Bloodshot: Salvation #01 (Comic) Review

One of Valiant’s most recognizable characters is coming back in September for a new run. Bloodshot Salvation is being marketed as a great jumping on point for folks, but does the first issue stand up to draw in a new audience?

A tense kickoff, poignant writing and grisly art make this book a great point to jump onto the Bloodshot bandwagon.

A tense kickoff gets to story off to a running start

This new number one gets off to a pretty quick start. We see characters that are being introduced in this book get up to some action that would likely be saved for an established character a little later in the book or run.

The action lets up a little in the middle of the story, and then picks up again towards the end. Without going into spoilers, the pacing throughout the book works well. The letdown in the middle is actually sandwiched by intense moments and even a couple moments of shock.

For a book one, the writing does a good job of introducing characters to Bloodshot, Project Rising Spirit and the rest of the Bloodshot universe. I am by no means a Bloodshot expert, but did not feel lost at all by the end of the book. That means this number one did its job. Even better, I was intrigued throughout and interested enough to continue turning the pages.

Dialogue that makes sense

The dialogue in this new kickoff for Bloodshot makes sense throughout. A lot of other books might make the reader cringe if they don’t go in knowing what to expect, but sensitive topics are handled deftly and likely in a way that these characters would actually react to certain situations.

Characters’ words and actions have weight that the writers make felt in a brief 32 pages. My biggest complaint with the written word in this issue of Bloodshot comes from the thought bubbles (Okay, they are more like speech squares). These get a little cumbersome in the body of the book.

That being said, I don’t know how else these thoughts could have been handled. They certainly aren’t bad, but their constant flow gets to be a tad much.

Grisly artwork

The art in the newest Bloodshot book is reminiscent of older Bloodshot books that I have seen in passing. The pages almost look as though they are watercolor. The result is a great aesthetic that keeps the reader pouring over the images one after another.

The art also pulls no punches in getting across grisly images. Even though this is just the first issue of Bloodshot: Salvation, there is already plenty of violence to go around. All of the action is clear and there is no doubt about what is happening to who at any given time. Take a look to see what I mean:

Overall

The newest Bloodshot has everything a new fan could want: A digestible story, great art and even a little violence. The future of Bloodshot is coming fast, and I cannot wait to see where the book goes next.

Bloodshot: Salvation #1
Release date: September 20, 2017
Format: Ongoing series
Publisher: Valiant Comics
Written by: Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by: Lewis Larosa, Mico Suayan