Valiant Entertainment 2018
Written by Kevin Grevioux
Breakdowns by Ken Lashley
Finishes by Ryan Winn & Oliver Borges
Coloured by Diego Rodriguez
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Before there was salvation, before he was reborn, there was Rising Spirit…A paramilitary corporation on the forefront of death and destruction, Project Rising Spirit was a pioneer in advanced weaponry and scientific innovation. Their crowning achievement was Bloodshot, a nanite-enhanced super soldier who could heal from any wound, overpower any threat, and execute any mission. But the same nanites that gave him his incredible abilities also allowed Project Rising Spirit to rewrite his memories – turning him into the perfect soldier at the cost of erasing his past. The only problem? The memory engram's won’t take. Bloodshot’s system keeps rejecting them, causing the brilliant scientists of The Bloodshot Program to grow more and more desperate…
I love that we open up with a scientific approach complete with all the jargon. Actually throughout the whole issue we see that science is utilised and how that comes across and how at least one character needs it translated to gorilla so that to me is utterly delightful. It lends that air of credence that this is first and foremost a project and that the man whomever he is pre and post memory alteration isn’t a man but a weapon to be pointed and unleashed. It is cold, cruel and quite honestly one of the most fascinating looks that we’re getting in the franchise thus far.
The way that the book is structured is stupendous, there is no way that this could have been done any better. The opening is one that grabs your attention and starts off the action, in terms of both physical and mental, that permeates throughout the issue. I was so engrossed from page one and that demonstrates to me the strength of what Kevin is capable of doing. He has a sharp mind, solid grasp of what he wants to convey and the skill and talent to bring that to life. I really am extremely impressed with what the level of talent and the quality of work that I see here.
Now alongside all that there is some absolutely dynamite characterisation going on here too. It doesn’t matter how long the character is going to be “on screen” they are still completely fleshed out and some you are sad you don’t get to learn more about. Of course then there are those you so want to see destroyed in every way possible yet somehow you know they are going to be around seemingly forever. It is the trade off though because we need these so-called villains for the antagonist if the story is going to work.
The interiors here are really nice. I like the way that the characters are shown to us. They have a consistency in their faces and regardless of angles we see they look “right” and that’s amazing to me. The level and quality of the artwork here matches that of the story and that sensational. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows off a very strong eye for storytelling. I love when we see backgrounds being utilised because it does so much to expand the moments, the science of it and the overall size and scope of the book.
This is a thrilling, exciting and dark look at Project Rising Sun and how they took control of the Bloodshot program. To see how all this is at this stage, so far not counting the ones that we met who were those early attempts, and the ruthlessness of the staff makes it even more impressive that Ray is who his today. Valiant knows how to get the creators who can tell these stories about their characters and keep them familiar and yet comes across in band new ways and it’s effin awesome!