Review: HEX WIVES #1

HEX WIVES #1
Written by Ben Blacker
Art by Mirka Andolfo, Marissa Louise, Josh Reed
Edited by Molly Mahan, Maggie Howell, Mark Doyle
Published by Vertigo Comics
Release Date: October 31, 2018

The best way to describe Hex Wives would be American Horror Story meets Mad Men or Desperate Housewives.

The book centers around a coven of witches who are in a continuous cycle of reincarnation and their conflict with a group of male witch hunters hellbent on killing them once and for all to avenge their fallen ancestors. The witches, Isadora, Nadiya, and Rebeckah, are bound to each other through centuries of sisterhood and, in Isadora and Nadiya’s case, love. However it looks like this reincarnation cycle the witch hunters might have a new plan up their sleeves that has the potential to throw a wrench in the witches’ cosmic cycle potentially ending it forever.

The first issue does a fantastic job of world building without ever feeling like its beating you over the head with exposition. We get to take our time with the witches in each time period that we find them. We learn that with each reincarnation the witches must discover their true identity in order to come into their true power and also to completely restore their connection and bond to each other. Blacker does a fantastic job of thinking outside of the box when giving the witches their active powers especially Isadora whose power is a pleasant surprise that comes to make more and more sense the more you think on it.

One of my favorite things about this book is the relationship between Isadora and Nadiya and how the book perfectly establishes them as soul mates destined to always find each other and destined to always combat whatever threat dares come up against their love. It’s interesting to see them in the current time period through the cookie cutter lens of suburbia, leading married lives that definitely do not fit two of the baddest witches we’ve seen so far.

Mirka Andolfo’s bright and exuberant art is full of motion and perfectly fits the series as it captures the dark humor as well as the moments of pure violence. The opening pages are some of my favorites as they exude an almost Grimm fairytalesque vibe which elevates and the scenery of Salem, Massachusets. It’s interesting watching Marissa Louise’s color palette shift as the time goes back from a more bright, vibrant, and neon scheme to a more bright yet toned down pastel scheme as we move into the scenes of the women in their suburban reincarnations.

Overall Hex Wives is shaping up to be one of Vertigo’s new must-read series. The series has so much dramatic and comedic potential that I’m interested in seeing which direction they go and where we find our witches next. The board is set and all of the pieces are present, so what Blacker, Andolfo and the team do next will definitely determine just how far the series will go. I foresee some very interesting scenes in the future of the ladies discovering their true identities and to be quite honest I’m excited to go along for the ride.

The Verdict: 9.0/10

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