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Review: Michael Avon Oeming’s ‘The Victories #4

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What do you do when your supposed saviors are made to look like the bad guys? What happens when your most powerful champion is a puppet to a shadowy cabal? You horrifically fight on and swear a lot in “The Victories” #4. This series continues to impress and raise the stakes to higher and higher levels.

WRITTEN BY: Michael Avon Oeming
ART BY: Michael Avon Oeming
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: 7 August 2013

This mature-readers series about heroes, villains, and their messy world remains compelling four issues into its latest incarnation. Michael Avon Oeming keeps all the pieces moving in an upward trajectory. Major scoundrels Tarcus and Jackal collide in a battle and unwittingly (or purposefully?) make the world even worse off than it was. That’s saying something since Jackal’s previous escapades crippled worldwide infrastructure.

The results are another curveball for the world to deal with and its champions, The Victories, have to respond to. Not only is another global disaster unfolding, but a conspiracy to make the population hate and fear them begins surface. Oeming’s storytelling skills are razor sharp here. Every moment seems vital to the story and the characters feel more and more real the more we see them. Like all good characters, these heroes have flaws.

Every page is worth taking time to take in both in terms of story and artwork. The colors by Nick Filardi give Oeming’s almost-cartoonish art depth, warmth, and weight in all the right places. The big and small moments all work together. The Victories look and, for the most part, act like heroes should. Outlaws like Jackal truly disgust readers yet are still hard to resist seeing what he will do next. When shocking moments happen in this series, they really are shocking moments.

I love this series in every way possible. I can’t recall another series in recent memory that has me chomping at the bit for the next issue. I can’t wait for the trade for this story. “The Victories” #4 is the latest and greatest until next month which I have no doubt will be amazing as well.

4.5/5 Skulls

Reviewed by – YourFriendlyNeighbourhoodBrady

Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

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Witchblade cover

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (AnimosityBatwomanDC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide SquadPower RangersRed Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.

  • Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)

  • Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover

  • Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)

  • Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)

  • Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)

  • Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)

  • Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)

Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

Witchblade comic panel Witchblade #1 cover image

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