Hexware #5
Aaron Kleinman
Recap
With a city's worth of souls on the line, Jesi and the android Which-Where must decide what to do with the one they share. Now, amidst temptation, corruption, and a world torn apart by hate, Hexware confronts the Fire Below in the depths of Hell.
Review
Hexware continues to be a book that walks the line between horror and science fiction. With every issue, Seeley writes another addition to the world. We are making it ever-expanding as we move forward in our story. Though at times, it feels as though we’re coming to learn too much about the wrong aspects of the world.
This issue introduced a new human-based threat that we had not yet seen. The ones supposedly behind the bombings from issue one. And while they are interesting as a force within the world, they’re not all that interesting within the story’s context. They serve more as a tool for a plotline that is already well established and doesn’t need to be added to.
They help to look into how humans feel about the gross mistreatment of the classes. But we’ve already seen the state of the lower classes, and adding a radical group, only for it to get wiped out in the same issue, felt like padding. It’s a bit of a harsh term, but it felt as if showing it was detracting from Jesi and Which-Where’s journey through Hell.
Which itself was a much more exciting aspect of the book. The shining element of the book is its continuous discussion of what makes us human. Or more what makes a machine not human? If Which-Where is in Hell, does that not imply she has some form of the soul? And if she remains in her body despite Jesi possessing it, does that not mean she exists as her self outside of her body?
QIt’suestions like those fill my brain when I read Jesi and Which-Where’s story. A story of what it means to be human. A story of what it means to be alive.
A story always made all the more appealing thanks to the ever-lovely work of Zulema Scotto Lavina. Though, I hate to say that this feels like Lavina’s weakest issue thus far regarding composition. At the same time, this issue had some of the best color work from colorist Valentina Cuomo. The colors of Hell were muted yet vibrant. The action was loud and intense.
Overall, this issue wasn’t the strongest. But it had some of the best writing about the soul, purpose, and the cost of a life.
Final Thoughts
Although one of the strongest issues in terms of colors and letters, the art and writing feel like they're tripping over themselves at times. While not the best issue of Hexware, it certainly has some spotlight moments.
Hexware #5:
- Writing - 6/106/10
- Storyline - 7/107/10
- Art - 7/107/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10