to give up good clothes to leave himself struggling to find a decent hat, coat and boots in a world where such was in short supply, just for the sake of 21st century attitudes.

It was also visual shorthand to give the reader Jonah's origin story. It underlined his pathetic situation and how much of an outsider and a loner he had become.

Time-travelling Hex (which I've never liked and just try to forget happened)--sure if he was on a battle-field, he might have checked the dead bodies for a better coat or boots that fit, if his own were in ill repair.