Jonah does his best to offer Dr. Arkham comfort after he takes a man's life for the first time.

Like many, I was baffled by the decision to “reboot” or re-start or whatever it was that DC Comics decided to do at the conclusion of FlashPoint. What does this mean for my favorite characters? What will remain in continuity and what will fall by the wayside?

Regardless, I told myself to give it a shot. I even committed to an idea and that idea was to buy each and every one of the New 52 books for at least the first six months. If after the first six issues I am not hooked then I will drop the book from the pull sheet. That’s fair, right?

Of course there were some books I was looking forward to more than others and there were some books I just didn’t think would be worth the $2.99. Which books you might ask? Well, I had no interest in I,Vampire, Men of War, Swamp Thing or All Star Western. There was no way in my mind that these titles would hold my attention. I wanted capes and super powers, secret identities and nifty gadgets.

Reluctantly, I added the four titles to my pull sheet and was quickly proven wrong by the likes of Jonah Hex in All-Star Western. Crow has never tasted so good!

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti share the writing duties on this book and Moritat creates an unbelievably gritty environment with amazing characters and expressions. Sometimes I feel like I should shake the dust off my boots when I am finished reading. Ok, I may have gone a bit far there but the art adds so much to this story and draws the reader so far in that you may find it hard to not be immersed into Old Gotham.

Old Gotham? Yep, Old Gotham. The entirety of the story is set in the birthplace of Batman himself and the city has never been more grim. Secret societies, drive by shootings ( in a horse drawn carriage ) a string of grisly murders and plenty of brawling is all set to the narrative provided by one Dr. Amadeus Arkham.

Arkham finds himself intrigued by Jonah Hex, a bounty hunter, who has been hired to find the Gotham Butcher. Despite the protest of Hex, Dr. Arkham accompanies Jonah on his search for the butcher through the rowdiest saloons and the darkest depths of the emerging city.

There are twists and turns galore throughout the story and plenty of suspense to make you wish the next few weeks would quickly pass. The unique perspective of Dr. Arkham helps to shed an interesting light upon a character like Hex. For someone like myself who has never really followed the adventures of Jonah this provided a fantastic introduction to the character.

There is little else I can say without ruining plot points. Just know that a diehard superhero fan such as myself went from skeptic to ecstatic about All Star Western and when I pick up my books on Wednesday, this is quickly placed at the top of the stack.

That is enough from me for now. If Jonah was here he might advise me by saying “Quit Yer Yappin!” and I will right after I advise you to give All-Star Western a read. It has some of the best story telling that the New 52 has to offer.