In a 2010 interview with Filipino journalist Anna Valmero, DeZuniga described the moment he first conceived the image that would become Jonah Hex: When I went to my doctor, I saw this beautiful chart of the human anatomy.

These series, written by Joe R. Lansdale and drawn by Tim Truman, fit more into the western-horror genre, as Hex interacts with zombies ("Two-Gun Mojo" #1–5, 1993), a Cthulhoid monster ("Riders of the Worm and Such" #1–5, 1995) and spirit people ("Shadows West" #1–3, 1999).

A new monthly Jonah Hex series debuted in November 2005[6] (cover date January 2006), written by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti with interior art by varying (and occasionally recurring) artists.

In assorted postings on their message board,[7] Gray and Palmiotti have stated their intent was to depict various adventures from across the full length of Hex's life and career.

The main artistic difference is that the series is published without the external restraints of the Comics Code Authority which allows for harder-edged stories without having to keep with the Vertigo imprint's dark fantasy themes.

Born on November 1, 1838, in northwestern Missouri to Woodson and Virginia Hex, Jonah was a regular victim of physical abuse inflicted by his father, an alcoholic.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Jonah, feeling that the South was justified in seeking independence, joined the Confederate States Army and earned a commission as a lieutenant in the 4th Cavalry.

Enraged that Jonah had killed his son and broken the rules of combat, the chieftain had him restrained and disfigured with the "mark of the demon" by scarring the right side of his face with a heated tomahawk.

[20] Jonah befriended a wolf named Iron Jaws when he failed to stop white settlers from slaughtering the peaceful band of Pawnee Indians who had owned him.

[27] Fort Lang was seemingly attacked by an Indian tribe, but Hex saved them after uncovering a conspiracy by railroad interests to force them off their land so it could be illegally seized.

[32] He fought corrupt army officials in league with a greedy landowner who was organizing robbers to prey on travelling pioneers, and avenged the victims they had left to die.

This team included Jonah Hex alongside Black Pirate, Enemy Ace, Miss Liberty, and the Viking Prince; to make them powerful enough to become a threat, they were each energized with a special force.

Jonah Hex fought against the Shadow Demons alongside Bat Lash, Cyborg, Firebrand, John Stewart, Johnny Thunder, Nighthawk, Psimon, and Scalphunter.

[44] Having attracted negative attention from the underworld organization known as the Conglomerate by disrupting their drug operations, Hex and Stiletta were hunted down by a mercenary named Chain, who they defeated in a confrontation in a junkyard.

[47] Resigned to his fate, Hex got his hands on more advanced guns after he won a competition at a dangerous live-shooting gallery, but Stiletta was abducted and seemingly killed while he was distracted.

[50][51] New York City's leading crime syndicate, the Combine, sent Hex after their greatest enemy, the Batman, by framing him for Stiletta's murder; the two men fought and nearly killed each other.

The Road Reapers were captured by a group of warriors called the Dogs of War, who pressed them into slave labor for their master, an alien named S'ven Tarah.

[62] Williams, using his knowledge of voodoo from his travels in Haiti, had created an army of the dead to serve him, even reanimating the corpse of Wild Bill Hickok to be his personal bodyguard.

[63] Jonah put Hickok down again by beating him on the draw, then avenged his friend by leaving Williams to die a slow, brutal death at the hands of the Apaches whose dead he had desecrated.

[72] When a rich family hired him to track down their kidnapped son, Hex found the boy had become part of an underground dog-fighting ring and was forced to put him down when he contracted rabies.

[74] The mayor of a small town tried to have Hex hanged as a rapist to hide the incestuous rape of his mute daughter, but the townspeople lynched the politician instead when they learned the truth.

While speaking with a young historian to fill in the missing details of Hex's life, a corrupt Western memorabilia collector threatened them, hoping to take the body for himself.

[15] Many years later, a supermodel and actress who happened to have the surname Hex seemed to become possessed when her right eye was cut out by members of a group called the Agenda.

GCPD chief John Cromwell finds Arkham's theories of the crime repugnant, as well as his decision to recruit Jonah Hex, who had recently caused a stir by coming to town.

He also is mentioned a few times by his great-great-granddaughter, Virginia "Jinny" Hex, who appears in Batman Universe and Young Justice, having taken up a career as a hero after learning that she inherited her ancestor's exceptional abilities.

Despite being blind in his right eye on account of his disfigurement, Hex is an outstanding marksman who rarely misses his target, having been trained by the legendary Windy Taylor.

He is also a resourceful combatant, often relying on stealth, tricks, and improvised weapons and traps to defeat enemies, similar to DC comics character Deathstroke (who is also blind in his right eye).

[88] The 2010 live-action movie gives Hex an additional power: due to his being brought back from the brink of death after being hung on a cross and tortured by Quentin Turnbull, he is shown to be able to raise the dead for a few moments and force them to speak truthfully.

During the American Civil War, Jonah, then a Confederate cavalryman, surrendered himself to the Union forces after the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation, but he refused to betray where his fellow-Confederates were camped.

The briefs were refiled in June 2002 through the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation and while the decision was upheld, the comic was deemed not to be "transformative" raising possible future problems for parody.