Comic Book Review: Bloodshot Reborn #8
John F. Trent
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Ray Garrison continues to hunt for the rest of the nanite-infected killers with Magic at his side. Meanwhile, the FBI has tracked down the killer to the Red River Motel where Ray had previously been drowning his life away in alcohol and pills. Is it Ray they are after? How does it fare?
[easyazon_image align=”center” height=”500″ identifier=”B01721O5OQ” locale=”US” src=”http://boundingintocomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/514x8r8wUL.jpg” tag=”bounintocomi-20″ width=”325″]
Jeff Lemire continues to kill it (both literally and figuratively) when it comes to [easyazon_link identifier=”B01721O5OQ” locale=”US” tag=”bounintocomi-20″]Bloodshot Reborn[/easyazon_link]. The first pages dive you into an intense action sequence with Magic and one of the Bloodshot imposters. The conclusion of this action sequence is extremely heartbreaking and shocking. Lemire aims for your heart and shoots right through. You feel emotionally broken and horrified not just for Magic but for Ray as well.
The beauty of Lemire’s writing allows him to leave us in this emotional pit wondering what is going to happen between Magic and Ray. He transitions away to layout Project Rising Spirit’s history with the Bloodshot program as well as hint at who the real killer of the other Bloodshot imposters is.
After a painstakingly two and a half pages later, Lemire returns to Ray and Magic and rushes out of the emotional pit into one of joy and love. Lemire is able to show that no matter how far Bloodshot has fallen he is still a human and is able to rise above and find a semblance of happiness even if it is for just a short time.
I would have been satisfied with the book ending after this emotional roller coaster. However, Lemire continues to drive the plot. He brings all of the characters back to where it all began: the Red River Motel for what looks to be an extremely dramatic convergence.
Butch Guice’s artwork is top-notch in this issue. He does an excellent job with the beginning action sequence, building tension and creating moments of surprise. In addition, much like Lemire’s writing, Guice’s art excels at the peak emotional points. A full-page of Magic doing the splits is completely horrifying. It is very Harley Quinn-esque and completely shatters your heart.
If there is one complaint about Guice’s art and Lemire’s dialogue, it is a full double-page spread depicting Ray and Magic in an embrace that leads to a groundbreaking moment in the series. However, neither Lemire’s dialogue nor Guice’s artwork really lets us in on how exactly that moment is accomplished. It is still somewhat abstract without a clear description.
Towards the end of the issue, Guice’s artwork sets the tone for the convergence and dramatizes the encounter we are about to witness. However, he doesn’t hit you in the face with it, but slowly lets it build from panel to panel like the approach of a thunderstorm. It first appears in the distance, but slowly gets closer and closer until with the last panel it is on top of the Red River Motel with a loud “Bang.”
The Verdict
[easyazon_link identifier=”B01721O5OQ” locale=”US” tag=”bounintocomi-20″]Bloodshot Reborn #8[/easyazon_link] is comic book perfection. Jeff Lemire wonderfully scripts the issue with fantastic character moments, an excellent action sequence, an emotional seesaw, and plot progression that rapidly leads us to what looks to be an exciting convergence with the return of Bloodsquirt. Guice’s artwork perfectly complements Lemire’s writing in emotional gravitas as well as the tone and rapid pace of the book towards the end. If you are not reading Bloodshot Reborn yet, this book demands that you do.
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