Re-reading Bloodshot

[mkb28]

Yes, I think it's issue 39 that struck me as being one of the best installments in the latter half of the book's run. If I recall correctly, that's the issue where Bloodshot discovers that his occasional companion from the mental institution has OD'd on her meds at his home.

Michael, what did you think of the (first) Rampage and Birthquake issues? Just curious. Wonder if I was too harsh about those.

Hello Tony:

Yes, your memory is perfect and issue 39 is where he lost his friend, Melissa Duffy, to the drug overdose. You may also recall this is just after losing his lover and the girl he was trying to save, Ayisha, in issue 37. She was buried alive with him and had a stake put through her heart. You really start to feel bad for this guy.

The first "Rampage" story was decent and I liked the "Bloodshot" issues better than the "Secret Weapons" issues. The art was much better in the Bloodshot books. I really noticed a change in the book beginning in the "Birthquake" issues (30 and 31) and the art was the biggest change. The art by Breyfogle and the colors were just amazing. Go back and check out the two page splash pages in issue 31 (pages 2-3 and 18-19). Amazing! The artwork and especially the colors make me very excited to someday see "Bloodshot" on the big screen. The story about "Proteus" left way too many questions un-answered, but maybe they will address them in later issues.

Like you, I could have done without the "Vampires" storyline in issues 32-33, but we didn't have to wait too long for the return of Vanhook and Breyfogle with issue 34 and "Rampage" part 2. Overall, I would rate these issues a 4/5 for entertainment purposes.

Thanks,

Michael
mkb28

[omega_override]

Shadowman?

Shadowman had the same problem that a lot of the Shooter era Valiant comics had, started off extremely slow and gradually built up pace overtime.

the Rampage character was too close to Spider-Man's Venom for my liking--seemed like an unimaginative copy

I thought that the mini that set up Rampage was good, but I felt like the character lost steam shortly thereafter which is a shame because Bloodshot never really had a proper villain when you think about it, outside of the crime families of course


I'd also like to add how much I enjoyed Gilad and Bloodshot's friendship. I don't what it is, but V1 did a really great job pairing unlikely characters as "friends" and making it seem real and genuine (X-O and Turok/Shadowman and Armstrong/Archer)