Michael Avon Oeming’s new adult-themed superhero book, Victories, takes one step deeper into fuckedupness with the issue #2. But there’s more than just uber-violence to this title.  There might actually be a good story.

Here’s the official description from Dark Horse Comics:

A new world order plotted by a secret cabal known as the Advisors seems to be connected to the crazed criminal known as the Jackal, Metatron’s trip to the moon, and the deadly new villain known as Tarcus. What does it mean for Faustus and his teammates?

It’s ever so hard to read Victories #2 and not compare it to Powers. Yes, I want to give Michael Avon Oeming his due — he’s worked on various titles over the years, and has found a lot of success in the comics industry — but there’s something about a superheros-needing-therapy title that can’t help but remind me of his work with Bendis.  And Oeming seems aware of it, too. Maybe this is why Victories seems to be reaching for something bigger.  In issue #2 we get introduced to shadowy coven known as the Advisors, who take delight in the havok them seem to be wrecking on the planet.  And wreck it they do.  There’s cannibalism, and blood and broken teeth. But there’s also the beginning of a massive story with intergalactic implications reminiscent of  Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001.  It’s clear that Oeming is trying to set the stage for something big, and so far it seems promising.

I can’t help it. I love Oeming’s art. He’s one of the few artists that uses shadows as effectively line, and for a title set in a post-apocalyptic world where electricity is absent, he’s in his element. The action panels are just as carefully rendered as the mellow panels, and Victories #2 is as gorgeous as anything he’s ever done.

It’s fun to see Oeming branch out on his own again, and even though I’m excited about where this title is going, I can’t help but feel a little nervous that the scope of what he’s going for might be hard to manage.  But I want to believe.  And so I’ll keep reading.

4/5