Comic Info
Comic Name: Bloodshot Salvation/Valiant: X-O Manowar Free Comic Book Day 2017
Publisher: Valiant Comics
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Doug Braithwaite/Juan Jose Ryp
# of Issues: 4
Release Date: 2018
Bloodshot Salvation #10 Variant
Reprints Bloodshot Salvation #10-12 and Valiant: X-O Manowar Free Comic Book Day 2017 #1 (May 2017-August 2018). As Bloodshot finds himself in the year 4002 AD, Magic and his daughter Jessie find themselves fighting for survival against Omen and their agents. Baron Samedi has a mission for Bloodshot, and the mission could cost him his soul…but it also could be the only chance to ever see his family again.
Written by Jeff Lemire, Bloodshot Salvation Volume 3: The Book of Revelations is a Valiant Comics superhero collection. Following Bloodshot Salvation Volume 2: The Book of the Dead, the collection features art by Doug Braithwaite. The volume also contains a short Bloodshot Salvation prologue story from Valiant: X-O Manowar Free Comic Book Day 2017 #1 (May 2017) with art by Juan Jose Rep. The issues in the volume were also collected in Bloodshot Salvation: Deluxe Edition.
The Valiant relaunch made Bloodshot fun for me, and Jeff Lemire’s Bloodshot Reborn made me care about him. Initially when I read Bloodshot Reborn, I didn’t realize that Lemire was continuing the story in Bloodshot Salvation and thought I was finished with the run…happily I realized there was more Lemire Bloodshot, but the collections of the series sometimes leave a lot to be desired.
Bloodshot Salvation #12
There is no getting around that the collection is short…very short. There are three issues and a small short story that takes place before the whole run of the comic. With how the series broke down, it was necessary for timing and spacing, but it isn’t necessarily the most satisfying read as a result. It is a quick, slim resolution that does give closure (with opening for future direction). I just wish that it was longer.
The story itself also isn’t the strongest of the Bloodshot story that Lemire has crafted. It isn’t bad, but it feels like there isn’t much meat on the bone. Bloodshot must decide if he can kill an innocent man before he becomes a threat (aka the Hitler baby question), and Magic and Jessie fight Omen. Both stories felt like they could be expanded and they instead come rushing in on the readers with guns a-blazing. There isn’t much room for thought or reflection and the Bloodshot built over the last couple years deserves more thought and reflection.
I’m satisfied with the finale of Bloodshot Salvation, but I do think it could have been better. The story, the character, and his supporting cast were developing nicely up to this point and I think that this collection is a bit rushed. The flipside of this assessment is that you could end up with something like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which provides too much closure with never-ending finales…I suppose with that in mind, I’m happier with short and sweet. Bloodshot returned in Bloodshot Rising Spirit.
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