Weekly Collection Reviews Part 6

[Diamond]

Previous review: Part 5 You'll find the links to the other four parts there (yes, my laziness knows no limits).

Welcome to Part 6 of the Weekly Collection Reviews. I had the intention of reviewing something less mainstream this time, but I changed my mind. I'm going to write a review of a more fun book... if that's the appropiate word. I'm reviewing the first volume of Michael Avon Oeming's The Victories!



The Victores is a comic about a team with the same name, where every volume focuses on a different character. Volume 1 is the story of Faust, the group's Batman. Whitout spoiling anything, i'm just going to say that the story revolves about Faust's dealing with his tragic past, while presenting the The Victories as a group and the world they live in.

However dull the premise is, the execution is astounding. The Victories is at its core a brutal and intense tour de force you won't find anywhere else. It's not because of the plot's complexity or the worldbuilding; what makes this comic unique is Oeming's ability to convey the intensity of a close fight, Faust's feelings of loneliness and desperation, the brutality of his enemies, the chaos that ensues after The Victores assault an hotel... As you can guess, this is a dark and violent book. An excellent book that always gets straight to the point.

Needless to say, Oeming's art is top-notch, maybe the best of his career. But I'm going to put some images to show you why instead of telling it.

I have one complaint, though. Being a book called The Victories, one would expect the superhero team to play a big role. Far from it; their presence is almost anecdotical. This story was never intended to be part of an ongoing title but just a limited series (neither Oeming nor Dark Horse had expected it to be as succesful as it is), so it's not a big deal, but the back cover should tell us that this essentially Faust's story. I bought the book thinking it would focus on the entire group!

There are countless superhero book on stands and I'm confident that this is one of the best. Stop buying so much DC and Marvel, and give The Victories a chance!

[NZ_InFerno]

Nice I'm a big fan of Oeming, mostly from Powers. I think his artwork perfectly suits a noir type story much like Eduardo Risso and Sean Philips.