Bloodshot Unleashed #4 Review

 

Bloodshot Unleashed #4 by Jon Davis-Hunt

WARNING: BLOODSHOT UNLEASHED #4 BREAKS SUPERHERO COMICS CONVENTIONS BY INCLUDING FOUL LANGUAGE INSTEAD OF SUGGESTING IT THROUGH USE OF SYMBOLS. READ AHEAD AT YOUR OWN RISK.

 

Bloodshot Unleashed #4 finally relates what occurred to separate Bloodshot from his family. It showcases our hero's cataclysmic battle with a man called Hobbes or Verlane. And it introduces a new penciler to the Valiant family. So let's dig into the latest installment in the ongoing saga of the super-soldier known as Ray Garrison, or as we like to call him, Bloodshot!

Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou does his usual brilliant job of relating the story through words. The dialogue and Bloodshot's inner-narrator are mostly uppercase and easy to read. The sound effects are colorful and demand our attention.

Overall, the lettering seems more polished and pleasing to the eye than in previous issues.

Coloring: Jordie Bellaire continues her simple color scheme for this series. While she may not have added much nuance aside from the initial color-flatting stage, her colors in this issue avoid looking drab and muddy. They look clear and vibrant. 

At times, they're even downright trippy.

Penciling/Inking: Newcomer Eric Zawadzki imbues every scene with classic illustration that, like Jordie's coloring, conveys emotion and action well. His characters have depth and realism. The war scenes are particularly effective.

The way he relates Verlane's worldview may even make longtime readers smile.

Story. Writer Deniz Camp blends past and present to give readers a combined issue #0 and #4. While readers may find this mix confusing at times, the way he relates Verlane's inner struggle give readers a solid line to grasp. He shows us a wiser and more hopeful Bloodshot than we met in issue #1, and reveals the compassionate side of our hero.

I'll confess I don't understand some of the logic underlying this issue, as well as how it relates to the series. Sadly, this final issue leaves me with more questions than answers. Perhaps those answers will be addressed if Valiant produces another story arc of Bloodshot Unleashed. 

Also, while I hate to be negative about any Valiant comic, I must admit that I dislike the repeated use of the F word in a superhero comic. Likewise, I find the ongoing theme of battlefield cannibalism distasteful. Perhaps such things do go on in war. Still, I don't wish to immerse myself in it on an ongoing series.

 

Conclusion: Despite its defects (or aspects of the story I don't appreciate), I like how Bloodshot seems more proactive in Bloodshot Unleashed #4. He's a thinking, calculated strategist who's not merely throwing himself into the gunfire, and expecting his nanites to outlast his opponent's ammunition. Story-wise, I appreciate this issue's themes of sacrifice and redemption. I find this issue's art and lettering appealing.

I just wish I understood how all the story segments--in this issue, and in the series as a whole--fit together. As this first story arc of Bloodshot Unleashed draws to a close, I find myself on the outside-looking-in, an interested observer of this ferocious tale of trauma, heartache, and redemption. 

Bloodshot Unleashed #4 comes out tomorrow. Buy a copy sporting your favorite cover, and tell me what you think.

Dragon Dave