Scan barcode
nyarlathotep's review against another edition
3.0
There were some interesting ideas here, but they were sadly wrapped up in a painfully average package. I didn't it funny despite being constantly told it was hilarious, and I didn't care what happened to any of the characters. A shame, it looked great and I was sold by the concept.
captwinghead's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of this book is so interesting. The execution however... was not.
This reminded me a bit of Chelsea Cain's Maneater book in that the message appears to be that men fear powerful women and will do whatever they have to do to contain them. Including creating a weird surveillance town and keeping them reigned in with a ring of fire. I get the purpose, but there was something about the execution here that didn't do much of anything for me.
I like Isadora's introduction. She starts out as that badass, queer, powerful witch that will be ruthless if necessary to protect herself and her coven. That's such a great intro and a great premise.
I understand the setting we get for the majority of this story, but it just didn't get back to that same level of intrigue as the start of the book. Look, you can do "the 50s housewife discovers she's something more" trope well and make it interesting. Look at Lady Killer and the CBS series Women Who Kill. It can be done. This book just never went far enough into making any of these women into characters. I thought I had a handle on who Isadora was, but the only real moments that show you who she is occur at the start of the book and at the end. I think there was just way too much of the filler showing us the women's lives when they're being gaslit.
And the fact is, Isadora is the only character you learn anything about. Nadiya is her lover, but we don't know anything about her. Rebecca doesn't have any real backstory or character development and her lines read like the stereotypical lines you'd expect to get from your token black character. Made worse by the fact that she's fat shamed and uses lingo that just came out so cheesy. The other witches were so forgettable that I only remembered Damina's name out of them and only because she liked cats.
So, the art is great, it had such an interesting premise but the execution just left me wanting. Not a recommend from me.
This reminded me a bit of Chelsea Cain's Maneater book in that the message appears to be that men fear powerful women and will do whatever they have to do to contain them. Including creating a weird surveillance town and keeping them reigned in with a ring of fire. I get the purpose, but there was something about the execution here that didn't do much of anything for me.
I like Isadora's introduction. She starts out as that badass, queer, powerful witch that will be ruthless if necessary to protect herself and her coven. That's such a great intro and a great premise.
I understand the setting we get for the majority of this story, but it just didn't get back to that same level of intrigue as the start of the book. Look, you can do "the 50s housewife discovers she's something more" trope well and make it interesting. Look at Lady Killer and the CBS series Women Who Kill. It can be done. This book just never went far enough into making any of these women into characters. I thought I had a handle on who Isadora was, but the only real moments that show you who she is occur at the start of the book and at the end. I think there was just way too much of the filler showing us the women's lives when they're being gaslit.
And the fact is, Isadora is the only character you learn anything about. Nadiya is her lover, but we don't know anything about her. Rebecca doesn't have any real backstory or character development and her lines read like the stereotypical lines you'd expect to get from your token black character. Made worse by the fact that she's fat shamed and uses lingo that just came out so cheesy. The other witches were so forgettable that I only remembered Damina's name out of them and only because she liked cats.
So, the art is great, it had such an interesting premise but the execution just left me wanting. Not a recommend from me.
bookishjaybird's review against another edition
3.0
I'm a bit ehh about this one. I did enjoy it! I thought the artwork was pretty, and I think the story was alright overall, but I just wanted more. I wanted a better ending (which I'm not sure if #6 was the planned last issue or if it was discontinued but still) and I wanted a better punishment for the men. It was alright though, and I thought it was an interesting story so I'd recommend it if you're in the mood for a nice witchy/wlw story and don't mind an unfinished plotline.
rebus's review against another edition
1.0
The art is amazing, but it has little to say outside of hateful misandry, which soon grows tedious.
zombiecupcake29's review against another edition
1.0
I thought I would enjoy this more when I read the synopsis on Hoopla. It was okay but I struggled to finish it because it was a little bland in my opinion.
jessica_dw's review against another edition
4.0
I seem to be the odd one out on Goodreads but I really enjoyed this comic. The premise was unique and it delivered in story and art style, I hope to see more from this series in the future.
bookishrealm's review against another edition
2.0
Such a hugeeee disappointment!
Let's talk about how this had the most exciting premise...witches turned into suburban housewives. While it did feel a little similar to Joelle Jones' Lady Killer I still thought that it was going to be fun based on the summary. The execution did not work AT ALL. It was so sloppy without much depth or exploration of the characters. The reader spends so much time reading about the ins and outs of the housewives that it felt like the whole purpose of the book was lost. And shall we discuss how the ONLY Black character was written in such a stereotypical manner? I'm not sure what Blacker was thinking in terms of character development, but honey that wasn't it. As a matter of fact in one of the final panels, Rebecca uses the word "lit." How in the hell is she going to use a word that just came out in the past 2-3 years and this comic takes place in the 50s?!? That's exactly how you know she simply serves as the token Black girl. This could have been so much better and gone in so many fun and interesting directions, but Blacker did not do it any justice. I literally only gave it two stars because the artwork was amazing and I really enjoyed the beginning.
Let's talk about how this had the most exciting premise...witches turned into suburban housewives. While it did feel a little similar to Joelle Jones' Lady Killer I still thought that it was going to be fun based on the summary. The execution did not work AT ALL. It was so sloppy without much depth or exploration of the characters. The reader spends so much time reading about the ins and outs of the housewives that it felt like the whole purpose of the book was lost. And shall we discuss how the ONLY Black character was written in such a stereotypical manner? I'm not sure what Blacker was thinking in terms of character development, but honey that wasn't it. As a matter of fact in one of the final panels, Rebecca uses the word "lit." How in the hell is she going to use a word that just came out in the past 2-3 years and this comic takes place in the 50s?!? That's exactly how you know she simply serves as the token Black girl. This could have been so much better and gone in so many fun and interesting directions, but Blacker did not do it any justice. I literally only gave it two stars because the artwork was amazing and I really enjoyed the beginning.
staciesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Hex Wives focuses on a coven of witches who are brainwashed into thinking that they are stereotypical 50s housewives. They slowly piece together that they have powers and then decide to fight back against those who tricked them.
This was a fun idea and the whole premise had potential. However, it wasn't executed very well. There isn't anything that sticks out as glaringly horrible about the story, but there wasn't anything downright amazing either. I was able to still enjoy some parts though. I liked the idea of these women coming back into their powers and kicking ass. It just took a long time to get to the interesting bits. I wish the plot was a bit more quick to the point.
Altogether, this was quite average.
This was a fun idea and the whole premise had potential. However, it wasn't executed very well. There isn't anything that sticks out as glaringly horrible about the story, but there wasn't anything downright amazing either. I was able to still enjoy some parts though. I liked the idea of these women coming back into their powers and kicking ass. It just took a long time to get to the interesting bits. I wish the plot was a bit more quick to the point.
Altogether, this was quite average.
intotheheartwyld's review against another edition
2.0
The idea behind this sounded really interesting, a coven of witches are controlled by a group of male witch hunters into this whole suburbanian housewife life.
But sadly it just wasn’t executed right. It was Painfully boring through most of the comic, the dialogue was filled with so many moments that made me cringe with distaste and roll my eyes. Took way to long for the women to discover what was going on, and then the punishments they lashed out just made no sense. It was discombobulated towards the end. And those ending outfits the girls had on where full of cringe, it was almost like the illustrator was making fun of witches.
I give it two stars for the art being well done (minus those ending outfits)
But sadly it just wasn’t executed right. It was Painfully boring through most of the comic, the dialogue was filled with so many moments that made me cringe with distaste and roll my eyes. Took way to long for the women to discover what was going on, and then the punishments they lashed out just made no sense. It was discombobulated towards the end. And those ending outfits the girls had on where full of cringe, it was almost like the illustrator was making fun of witches.
I give it two stars for the art being well done (minus those ending outfits)