Kevin VanHook on Bloodshot and Persistence

Author Kevin VanHook and Editor Lysa Hawkins

Kevin VanHook is a soft-spoken, unassuming man. Yet in the 1990s, he co-created Bloodshot, one of the most unique characters in comics, with Bob Layton and Don Perlin. Last year, in the run-up to Valiant Entertainment's new Bloodshot series, and the movie starring Vin Diesel, he participated in the Bloodshot 101 panel at Wondercon.

While Kevin started drawing comics early on, he really wanted to make his mark by writing them. He worked at the 1980s indie phenom Pacific Comics, and later at another independent powerhouse, Eclipse Comics. Frustratingly, every time he came close to writing a story, each company shut down, and he had to find other employment. He started at Valiant in 1992 as the Production Manager. This time, he was given the opportunity to co-create and write the character Bloodshot. 

While Kevin VanHook's early career is a study in persistence, it also underlines the need to spot the right opportunity. With the fall of the Soviet Union, and the resultant decline in military funding, Kevin noticed the emerging biotech field. In particular, he drew inspiration from nanotechnology, which scientists were studying to treat disease and extend the Human lifespan. Following the first Gulf War (Operation Desert Shield), he wondered if soldiers who marched onto future battlefields might be enhanced with nanotechnology. 

Alongside his idea of utilizing nanotechnology to create the ultimate soldier, Kevin VanHook decided to enrich his creation further. He didn't want Bloodshot to spend all his time on foreign soil. He wanted Bloodshot to spend time in the United States too. So he decided to utilize the mafia in Bloodshot's world. Doing so was potentially dangerous, as Stan Lee had purportedly received death threats for Marvel's portrayal of the Punisher battling the mafia. But Kevin took a chance, wanting to enrich his character, and make Bloodshot as relevant as he could to the 90s audience.

Co-creators Bob Layton and Kevin VanHook, with star Vin Diesel, and Valiant Entertainment executive Dinesh Shamdasani

Thanks to clever marketing, and the early use of a chromium cover, Valiant's first issue of Bloodshot sold over one million copies. Initial artist Don Perlin drew almost faster than Kevin could write scripts. Kevin even took to his sketch pad at times. Readers demanded more, and Kevin and Valiant fed their hunger. Thanks to their imagination and hard work, Bloodshot remained a stalwart character of Valiant in the 90s. Thus, when Valiant Entertainment brought these classic characters back to comics in 2012, Bloodshot again proved a bestselling title.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic drastically shorted its big screen release, fans responded positively to the portrayal of Vin Diesel as Bloodshot. Sony took note, and rushed the movie to digital. A full home video release will follow. And, of course, the Bloodshot comics will continue.

Bloodshot lives and breathes with a life of its own, and his legacy seems assured. But our nanite-enhanced hero would never have been born, had Kevin VanHook not persisted in his quest to write comics, and had he not enriched the character with sufficient uniqueness and originality. Well done, Kevin VanHook. Bloodshot fans everywhere salute you!

Dragon Dave