June 2010 is JONAH HEX month, so enjoy this double-barreled DeZuniga whammy!

Call it "JUNE-ah Hex."

It's a big month for my acquaintance, TONY DEZUNIGA, co-creator and original artist of the classic 1970s DC COMICS cowboy feature JONAH HEX. A movie based on his best-known character comes out in two weeks and it stars no less than JOSH BROLIN and MEGAN FOX. And to the left is the new cover for BACK ISSUE magazine #42, which comes out in a few weeks. I got BACK ISSUE magazine editor MIKE EURY's blessing to post it here.

A couple of years ago, Tony and his lovely wife Tina moved to the Los Angeles area from upstate. My buddy and CARTOON FLOPHOUSE partner-in-crime JOSE CABRERA (of CRYING MACHO MAN fame) welcomed the DeZunigas by making a trek across town (and in L.A., that's more like cross-country) to meet them for dinner; an enchanting engagement which I chronicled in an article for BACK ISSUE # 36. Last year, I lobbied to our stellar editor of BACK ISSUE magazine to utilize the talented DeZuniga's services. As Mike was in the midst of planning an all-out Wild West-themed BACK ISSUE, this was good timing, and he commissioned Tony to do this cover:



But enjoy it while you can because, as it turns out, this cover image will be fleeting. I'm guessing that without his hat and Old West garb, ol' J. Hex was a mite unrecognizable. So you might say Jonah Hex got something of a "facelift" for BI #42, as Mike, in his infinite wisdom, had the cover redesigned to the one at the very top of this blog.

The resulting cover is quite stunning, utilizing a different piece of DeZuniga art and some terrific layout, and nailing the classical Jonah Hex imagery with much Wild West flavor and fervor.

(On an aside, my contribution to this issue is the piece on NIGHT RIDER, the original Ghost Rider character.)

Meanwhile, support ol' Tony DeZuniga and celebrate his creation and go see the JONAH HEX movie while it's in the theaters (opening June 18).