Wow… just wow… I mean… and then the… wow. I don’t even know if I can talk about this issue, but it sure as shit didn’t go down the way I thought it would. This is one of those times in which what the creators do is way fucking better than what you wanted, but my goodness this series is moving at a rapid pace. How will Nelson and Mora top themselves after this? Can they? I… I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. I do know that with the first eight issue of this series that have won me over and they have my attention and readership for a long time to come.
Val is dead. No joke. Dead. The intern tries to rationalize it, but when Lucifer finds her cat Reginald dead as well… well we all know it was murder. After that Lucifer goes on a rampage and that’s all I’m willing to tell you about this issue.
It boggles my mind why this isn’t BOOM!’s top series. Strong characters, they’re all women, incredible artwork and a story that doesn’t play it safe. There is no status quo for this series. If there was it was gone before it could really feel like a status quo. Who knows, Michael Alan Nelson could have something up his sleeve. I kind of hope he does, but then I also don’t. I like the fact that the story is full of consequences and that good and bad things happen and that’s just the way of life. I also continue to love his subtitles for the issues. I usually don’t talk about them because they always make too much sense when you know anything about the story, but this issue is particularly clever: “And Hell Followed with Her – Wherein Lucifer lives down to her name.”
Nelson has a great bit of dialogue from Lucifer about her first encounter with Val and it’s just heartbreaking. It might be one of the strongest scenes in the book and in comics all year-long. Nelson simply kills it on this issue and the series in general.
Dan Mora… what’s left to say? Plenty because this issue is one of his best as well. It’s not that it’s significantly better than the other seven issues’ artwork, but it’s the fact that he keeps up with Nelson on every aspect. I wonder if Nelson took bigger chances because of the art from Mora? I would because the man is amazing. The stunned look on Lucifer’s face on the last issue that carries over to this issue instantly brings forth the last issues emotions. Mora’s artwork is very stylized, but even without being photorealistic he’s able to convey just as much emotion with his style. To say any more about the art is to tell you more about the story and I just can’t do that because it’s too good.
As always Mora’s art shines due to the coloring of Gabriel Cassata. In this issue there is a lot to color. There’s different textures and buildings and a mother fucking de… wait I can’t tell you that. There’s a lot going on in the story and Mora’s art is wonderful because Cassata’s coloring is also wonderful. In particular the last page… god I wish I could talk about the last page. Everyone kills it though. That’s the single best cliffhanger I’ve read in years. And it builds on Nelson’s story, to Mora’s art to Cassata’s coloring to make the full impact.
If you’re not reading Hexed then shame on you. Don’t start here because you’ll ruin seven issues of incredible build up, but go back and start at the beginning of this volume. For an industry that wants diversity and not to see capes or cheesecake as the focus of the story it amazes me how many people are completely missing Hexed. Don’t be one of those people. Check it out. Pass it along and hey if it really isn’t for you that’s cool, but read a few issues before you decide that. For me, it’s probably my favorite monthly title right now and that’s saying a lot if you follow even half of my reviews on the site.
Score: 5/5
Hexed #8 Writer: Michael Alan Nelson Artist: Dan Mora Colorist: Gabriel Cassata Publisher: BOOM! Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 3/11/15 Format: Ongoing; Print/Digital