Review - Bloodshot #3

A trained assassin with self-healing nanomites is a force to be reckoned with and Bloodshot is no exception. What's more, is that he's pissed and wants answers, hoping to find them in Bloodshot #3 from Valiant Comics.

The issue is written by Duane Swierczynski, with art by Manuel Garcia and Arturo Lozzi.

The best way to get answers is to go with what you know and for Bloodshot, that means finding a memory that you can latch onto as a start. It's here that he finds Ashley Spellman, the model for the wife in his memories. After a tense situation, Bloodshot gets some answers, but not nearly as many as he would like.

Atlee, Nevada, the location previously referenced in a flashback in the last issue, is also shown here, albeit in a much less livable state. It helps set the table for Dr. Manny Kuretich to play a role in both the lives of Bloodshot and Ashley. Meanwhile, a team has been dispatched by Project Rising Spirit to stop Bloodshot, thanks to a frightening weapon in a woman named Pulse.

The series is only three issues in, but Swierczynski has been pacing it all beautifully. This issue didn't have as much of the beastly action on the part of Bloodshot, but it did give readers more things to hook them. There are mysteries in Bloodshot's past, and Swierczynski isn't content to reveal them all just yet.

When Bloodshot devles into his memories, it's sufficiently creepy. They're presented as something of an operating system, where he can move them around almost at a whim. It's a little disconcerting how easily manipulated they are, but it goes to show you how messed up Project Rising Spirit really is.

The art by Garcia and Lozzi is simply awesome. It's muted in a sense, but it works exceptionally well with the story. The panels of the abandoned city are well done, while Bloodshot himself is always shown as a man with a plan. When he's down he's certainly not out, but he's illustrated in such a way you really wonder how he can survive.

If you're not reading Bloodshot, you're missing a comic that's more than just guns and violence. It has grander aspirations that involve military conspiracies and a man desperate to find any truth about his life. It's rock solid in it third issue and should be on your pull list.

Bloodshot #3 is in stores now with interiors below.