Jason is an award-winning journalist whose writing career dates back to when he developed the ability to use a crayon. He, most notably, worked previously as a "professional fan," as he likes to call it, at CinemaBlend, for which he wrote about anything and everything under the pop culture umbrella... especially Batman. His passion for the art of cinema began even earlier, stemming from repeat viewings of The Wizard of Oz.
This initially led him to pursue a career in filmmaking -- and even work briefly in the industry as an extra in the straight-to-video family film, Alice Upside Down -- before deciding that his talents would be better served discussing and showing appreciation for the various forms of entertainment he is passionate about.
A comic book character's popularity does not depend on the success of its film adaptation. Take, for example, Jonah Hex, whose movie totally bombed in 2010, yet he remains one of DC Comics' most beloved characters of the Western variety.
In fact, Jonah Hex will soon be returning to DC Comics, as part of the publisher's new Next Level imprint, which is set to debut in 2026.
The news comes from the latest Substack post by Scott Snyder, which went online on the last day of 2025. Fittingly, the blog update sees the esteemed comic book writer looking back on highlights of the past 12 months, such as the continued success of the Absolute Universe, and projects that he is anticipating for the coming year, namely the upcoming titles under Next Level.
Snyder mentions the new series featuring Jonah Hex as one of the "passion projects" that he is most excited for readers to see. It will actually be the first comic led by the badly scarred anti-hero since the New 52 era return of All-Star Western from 2011 to 2014, which is among the best comic books for Western fans.
A year before then, the Confederate Civil War veteran-turned-deadly, vengeful bounty hunter made his live-action, big screen debut in a self-titled film that even its star, Josh Brolin, cannot stand. Also starring Megan Fox as Jonah's love interest, Lilah Black, and Academy Award nominee John Malkovich as the main antagonist Quentin Turnbull, the film from director Jimmy Hayward was a critical and commercial failure, grossing $11 million on a $47 million budget and earning an 11% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The movie was also controversial among comic book fans for giving Jonah Hex the ability to reanimate the dead for some reason. Never in his comic book history, which dates back to 1972's All-Star Western #10, has the character, created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga, been known to possess any supernatural abilities. Although his intimidating aura has led some poor souls to believe he may be immortal.
DC's Next Level imprint will also include previously announced titles featuring fan-favorite characters like Lobo (written by Skottie Young with art by Jorge Coron), Batwoman (from Greg Rucka, the creator of the Gotham hero's modern incarnation), Slade Wilson in writer Tony Fleecs and artist Carmine Di Giandomenico's Deathstroke: The Terminator and more. The scribe and illustrator assigned to handle the upcoming Jonah Hex series have not yet been named.
Jonah Hex Was Redeemed In The Arrowverse
Image via Dean Buscher/The CW / Courtesy of Everett CollectionJonah Hex is widely considered to be one of the worst DC movies of all time, which makes the eponymous character's continued interest in the world of comic books seem like nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps fans who are looking forward to his Next Level comic book have the Arrowverse to thank.
Six years after the big-screen adaptation's failure, Jonah Hex was revived for live-action media on The CW's hit series, Legends of Tomorrow, in the Season 1 episode "The Magnificent Eight," in which the team of time-traveling heroes heads to the Old West. It would be the first of several appearances in the franchise by the bounty hunter, as played by Johnathon Schaech, who is otherwise best known for the underrated '90s movie, That Thing You Do!
Schaech's Arrowverse-canon portrayal of Jonah Hex was far better received than his cinematic iteration, which was certainly of no chagrin to Josh Brolin. The Academy Award nominee had a more successful run as a Marvel movie actor, having gone on to play Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as portraying Cable in Deadpool 2.
Hopefully, Jonah Hex's comic book revival for DC's Next Level does not befall the same fate as his sole big-screen adventure. There is no release date for Jonah Hex's Next Level comics quite yet, but they're set to arrive sometime in 2026.
Jonah Hex is available to stream on HBO Max.
Release Date June 18, 2010
Runtime 82 minutes
Director Jimmy Hayward
English (US) · 