'Hex' origin explored for anniversary

Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray will explore Jonah Hex's origin for their title's fifth anniversary.

DC's Jonah Hex is nearing half a decade of continuous, monthly publication.

The writers will be retelling the Western anti-hero's origin story in Jonah Hex #56, which will be released just before the forthcoming movie in June in the hope of attracting more people to the franchise.

"At first it was going to be an oversized issue, then that got changed on us and we figured we'd have some fun with the issue and format anyway," Palmiotti told Newsarama.

"So we got Darwyn Cooke to do the cover and we did two eleven-page stories on the inside. One is illustrated by Phil Winslade and the other by C.P. Smith.

"Overall, there is a lot in this single issue and I think, yes, it's as a good jumping-on point as any. We try to treat all the issues this way all the time. 54 issues in and we are still trying to hook the casual reader."

Jonah Hex #56 will be released on June 2, with the Josh Brolin, John Malkovich and Megan Fox-starring movie following on June 18.