As you should already know, JONAH HEX hits the milestone of 50 issues this week. The series, which has been penned by the writing team of Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti since it launched, has also featured the artistic talents of Jordi Bernet, Luke Ross, Cristiano Cucina, David Michael Beck and J.H. Williams III. The 500th issue will see superstar Darwyn Cooke step in for a spell, as Hex discovers a secret being kept by Tallulah Black that could change everything Hex is about.

We thought it'd be a great time to have Gray and Palmiotti swing by The Source to talk about the series. So, here's Justin:

By all rights this book should have been dead a long time ago. A western told primarily in single-issue stories with rotating artists? Not a cape or crossover in sight? It defies all logic. I’ll tell you we killed a hell of a lot of outlaws, preconceptions and have gone through a handful of talented editors to get to issue fifty…and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon. In fact we’ve upped the ante by joining forces with Jonah Hex original series artist Tony DeZuniga on an original hardcover graphic novel based on an idea he and fellow co-creator John Albano discussed but never brought to light. You’ll want to read it. We promise.

Lets talk Jonah Hex 50 and how crafting a comic book is a collaborative effort. Creatively, Jonah Hex is based on bringing in talented people, letting them do their thing and putting faith in their opinions. The simple rule for everyone involved is to check your ego at the door - the end result is all that matters.

Darwyn Cooke had very specific visual ideas that deviated from the script that increased the tension and emotion in what is one of the most emotional stories Jimmy and I have written for Jonah Hex. He imagined the scenes differently, which is what you want - someone who looks at things with a unique perspective. Honestly I never thought we’d see issue 13. That makes issue 50 very special for us and hopefully for you the faithful readers as well. It needed to look and feel like we were working harder than ever, always trying to make it better hopefully we succeeded.

Thanks, Justin! Check back tomorrow for some words from Jimmy Palmiotti.