Jeff Lemire and Mico Suayan return for the second issue in their new direction for Valiant’s “Bloodshot”. In this issue, Ray Garrison must assume the role of Bloodshot once more to track down a killer using his former identity as a cover for mass shootings. Read on for our spoiler free review of the dark and psychological “Bloodshot: Reborn” #2.
Written by Jeff Lemire
Illustrated by Mico Suayan
Ray Garrison, once known as the unstoppable killing machine called Bloodshot, must track down the impostors carrying out mass shootings in his former name. But the hunter becomes the hunted when an upstart FBI investigator and her grizzled partner believe the original Bloodshot himself to be responsible for the murders. Can Bloodshot elude the agents – and his own inner demons – long enough to take out a nanite-infused gunman?
When you read the breakdown of who Bloodshot was – white skin, red eyes, nanite-infused blood, operates as a killer for a shadow-y government agency via mind control and false memories – you almost expect a ridiculous, over-the-top action story with lots of violence and gunplay. Surprisingly, that’s not what “Bloodshot: Reborn” is. That’s not what this series is about at all. The first issue of the series opened on the premise that Bloodshot has lost his nanite-infused blood and now has to cope with living a normal life haunted by the PTSD-fueled memories of the lives he took and antagonised by visual hallucinations representing his grief. Jeff Lemire and Mico Suayan have taken a ludicrous, over-the-top character and grounded him with a dark and psychological emotional core that plays a satire to the violence of comic books.
Jeff Lemire is at his absolute best in this issue, there is no two ways about it. Picking up from where the first issue left off, this issue follows Ray Garrison, the former Bloodshot, as he hunts down the killer using his former identity. He’s followed by the recurring hallucinations of Kay, the woman he loved who died removing the nanites from his blood, and Bloodsquirt, a cartoonish imp who looks like the Saturday Morning Cartoon version of Bloodshot. This story sees Lemire delve deep into the psychological implications of someone addicted to violence. Ray hears the nanites “calling to him” and is drawn to this new Bloodshot almost as if he wants the nanites back. This is juxtaposed by the taunting from his hallucinations as he’s told that he was only anything when he was Bloodshot and when he was a killer. Combining this with Lemire’s use of Ray’s narration gives a very psychological look at the main character and keeps the very serious and dark story grounded in reality.
However, this issue is not just Ray’s story as Lemire and Suayan introduce the Federal Agents working the case of the mass shooting committed by the copycat Bloodshot. Here we’re introduced to Agent Diane Festival who serves as somewhat of a secondary protagonist, juxtaposing Ray’s very personal quest to find the Bloodshot with a federal manhunt. It could have been very easy for the pace of the story to be bogged down as soon as it cuts away from Ray’s story to Diane’s, but Lemire keeps things lively by presenting Agent Festival as something of an underdog in her own investigation. Teamed with an agent who can really only be charitably described as “old fashion”, this story works because of the verbal back-and-forth between the characters that Lemire uses to endear the reader to Festival and because it gives a wider view to the world surrounding Ray’s quest.
If Lemire’s writing is pitch perfect on this book, then Mico Suayan is the perfect artist for the writing to be teamed with. Suayan’s art is dark, it’s gritty, it uses a lot of cross-hatched shading to bring realism and depth to his figures and it is perfect for this story. While buzzwords like “gritty” and “realistic” are usually used negatively these days, they are just right for this psychological exploration of the effects of extended violence on one man’s mind. And when the violence comes, Suayan ensures that it is gruesome and visceral, in keeping with the story’s theme that true violence is horrifying and soul destroying.
Continued belowAlthough, the only complaint I could level at Suayan’s artwork is that it’s a little stiff, but if the trade-off is that we get some of the most gorgeous panels I’ve ever see (there’s a silent page of Ray stalking into the woods with a shotgun that sent chills down my spine) then I don’t even mind.
It’s not just Mico Suayan providing the art, though, as the depiction of Bloodsquirt is handled by Jeff Lemire in a more cartoon-y style than his usual. The clean lines, childlike detail and flat colours juxtapose well with how harsh and layered the ink and colour work is on Suayan’s art to make the character stand out on the page. While Suayan’s art portrays violence as brutal and really shows the toll it takes on Ray’s psyche, Lemire shows Bloodsquirt in a much more cartoon-y light as the character exists to satirise the over-the-top cartoon violence we see in other comics. It’s a great touch and not only does it give a lot of depth to Ray’s character, but it also brings out just how shocking the more realistic violence depicted in Mico Suayan’s art is.
Overall, “Bloodshot: Reborn” #2 continues the beginning of a story from two brilliant creators that marries a great story that examines the psyche of a man scarred by violence with the hidden depth that examines how violence is portrayed in comic book. Lemire and Suayan come out guns blazing with an issue that is measured and taut in a way that rivals a David Fincher film. They have taken a character that could have easily been written off as silly and too comic book-y and given him pathos and depth without sacrificing anything that makes him a great comic book character.
Final Verdict: 8.8 – A book you need to check out because there looks to be a lot more great stuff to come from this series.
