Review: Hexed (Hardcover)
Release Date: August 19, 2009
Writer: Michael Alan Nelson
Artist: Emma Rios
Colors: Cris Peter
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Covers: Paul Pope
Editor: Matt Gagnon
Managing Editor: Matt Gagnon
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Another great release from Boom! Studios hit shelves recently-the hardcover compilation of the Boom! Series Hexed, created by acclaimed writer Michael Alan Nelson, best known for his series Fall of Cthulhu (another Boom! Studios release). For those who are unfamiliar with the series, Fandomania does have a review of each issue of Hexed, all of which may be found by clicking the links at the bottom of this article.
Hexed tells the story of Luci Jennifer Inagcio Das Neves, called “Lucifer” for short. Lucifer is a thief who specializes in procuring dangerous items of an occult nature. As fans of the series know, Hexed is fun and wildly addictive, making a hardcover the perfect next step for the series. Readers can follow Lucifer as she takes on a new job forces her back towards some of the people and places she is trying so desperately to leave behind without those pesky interruptions that can occur between issues. Readers will be introduced to Lucifer and the rest of Nelson’s colorful characters — including a demon known as The Harlot, a thug named Dietrich, and a kindly museum owner named Val — in a single shot, watching as Lucifer comes to find out that operating as a thief in the occult underground sometimes means that you don’t get to pick the job… or the employer.
Hexed was initially released as four individual issues, the first of which appeared last February. The Hexed hardcover edition collects all four of these issues and also includes an afterword from creator Michael Alan Nelson. The Hexed hardcover even has something for those fans who have already read all four issues of Hexed: in his afterword, Nelson discusses the birth of the series’s heroine, how the Hexed production team — which consists of Nelson, fashion-designer-turned-comic-book-artist Emma Rios, and colorist Cris Peters — came together, as well as his reasons for giving Lucifer a series of her own rather than dropping her into the Lovecraft universe of Fall of Cthulhu.
My only complaint about the Hexed hardcover is that it does not provide readers with any concept art from the series, although it does feature a beautiful original cover by comic book artist Paul Pope and also includes the “B” covers from each of the previously released issues of Hexed, both of which make up for the lack of character sketches, etc. Hopefully at some point some of Rios’s sketches will show up somewhere, whether in a new release (hint, hint, Boom!… maybe Lucifer’s story needs to stretch past just four issues?), or elsewhere.
For more information on the Hexed series, check out individual issue reviews below or head over to Boom! Studios’ official web site, where you can also find issues of Michael Alan Nelson’s acclaimed series Fall of Cthulhu.
Advance Review: Hexed #1
Review: Hexed #2
Review: Hexed #3
Review: Hexed #4
