Comics Review: BLOODSHOT BOOK TWO

BLOODSHOT BOOK TWO by Tim Seeley, writer and Brett Booth, artist. (Valiant Entertainment, March 2020) Trade paperback.

Rated FOUR STARS overall. 

     With the resources of the Burned behind him, Bloodshot is free to seek his own form of justice. First up: freeing the psiot Eidolon from Black Bar. This reprints Bloodshot Issues #4-6 plus Bloodshots Day Off, my favorite single issue story from 2017. 

     Book Two turns on the action, just as the fast-paced Book One did. However, Seeley lets us into the psyche of Bloodshot more in this volume, especially in the scenes interacting with members of the Burned who have liberated him from outside control and manipulation. Now that Bloodshot is finally independent, he seeks to make amends for all the horrible things he's done while under the control of Project Rising Spirt and other covert agencies. He's determined to rescue Eidolon and waits for the right time, while she is on a mandatory vacation rest (while still surrounded by Black Bar bodyguards) attending a horror convention in Florida. 

     The art is absolutely brilliant, charged up and loaded with details. Booth's work here reminds me of the early Image era art of Marc Silvesri and Whilce Portacio. There is so much going on in the action scenes you need to scan the visuals several times to catch it all. 

     The bonus story, "Bloodshots Day Off" by Eliot Rahal and Khari Evans is a masterpiece, an awesome example of how a powerful story can be told complete in a single issue. 

     Two characters from the Bloodshot Island mini-series, Tankman and Vietman, both early prototypes of the PRS Bloodshot line, are given a well-earned day off and seek to revisit their past. But so much has changed since World War II and The Vietnam War that they end up bonding over their newfound isolation. Great dialogue, great art that enhances the mood, and a very heartwarming story. Not to be missed.