Damn, y’all, Hex Wives is not here to play. This is a graphic novel (a collection of Hex Wives #1-6) about some seriously angry women and I am HERE for it. Only problem is, it ends just as things are really getting good.

Our story begins in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692 as a coven of witches (all women, and led by lovers Nadiya and Isadora) battles a group of men known as The Architects. As the battles continue from place to place and year to year through 2005, we learn that these witches are bonded through time. Their magic is powered by blood, so the more they kill and the more they are wounded (up to a point) the more powerful they become. They can be killed, but when they die they are born again, reunite with each other as teens or adults, and go right back to the fight. Because they reincarnate, the women are essentially immortal, and the more time they spend around each other, the stronger they are. As one of the Architects bitterly states, “They are stronger together.”

At last one of the Architects discovers a spell involving “a willing kiss.” Flash forward three years and the coven is living in a lovely suburbia. All the women, who have no memories of being witches, live in their own suburban homes, each with a nice and attentive husbands who makes sure that they are very busy. The women know each other, but are always prevented from talking too much one on one and especially prevented from gathering as a group. The fashions, decor, technology, and gender roles are all very early 1960s. Oh yeah – also, none of the wives can remember when they last left the neighborhood, which is surrounded by a wall of fire. So there’s that.

Over the course of the series the women start to figure out that they have powers. It’s a slow burn (so to speak) until the last two issues when the women realize what their “husbands” have been doing and what they (the women) are capable of. Vengeance is wreaked, and it is sweet.

I adored this series. The artwork alone, by Mirka Andolfo, is retro and vibrant and lush, and had me over the moon. As a short book (only six issues) there’s not much room for character development, but I got a good sense of who everyone was and why I should either care about them or loathe them (this is not a “grey area” story). I loved the clever concept, which plays on tropes from Mad Men and Stepford Wives and a bit of Bewitched. I loved seeing the slow realization on the part of the women that something was amiss, and I loved the catharsis of the bloody conclusion, although I felt that the women were ready to violently turn on their husbands surprisingly quickly.

What I DON’T love is that as far as I can tell, this is the end of the story. There’s no planned Issue #7. I don’t mind a stand alone story – in fact, I prefer those types of comics to ones that run on for decades with no end in sight. However, this comic ends just as the women are about to embark on new lives with new looks and new powers and new questions. It’s like getting the origin story without the actual main story. Yes, the origin story arc has concluded, but the main story itself is left dangling.

This is not the fault of the creators. Their publishing house, Vertigo Comics, an imprint of DC that was founded by editor Karen Berger is being discontinued, and Hex Wives is one of several series that were cancelled as a result. Vertigo brought us many unique, experimental stories including Sandman, Constantine, and Y; The Last Man). Vertigo will be sorely missed.

I found Hex Wives to be delightful but the lack of follow-up to be maddening. I still recommend it for the concept and the art, and the very high quality female rage. This has the potential to be a cult classic if only someone would publish more of it!