Spoilers are one of the things that haunt the modern age of entertainment. Hell comic companies build entire publicity campaigns from spoiling storylines, so much so that it’s common place for the big two to reveal important details ahead of a release in order to boost pre-orders and subsequently sales numbers for investors. The thing I love about smaller publishers is that stories can still surprise you. As was the case with Hexed #7. I can’t say much about this issue because too much and you’ll figure out what’s going on, but here’s what I can tell you.
In the last issue Lucifer had a run in with Cymbaline which results in a job offer with the payment being the removal of her hex. This issue kicks off with Val having her two surrogate daughters meeting her at the burned art gallery and laying everything on the line for Lucifer and the intern. This includes her meeting with the Harlot… which doesn’t go over well with Lucifer.
From there its decision time… what will Lucifer do? Or as the Harlot puts it “Which is stronger? Her love for Val or her hatred for me?” referring to the Harlot.
Here’s why Michael Alan Nelson is just killing it on this series, this issue is just as strong and well-plotted as the six issues that came before it. Does it have a spoilery POP to the issue? Yes, but if you were to ask me I would tell you that as good as that spoiler is… it’s not better or stronger than the rest of the series.
Lucifer’s reaction to Val’s betrayal is a huge turning point for both characters because we see just how much they care for each other. They’re fight felt very real with each having a valid response to the others reactions. It’s strong writing from Nelson yet again.
Dan Mora is probably one of my top five if not top artist in comics right now. Why people aren’t drooling over his art more is beyond me. His solo pieces are amazing too (go here to see what I mean) and if I were designing characters I would go to Mora for said designs. He’s super talented with body language and facial expressions. The opening when Val is about to spill the beans to Lucifer, you can see how heavy it’s weighing on her. That’s not the dialogue, that’s the art.
Of course I can’t complement Mora without also including Gabriel Cassata that makes his artwork look vibrant with her amazing coloring. I know this coloring style couldn’t work on every book, but I wish it did. It’s candy. I want to eat it, it looks that good. It’s so good I want to travel back in time and take my own crayons and colored pencils away because I’ll never come close to this good. IT’S REALLY GOOD!
And so is this issue. Ah man is it good, but with every issue of Hexed I’m always looking forward to the next issue more. If you haven’t been reading Hexed then don’t start here, but do start. My goodness while other companies are rebooting entire aspects of their publishing line here’s this very serious, heart-felt, well-written series that stars only female leads. Female leads that aren’t cookie cutter versions of each other. Praise those superhero books for finally catching up, but how about some acknowledgment for the series that did it right from the beginning?
Score: 5/5
Writer: Michael Alan Nelson Artist: Dan Mora Colorist: Gabriel Cassata Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 2/11/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital