After 26 years, Vertigo shut down as an imprint in 2019. Just after celebrating its 25th anniversary with a slate of new books and a new take on the Sandman Universe. While those latter books carried on a bit longer under the Black Label imprint, the line that brought us such heights as Preacher, Y: The Last Man, and 100 Bullets was shuttered.
There were controversies with some of the titles in that slate of final books in 2018/2019. One in particular was very justified, but it felt like some of the books got caught up in the so-called culture war peddled by many people hoping for outrage clicks. To me, most of the books felt very much in line with the type of series Vertigo had always published. Horror, crime, fantasy, sci-fi with a keen sense of social commentary.
Although the line was recently reinvigorated last year in 2024, with The Nice House by the Sea, nothing else has been announced as of yet. Hopefully there will be something announced this year, maybe at San Diego. In the mean time, I wanted to look back at some of the titles in that last batch before the end.
“You have a terminal case of the weirds!”
Hex Wives by Ben Blacker, Mirka Andolfo, Marissa Louise, and Josh Reed fits in that horror with social commentary mould nicely. Reminiscent of Ira Levin’s Stepford Wives, as a coven of witches are somehow ensorcelled, trapped into living lives as quaint, ’50s-ish housewives.
With equal parts humour and feminist rage, we slowly see the women gain their powers back to confront their captors. Not a spoiler, since we know who these women are right from the onset. It’s them finding out again who they are and how to deal with the men subjugated them that feeds the story. And cats. Of course there are cats.
Fans of her own Sweet Paprika and Blasfamous will find something a bit different here with Mirka Adolfo’s artwork. It’s not quite as exaggerated in this work, with character shapes and designs a bit more natural. There’s an interesting repetitiveness to some of the sequences that reinforces the idea that the women are trapped in a cycle. While we get some fits of violence in the opening chapter, the streamlined characters and outfits fit the mid-century Americana vibe going on with the town. Although the colours from Marissa Louise give it a bit of an eerie feel. There’s something about the colour choices, almost sickly pale blues, yellows, reds, and green, that make it feel off. That there’s something wrong and unnatural with the town. Solid lettering from Josh Reed.
“Are you a good witch? Or a bad witch?”
Hex Wives by Blacker, Andolfo, Louise, and Reed is a fun spin on the Stepford Wives formula, with witches and an organization of men keeping them prisoner. While it’s harrowing to think of what was done to the women to “protect” society from their witchy powers, there’s a sense of satisfaction when they take their autonomy, authority, and control back for themselves.
It seems clear that there was meant to be much more to the story. That there were more witches out there to free. More revelations about what they’d done across time. And the wolf mother’s sisters, whether they were still alive or something else was going on. It’s just a shame that we never got to see those further stories.
Classic Comic Compendium: HEX WIVES
Hex Wives
Writer: Ben Blacker
Artist: Mirka Andolfo
Colourist: Marissa Louise
Letterer: Josh Reed
Publisher: DC Comics – Vertigo
Release Date: October 31 2018 – March 27 2019
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