New York City, October, 1862.

This issue starts immediately after last issue. Four members of the Camorra are chasing Scalphunter across the rooftops of the city. He is jumping from roof to roof and they are hot on his trail. Finally he gets some distance between himself and them and when they get onto his rooftop, Scalphunter is GONE!?!?!?!

But he has scaled a chimney and is looming above them. They turn and see him just as he jumps on them like a panther. He swiftly kills three of them and the remaining man, armed with a club embedded with nails starts to panic.

He drops the club and runs but Scalphunter picks it up and kills him with his own weapon.

Much later Scalphunter is walking the streets of New York and finds himself in front of the Matthew Brady Gallery. A crowd has gathered to look at the photographs of the carnage of Civil War battles. Scalphunter walks inside and watches everyone fascinated with the pictures and he fondly remembers the picture he has of his sister Samantha. But the photographs that are display are on massacred men, twisted in death and even in black and white the horror of war comes through.

He overhears a couple talking about how horrific the pictures are. The husband says that "Dying nobly on the battlefield" is a myth and then goes to buy a full set of photos to show his son in an attempt to turn him away from volunteering. Another man walks up and strikes up a conversation with Scalphunter. The man, Rawson by name, is also a photographer that was one of Matthew Brady's assistants but left after Brady started taking credit for the work of others. 

He has opened his own gallery but it is hard to compete with the Brady brand. He invites Scalphunter into his studio and offers to take a portrait of the man of two worlds.

Down the street in a seedy bar, three thugs are reading the newspaper article covering the opening of the Brady gallery. One of them, Digger, gets the bright idea of breaking in to the gallery and absconding with the plates and holding them for ransom.

Back at Rawson's studio, he sits Scalphunter in a chair and trains his camera on him. Igniting the flashpowder, he snaps the portrait. He then takes Scalphunter to the darkroom to develop the photo. Rawson is commenting on the fact that Scalphunter is obviously a white man but also an Indian. He is civilized and savage, a blend of both worlds. Rawson feels that folks will pay handsomely for such a portrait. In the darkroom, Rawson shows Scalphunter photos that he took of the 1st Battle of Bull Run, the only photos of that conflict. Rawson took the photos during the battle but Brady claimed that he had done so. Rawson left with the plates and plans to print up album cards to sell to the public.

He then shows Scalphunter his own portrait and the Indian cries out in terror that Rawson has stolen his soul. Rawson tries to explain to him that it is only a copy of what he looks like, but suddenly the door is kicked in and two of the three thugs come in demanding the plates. Rawson tries to resist and gets shot for his trouble. They start packing up the plates, holding Scalphunter at gunpoint. They quickly make their escape.

Rawson begs for Scalphunter to retrieve the plates and says that his clerk will fetch a surgeon for his wounds.

Rain has started pouring down but that does not deter the massive Indian. He clambers up a drainpipe and onto the roof and starts tracking the men like prey. He finds them in a warehouse where Digger is throwing a fit. Digger realizes that his men robbed the wrong gallery, none of this is Brady's work. In his anger Digger smashes a few of the plates but then stops when they hear a window break. They think they see someone atop the crates and open fire.

Suddenly a kerosene lantern that was hanging by a chain drops. Digger examines the chain and sees that it had been pried apart. One thug panics and starts firing wildly, breaking other lanterns. The warehouse is now on fire when Scalphunter drops from the rafters with the cry of a wild animal. The men bolt out the door but when Scalphunter turns to save the plates, the fire has thrown up a blazing wall, cutting him off. Scalphunter barely escapes with his life. 

Back at the galleryRawson understands and decides to give up but Scalphunter tells him that he should continue, people need to see the war. Rawson hands him an envelope with the portrait and goes inside. Scalphunter walks off into the rain covered city darkness.

This was a pretty lackluster issue and pretty much a bridge between the last story and next issue. Not a whole lot to recommend this one.

The issue had a house ad for the Jonah Hex digest, Saturday morning cartoons (I wasted sooo much of my life in front of the TV), and the Flash used fruit pies to defeat The Stoney-Eyed Medusa!

Next Issue: An old friend returns, or is he a FOE?!?!?!

October, 1862 New York. Roberto Palermo, an elderly man, is being mugged in an alleyway when the mugger is suddenly hoisted aloft by his scarf courtesy of Ke-Woh-No-Tey, who is leaning out of a second story window. The Kiowa brave pulls the man close and demands to know where Maggie Maldrone. The mugger, realizing what he is up against, spills that Luigi is also looking for her and even murdered her father in an attempt to learn her whereabouts.

But the mugger, being a mugger, decides he can get the drop on Scalphunter and swings his knife upwards and back, trying to stab him. Scalphunter, with the reflexes that have saved him multiple times in the past, quickly jerks the man upward, crashing his skull through the window, and then hurls him across the alley, crushing aforementioned skull against the brick building. Scalphunter jumps from the windowand Roberto asks if he is a friend of Maggie's.

Scalphunter acknowledges that he is and Roberto says that Luigi says that Maggie was kidnapped by an Indian. Scalphunter asks where Luigi Maldron is and the man tells him that Maldrone sometimes meets with his men in a church. Scalphunter heads off through town. There is a two page recap of the prior issue as he walks the streets and Scalphunter realizes that to find Maggie he will need the help of her father. As he approaches the saloon he finds it engulfed in flames with a young man standing nearby saying that Maldrone did it. He was the one that killed the old man as well. And the boy faints.

Scalphunter picks him up and is confronted by the men that altar boy spoke with last issue. They blame Scalphunter for the fire. Just then a man walks up and says that he say Scalphunter fight Maldrone in the bar yesterday. The crowd of men settle down and acknowledge that Maggie's father is dead. The leader of the group, Michael Corbin, asks Scalphunter's name.

Ke-Woh-No-Tay tells them he was originally was Brian Savage but he is now Ke-Woh-No-Tay. A doctor arrives to attend to the boy. The doctor says he will be fine by morning, just some smoke inhalation. Corbin asks if the boy said anything because he was supposed to be watching the bar because Maldrone's men had been hanging around. The boy was supposed to follow them to find where they hang out. The doctor said he won't be a party to killing but Corbin threatens him and the doctor spills the beans that the boy mentioned St. Sebastian's Church.

Corbin decides to tuck the doctor away to someplace 'safe' so he can't rat them out. Corbin then asks if Scalphunter will join them. Scalphunter's face says it all.

Outside the church a man is pulling Maggie down the street towards the church. They go through the front door and they meet Maldrone inside. The church is in an advanced state of disrepair and Maldrone thanks the man for finding her. The man says it is weird because Maggie approached HIM to find Maldrone. She agrees that she wanted to see Luigi and he asks if she is going away. Maggie reaches into her dress and states that Luigi will be one leaving as she produces a large knife and buries it in his shoulder.

Luigi's men rush towards her and pulls her off of their boss. Maggie keeps screaming that she will kill Luigi no matter what. Maldrone appears to be actually frightened as he stumbles backward, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He shrugs off aid as he instructs his men to tie and gag her into a pew. Just then the front door slams open and Scalphunter, Corbin, and his men stand in the entry of the church. Armed with clubs and knives, the crowd ruches into the church and a massive gang rumble erupts in the abandoned sanctuary.

Men are shot, stabbed, Scalphunter slams men's heads together and into the floor. Eventually Luigi pulls a pistol and opens fire on Scalphunter. Scalphunter dodges a bullet but breaks through the railing of the balcony and falls to the floor, his leg breaking through the rotting floor. Luigi advances slowly, laughing like a maniac. Scalphunter reaches for his tomahawk but Luigi shoots the weapon out of Scalphunter's reach. This was a poor choice as on his part as when it comes time to kill Scalphunter, Luigi is out of bullets. He panics and throws the useless pistol at Scalphunter and turns and runs up the nearby stairs.

Scalphunter pulls his leg from the hole and gives chase. Finally Luigi can go no higher as he is now in the bell tower. With no place to go Luigi clambers up onto the bell. Scalphunter kicks the bell causing Luigi to slide off the far side, lose his grip on the edge and eventually fall to his death several floors below.

Scalphunter goes to Maggie and holds her close, looking at the corpse of her abuser.

This was a pretty good issue with Scalphunter taking part in a gang rumble in a church. It was somewhat tropeish with Luigi clambering over the bell in the tower and falling to his death. Maggie losing all control trying to kill Luigi was pretty intense and even showed Luigi as being not as tough as one would think a mafia leader would normally be.

Ads were nothing awesome:

Green Lantern vs the Triclyops Three-Eyed Keeper of the Cave and gets saved by kids with Twinkies

A Daisy rifle ad on the back cover

Several unimpressive in-house ads

Next Issue: Scalphunter sits for a portrait?!?!?