Note: You can read the first 12 pages of this issue right here.
The Good
Have you never read a BLOODSHOT book? That's fine because the opening pages of this series catches you up on all the major events that have happened to that character. Although this book takes place after many, many issues of story, it's actually incredibly new reader friendly.
Bloodshot is one of the few Valiant characters I could never get into. He's just not up my alley, but what Jeff Lemire is presenting here is downright fantastic. This is less a Bloodshot book and more of a character study of the man who was once Bloodshot. For the most part (we'll get to what I mean about that pretty soon), it's gritty and displays a lot of realism (wait for it) within the story Lemire, Suayan, and Baron set up here. It's compelling, emotional, and grips the reader, until Bloodsquirt shows up.
Warning: A few spoilers ahead.
What the heck is Bloodsquirt? He's what Ray Garrison, the once Bloodshot, starts seeing. It's drawn by Jeff Lemire and reminiscent of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, with the animated world and real world colliding. It's a tiny little Bloodshot that really drives home the fact that Ray is losing it. Tonally, it's the exact opposite of this book, which is a bit hard to swallow at first, but adds a new dynamic to the series.
Ray wants to get back to a regular life, but not the life he once had, even though he has the files, which he refuses to read. He's over-medicated, dealing with the loss of his love, Kay, and a shooting on the new, where the shooter has the Bloodshot look (white skin and a red circle on his chest) is what sets him off. As stated earlier, this is a really solid character study about what happens to a person after they lose their super-powers.
As for the art on this... it's some of the best to come out of Valiant and comics in general. Mico Suayan and David Baron do a stellar job on this issue, with Jeff Lemire drawing Bloodsquirt, of course. This book has a cinematic look to it and a gritty realism that we don't always get from comics. Suayan's strength comes from the amount of emotion he can pack into each facial expression to really drag the reader in. Baron continues to do some great work with colors, as he has done in DIVINITY. I love the contrast between the colors on Ray and colors on Bloodsquirt too. It's almost shocking to see, but just heightens the nuttiness of the scene.
The Bad
This is the first time I've been really into a Bloodshot book. That's saying a lot.
The Verdict
For as long as Bloodshot has been around in the Valiant reboot, it's great to see this new volume be so incredibly new reader friendly. Lemire, Suayan, and Baron present a great and pretty depressing character study about a man trying to get his life back to normal, something he never remembers experiencing, but one man's actions cause him to rise to the occasion. I highly recommend checking this issue out.