The first ever comic to sport a chromium cover (which really doesn’t show up well in photos, and is actually a chromium card glued to the front page, rather than the fully metallic and textured, wraparound foil covers on later chromium-covered comics), you may be forgiven in thinking that Bloodshot #1 was little more than an example of style over substance. After all, the era it was released in is littered with gimmicky covers, and Bloodshot’s arrival actually heralded the start of the Chromium Age of comics. This was the 90s, and the Chromium Age saw publishers resorting to a frankly ridiculous variety of gimmicks to sell often shoddily put-together issues.

So I didn’t expect much from Bloodshot #1, but having read so much of Valiant’s output (including other titles with Chromium covers, hello Shadowman #0 and X-O Manowar #0!), I should have known better.

Our story starts in London, with an arms deal about to be finalised at Heathrow Airport. The deal goes wrong when a lone assassin turns up and brutally murders several of the terrorists; a pair of genetically enhanced hunters are sent to find the assassin. Yet the assassin, Bloodshot, is gifted with his own, spectacular genetic enhancements; nano-computers in his blood which gives him unparalleled speed, strength and control over machines to boot. The only thing he’s lacking is a memory, and Bloodshot’s on a hunt of his own to find out who he is.

The amnesiac super soldier angle is a compelling one, and this issue does a fantastic job of introducing the lead character, as well as showcasing what he’s capable of. A stunning, tense underwater sequence is a fantastic set piece, and in general, the globetrotting, righteous (if ultraviolent) Bloodshot comes across like Jason Bourne with sci-fi enhancements.

Though I haven’t seen the movie, I’m bewildered by Hollywood’s failure to (as of yet at least) turn this compelling character into one which can support his own franchise. I suppose having Vin Diesel just looking like, well, Vin Diesel really didn’t help to sell it as anything other than a generic action vehicle for the Fast and Furious star.

Then again, the current owners of the Valiant Universe, Alien Books, also seem confused about what to do with Bloodshot, having launched their Valiant Beyond initiative with a comic that would have been fine without its blatant transphobic subtext.

In any case, this debut issue of the original Bloodshot is superb, with a brilliant central hook and a compelling quest for the character to undertake right from the start. In between shooting bad guys bloodily in the head of course.

Hi! I’m Jason, and I write for midlifegamergeek.com, every single day. If you’re interested in supporting original, regularly published, human created content (which has never been plagiarised or otherwise copied from the hard work of other writers), you can donate and help me to keep this site running.

Not only do I earn no income from my writing here (though I may earn small fees from affiliate links posted on my pages; as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases from these links), but it seems that my work has, at times, been stolen and re-used by lazy, morally bankrupt idiots.

There’s no pressure of course, but I’d be truly grateful for any support that you could offer – and it’s easy to do so at either of these links: Ko-Fi.com/geekmid or PayPal.

Any donations are truly appreciated – and I also appreciate you taking the time to read my articles. Remember: this whole article was by Jason Brown, and appeared on midlifegamergeek.com. Take that, Skynet!