DC Comics’ Jonah Hex has reached the milestone of 50 issues this week, despite modest sales figures. Fan-favorite scribes Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray penned the landmark issue. Artist Darwyn Cooke provided illustrations. To celebrate the event, the writers had the Western anti-hero kill 50 men throughout the comic book. In a recent interview, the writing duo expressed their surprise at the project’s longevity.

Palmiotti said:

“There were a couple of times we were worried, because we were tracking the monthly numbers, So we tried our best to get bigger name artists on the book and we have had great luck with that.”

“Sure, we have had our ups and downs, but overall [executive editor] Dan DiDio and the wonderful crew at DC have been so incredibly supportive with the book that they did most of the worrying and let us breathe easy and keep trying our best to make each and every issue as good as the last.”

Gray added:

“I have to echo Jimmy’s response about DC sticking with us, keeping the faith and allowing us the freedom to tell the kinds of stories we feel so strongly about.”

The pair also confirmed that high-profile guest artists including Billy Tucci, Dick Giordano and Brian Stelfreeze will be contributing to the series in the coming months.

Jonah Hex #50 is available in stores now.