REVIEW: ‘Bloodshot,’ Issue #1

Valiant Comics had a large presence at North Carolina Comicon 2019 (NC Comicon) with a dedicated panel, Voices of Valiant, and a booth featuring some of their best books including Bloodshot #1, the all-new ongoing series featuring the famous character. The issue is written by Tim Seeley, with art by Brett Booth, inks by Adelso Corona, colors by Andrew Dalhouse, and letters by Dave Sharpe.

Bloodshot #1 follows Bloodshot, who was created by a now-defunct military program for covert special ops. But despite still have billions of “NANITES,” advanced nano-robots that give him a rapid healing factor, enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and the ability to temporarily alter his physical appearance, still within his veins, Bloodshot is finally free and able start on his path to redemption that is paved with a lot of bullets and blood. But on his way to rectifying his wrongs, he is bound to hit a few road bumps as the shadowy BLACK BAR has their sights set on him.

Bloodshot #1 is action-packed nearly from the get-go. Because of this, it can feel like the issue lacks a plot but this approach also is an excellent way for news readers to jump on board the series and start following the character. Within the panels and between the action, there is a lot of exposition to explain who Bloodshot is. With a new movie, starring Vin Diesel, coming out soon, it only makes sense for the new series to offer an easy jumping on point for new potential fans.

Seeley does a great job of creating a lot of perfect one-liners fitting of the intense action scenes within the book. And while his words obviously matter, the big star of the book is Sharpe’s lettering. The panels are filled with a lot of onomatopoetic words that sometimes act as a transition from panel to panel, allowing the action to stay dynamic. This is also helped by Booth’s creative panel design.

Outside of Booth’s panel design, the art on the book is solid with Corona’s inks and Dalhouse’s colors elevating the pages, making the action feel over the top like a classic action film from the late 1980s or early 1990s. The color palette’s deep blues and bright fiery yellows, oranges, and reds feel reminiscent of Die Hard or Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Overall, Bloodshot #1 is a fantastic place to start if you have never read the character. While older fans might grow weary of the rehashed origin story recap, they will still want to pick up the issue for the action alone. Additionally, issues two is also out now with issue three set to hit stands on November 20, 2019.

Bloodshot #1 is available now everywhere comics are sold and online.