All-Star Western (Volume 3) Issue 6

"Beneath the Bat Cave"
Deep in the caverns underneath Gotham City, Jonah Hex wrestles with a massive prehistoric bat. Finally, he manages to stun the creature long enough to bring his pickax down hard on it, killing it, and ripping off its head. This act seems to have impressed the previously hostile underdwelling Miagami people. Hex shows them the bat's head, and in exchange, the Miagamis direct them to climb up a certain crevice.

Hex and his companion Amadeus Arkham emerge on the property of Wayne Manor, where Alan Wayne and his wife Catherine reside. Arkham assures the bounty hunter that the Waynes are very generous, and that it would probably be better if he did all of the talking. After being invited inside, Arkham explains the case of the stolen children, and the Waynes are moved to do all they can to help.

They turn to the local police to raid the child-slavers' hideout, knowing that the two of them are believed to be dead. While the police occupy the slavers, Arkham gathers the last of the kidnapped children and Hex goes after the leaders of the gang, killing with conviction. He catches up to the large man who had thwarted them before, and after shooting him through the shoulder, he thrusts his pickax through the man's leg, sending his victim into tears. Hex demands to know where Thurston Moody's son is, but the man claims that he never kidnapped the boy. When Hex threatens to pierce the other leg, the man admits that he is actually working for Thurston Moody. Suddenly, it all becomes clear.

Hex and Arkham return to St. Jude's orphanage, where Sister Marks leads them to the O'Grady family's house. The O'Grady's had had their own son return in a very sickly state after a long absence, likely having been kidnapped for slavery himself. Hex demands to know where the Moody boy is, and the O'Grady's admit that it was they who had kidnapped him, knowing that if they kidnapped a rich man's son, it would draw attention to the need for some investigation into the kidnappings going on in Gotham's poorer neighbourhoods.

Sadly, in the meantime, the O'Grady's own son has died. Despite the protests of Arkham and Sister Marks, Jonah Hex explains to the young Moody boy that it is his father who is responsible for the O'Grady boy's death, and the enslavement of several other boys like him. Moved, the boy determines that he will never be like his father, and Hex and Arkham decide to take him home to his mother.

Mrs. Moody is horrified by her husband's activities, and informs the pair that he has likely gone to New Orleans, where he has several property holdings and investments.

In New Orleans, Nighthawk and Cinnamon receive a telegram to notify them of Jonah Hex's imminent arrival.

"The Barbary Ghost, Part 3"
The Barbary Ghost tracks one of Bo Long's men to his hideout, and though he believes he has not been followed, the flaming arrow that pierces his arm proves otherwise. Bo Long notices something attached to the arrow, and realizing it's a bomb, he shoves the man out the window just in time to evade the explosion.

The bright flash proves distraction enough for the Barbary Ghost to rush out and kill Bo Long's guards. She makes her way into the house, though it is clear that Bo Long has left, leaving all of his women behind. She frees them, and asks where the man has gone. One girl responds by asking whether she is truly a spirit, or a real woman. The Barbary Ghost explains that she is Yanmei Tsen, the only remaining daughter of the Tsen family, who were all murdered by Bo Long. The girl claims that she knows that Yanmei's mother is alive, and offers to tell where Bo Long has gone.

The next day, Yanmei boards the same train on which Bo Long is seated, strides up to him, and asks to share his table. He obliges, unaware of her identity. Eventually, she explains that she is there for vengeance, and she has a gun pointed at him under the table. Bo Long dares her to pull the trigger, thinking she will not be able to do it, being a frail woman. She reveals that it is she who is the Barbary Ghost, much to his surprise. He refuses to believe it, which makes no matter to her, as she shoots him in the gut.

The wound is not fatal, and she presses the gun to his head, demanding to know where her mother is. Bo Long manages to sputter something about a carnival before she shoots him through the head, and escapes onto a horse with her grandfather. The carnival mention is lead enough for Yanmei, and she is sure that though she has had her revenge, the Barbary Ghost will still be needed to help others.

Individuals

 * Jonah Hex
 * Amadeus Arkham
 * Alan Wayne
 * Catherine Wayne
 * Court of Owls
 * Thurston Moody
 * Slavers
 * Charlie
 * Cinnamon
 * Gotham City Police Department
 * Detective Meyers
 * Miagani
 * Nighthawk
 * Sean O'Grady
 * Sister Marks

Locations

 * 1880's
 * Gotham City
 * Batcave
 * Wayne Manor
 * Louisiana
 * New Orleans

Individuals

 * Barbary Ghost
 * Grandfather
 * Bo Long
 * Sing

Locations

 * 1878
 * California
 * San Francisco
 * Barbary Coast

Links

 * http://www.dccomics.com/comics/all-star-western-2011/all-star-western-6
 * http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/All-Star_Western_Vol_3_6
 * http://www.comicvine.com/all-star-western-beneath-the-batcave-the-barbary-ghost-part-3/37-316667/