A secret coven of witches fighting a secret society of male power players for domination. Reborn time after time, what happens when it looks like the men finally find a way to win? Find out in Hex Wives from DC Comics.

HEX WIVES #1 REVIEW

Writer: Ben Blacker
Art: Mirka Andolfo
Cover: Joelle Jones and Jordie Bellaire
Publisher:  DC Comics
Release Date: October 31st, 2018
Cover Price:  $3.99

Previously in HEX WIVES: Conflicts between men and women have dotted the landscape of history for as long as men and women have been thrown together. Passion, power, fear, all have been the cause of conflict. Add in some magic to the mix, and you have the fixings of an ongoing conflict to make the hardiest of us twitch.

LIFETIMES OF CONFLICT AND MAGIC

A mob attempts to drown the witch known as Nadiya in 1692 Salem, only to be thwarted by the witch’s lover, Isadora, and friend, Rebeckah. Undeterred, one witch is killed, but her murders face a power they could never have perceived, full of righteous retribution and anger. 85 years later, born anew, the lovers find themselves cornered by men demanding their deaths. Their demands are left unanswered as the witches once again rain bloody justice down on their assailants. Forward ninety-seven years, Isadora looks for her lover, not yet reincarnated and awoke in a wild west landscape. Still she fights the forces trying to kill her while she searches for her true love.

All across time, the group of men known as The Architects has hunted and killed the witches wherever they could be found. The Coven, for their part, give as good as they get, and after their deaths are reincarnated in new bodies, awaiting the day that they awaken to their powers and the call of their fellow sisters. In 2005, after the leader of the Architects was killed in the flood-soaked streets of a New Orleans under the wrath of Katrina, it seemed like possibly the last blow against their evil organization has been struck.

For centuries upon centuries, the men known as The Architects have hunted and killed the women of The Coven. Blood flows on both sides in an unending battle which may have very well stretched back to the beginning of time itself. Through it all, the love of Nadiya and Isadora has remained a constant and they have always found each other in each new incarnation. Each armed with their magic and a unique power, they try and survive under the pursuit of men who want only to destroy them. Now, the son of the Architects dead leader has figured out a way to stop the Coven once and for all, and it all may begin with just a little kiss.

NO TWITCHY NOSES HERE!

Ben Blacker (Thunderbolts, Deadpool V. Gambit) has created a world in which the ultimate battle of the sexes is raging full blast. The witches of the Coven, seemingly wanting only to be left alone and live their lives, are pursued by the men of the Architects. This is not exactly an old story and has been re-worked and told from multiple angles many times before. The fun thing here is, in this first issue, the good guys… uhm, gals, seem to lose. After seeing and reading about how the Coven has killed their assailants so many times over the centuries, the story suddenly shifts one hundred eighty degrees and we are reintroduced to the ladies of the Coven, but they are all seemingly unaware of their true natures. In fact, they have been turned into housewives. Worse yet, suburban housewives in the mold of June Cleaver! Not even a semi-independent Samantha Stevens or a quietly subversive Margaret Anderson, but full on subservient June Cleaver clones! But never fear, despite my admonishments, there is a little rebellion in the ladies still, as a couple of them sneak to the yard to have a forbidden cigarette and one even refuses to bake for husband his daily cake. Okay, so she relents, but still, she tried! Blacker takes you from one extreme, a group of powerful women who refuse to bend under the will of man, and thrusts them into another extreme where they are willing? servants to the very men who had been killing them for centuries. There is the possibility for a lot of exploration with this story, not just from the angle of powerful witches trapped by their male antagonist, but of the real world tragedy of women trapped in lives they hate, convincing themselves it is for the best and they have no choice.

The artwork by Mirka Andolfo (DC Comics Bombshells, Harley Quinn) is mesmerizing. She has an eye for the shocking and brutal that makes the desperate nature of the witches’ actions seem horrific, even while you feel for them. Besides her excellent layout skills, her facial expressions convey Blacker’s script wonderfully. There is a sequence where, after dispatching a group of Architect assailants, a blood-soaked and half-naked Nadiya is riding away from the scene with Isadora following closely behind. The piles of dead and bleeding bodies on the ground are not what make the scene, nor is the burning barn which had been their secret refuge. What makes the scene is the look of complete love and devotion on Isadora’s face after having witnessed her true loves actions. She commands a full range of emotion with her art, and it enhances the nature of the story wonderfully. Bravo, Mirka Andolfo, wonderful job.

BOTTOM LINE: A SERIES THAT WILL THRILL AND FRUSTRATE YOU AT THE SAME TIME

Hex Wives is coming out from DC Comics under their Vertigo label, which seems a perfect fit for it. It has magic, violence, nudity, and an intricate storyline that will grab the reader. However, I worry that it may also suffer at Vertigo. Sometimes you find out about a great Vertigo book only to find that it was canceled or put on hiatus, and you never really get to throw yourself into it as it deserves.  Hopefully, this title will not fall to that, but will gain a fan base quickly and thrive. Yes, there are some anachronism in the book, but who cares. It looks as if it is going to be an enchanting, if bloody, good time.

HEX WIVES is the witches versus the patriarchy book you didn’t know you needed. A deep plot, lots of violence, and the promise of swerves and twist make it a title you want to pick up.