Written by Guest Contributor: Jordan North Damn. Michael Avon Oeming really is a cold bastard and one that wastes no time bullshitting with his narratives. In the course of this short twenty-two pages he manages to run us through hope, triumph and utter heartbreak, and he does it all without blinking an eye.

One of the great things about The Victories is how unafraid it is to run its cast of characters through real danger, real emotion, and real loss. Where other comics cheapen their big moments with resurrections or never really show what real battle looks like The Victories forces it into your eyeballs whether you’re ready for it or not. It’s great, and gives everything a heft that even huge hero books can`t hope to compete with in their “safe” narratives.

Mostly this is a story about D.D Mau, and how she’s a goddamned hero. And by the end of this comic, of that you’ll have no doubt in your mind. Blending perfectly into the overarching plot of the “Post-Human” arc, this story could just as well function as a standalone; a damn good one too.

At the end of this story a character claims of the past few issue’s shadowy villains after a devastating personal blow, “whoever did this, I’m going to kill all of those fuckers” you feel his malice, Oeming has earned that line through writing with courage. Not in recent memory have I so wanted to see a bad guy punished, and we don’t even know really know their names yet… kudos.

In twenty-two pages Michael Avon Oeming manages to show us what being a true hero is all about. He pulls no punches and offers no apologies for it. He could teach the workshop on balls-out comics writing and many writers would be wise to attend. This man is onto something.

Score: 5/5

Writer/Artist/Creator: Michael Avon Oeming Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/4/13