Valiant Entertainment 2020
Written by Tim Seeley
Illustrated by Marc Laming
Coloured by Andrew Dalhouse
Lettered by Dave Sharpe
NOTES:
Created by now-defunct military contractor Project Rising Spirit (PRS) for covert special ops, “Bloodshot” served for years as a near-unstoppable killing machine. He is infused with billions of “NANITES,” advanced nano-robots giving him a rapid healing factor, enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and the ability to temporarily alter his physical appearance. Now free of his former masters, Bloodshot has simply vanished. His whereabouts and current status remain unknown.
I like this for a myriad of reasons and among them is that this isn't put into the series as the arc flows. By making this a zero issue that kind of stands alone and is a lead in to the series is something to appreciate. Another thing to appreciate here is Marc's work on the interiors which I will get to later but his style and attention to detail is marvellous. There are a few things that I found to be sensational about this story and that it recognises his history since Valiant rebooted itself was handled perfectly. Tim is so meticulous in his process, that's me guessing by the way, and that he's able to retain so much different information on his numerous books and makes this feel like it's the only he is working is kind of phenomenal when you stop to think about it. I don't think he gets the credit he deserves for his talent, skill and ability as a writer.
I like the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is expertly presented to the reader. The character development here is utterly impressive! Seeing and hearing Ray talk about himself and his life and his desires, regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention, I did what I had to do and saw it all through without exemption, yeah he wants to do it his way. The pacing is great and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it works with everything else to create this intriguing ebb & flow. Intriguing, yes, because it makes you question things and see things that aren't in front of you, effectively taking you off script. That your mind is engaged and looks and see things that are and aren't there ensures not your enjoyment of the story but your commitment to reading the series.
Marc's interiors are absolutely amazing to see. The linework is so damn good and how we see the varying weights utilised to create this level and quality of attention to detail is stunning. The way that we see faces, facial expressions and body language do wonders in furthering the characterisation in ways words alone cannot do. I love that Marc knows and understands the value of utilising backgrounds. They really do bring us into the bar, onto the streets of the town as they completely just complete the picture of what we see. It also works within the composition in the panels to bring us this depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the book. And the detail throughout is just mindbogglingly good. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels, of which the continuation of the backgrounds and such that we see from one panel to the next sigh, show one of the best eyes for storytelling in the business. The colour work is delightful to see. How the various hues and tones within the colour are utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is expertly rendered. Also to see the same on the red page is super impressive as is the blue and white areas throughout.
Bloodshot is an amazing character with a rich, full background that is continuing growing and evolving. This allows for so many different avenues of storytelling in which he could go so to see Tim take a route that feels true to Ray and what he's been through and what he wants now feels more like Ray telling him what to write. This continues to showcase why Valiant has some of the absolute best storytelling on stands.