Is there life after Bloodshot?
You have to hand it to Valiant for the effort they've made in 2017 to make it easy to jump into their superhero universe. From the relaunch of X-O Manowar early this year to the recent Ninjak #0, Valiant has ensured that many of its big franchises have easy, straightforward jumping-on points. And now that treatment is being applied to Bloodshot. Even though Bloodshot Salvation is the latest chapter in Jeff Lemire's ongoing run, it's as good a starting point as any for the character.
Salvation features a pretty clear hook, as former super-soldier/assassin Ray Garrison now finds himself the father to an infant daughter. How does a guy whose sole purpose in life used to be killing adjust to that newfound responsibility? Early in Lemire's run, the question was whether Ray could ever truly bury his Bloodshot side and live an ordinary life. Now that he's found a family and achieved some semblance of ordinary, the question is more if he even wants to keep Bloodshot buried.
That would be a good foundation for a new ongoing series already, but Lemire takes things another step further by flashing ahead eight years, to a time when Ray is MIA and his wife and child are on the run from a mysterious enemy. These flash-forwards add a welcome sense of urgency and uncertainty to the series. That's especially helpful given that the present-day portions of the story are pretty slow-moving. Clearly, Lemire aims to take every bit as long building towards the full return of Bloodshot as he did in Bloodshot Reborn.
This series paints a compelling portrait of a man struggling to leave his old life behind. Thematically, this book shares a lot in common with the current X-O Manowar volume. It helps that Ray's own personal struggle is mirrored by the of his wife, Magic. She faces her own issues with her troubled past coming back to haunt her, in the process becoming a more active player in the conflict.. If anything, the new volume of Bloodshoot is more an ensemble book than a solo one.
Like Lemire, both Mico Suayan and Lewis LaRosa are veterans of the franchise by now. The difference here is that both are working together simultaneously. Suayan handles the flash-forward segments, while LaRosa tackle the present-day portion of the story. Both have reasonable matching styles, though Suayan's pages are marked by heavier blacks and LaRosa's by a more textured, even sentimental quality. Colorist Brian Reber helps maintain a degree of consistency between the two. The juxtaposition of style winds up enhancing the overall feel of the book. Salvation is very much about the vapid hyper-masculinity of Bloodshot clashing with the harsh realities of the world, and the art really serves to highlight his absence in the future.
As with Lemire's Thanos run, this series might benefit from a slightly less heavy-handed approach to narration. At times, Ray's captions feel slightly redundant, reinforcing plot points that are already spelled out on the recap page and emotional beats that the artists themselves are perfectly adept at conveying. But if that's the biggest hurdle this new series faces, things are looking pretty good for Bloodshot and family.
The Verdict
Valiant continues to make it both easy and attractive to dive into their superhero universe in 2017. Bloodshoot Salvation #1 serves as a great starting point, even though it serves as the latest act in Jeff Lemire's ongoing saga. With strong characterization and a compelling balance between present-day and flash-forward conflicts, there's plenty of reason to become invested in this new chapter in Bloodshot's ongoing struggles.
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