REVIEW: 'Bloodshot: Unleashed' #4 by Deniz Camp, Eric Zawadski, and Jodie Bellaire

 

BLOODSHOT: UNLEASHED #4

Writer: Deniz Camp

Artist:  Eric Zawadski, Jodie Bellaire

Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou

Publisher: Valiant Comics

Release Date: December 28, 2022

Cover Price: $3.99

A bloody blast from the past!

In the present, Bloodshot must track down Verlane, a "spent shell" experiencing nightmarish visions of his past being pursued by the authorities.

In the past, Bloodshot has the fight of his life against Hobbes, exploring what occurred prior to the events of issue #1 to shatter Bloodshot's family and home.

Two escaped weapons. Two timelines. One epic issue!

Score: 

★★★1/2 (3.5/5)

QUICK REVIEW: 'Bloodshot: Unleashed' has been one of the most exciting titles to come from Valiant Comics this year with Deniz Camp providing a thoughtful narrative with bone-crushing action. It's all captured in all its cinematic glory through the hands of artists, Jon Davis-Hunt, Jodie Bellaire, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. A finely detailed depiction of rip-roaring violence and mayhem when Bloodshot faces another "Spent Shell" and literally blows him to pieces. I don't know of many artists who could convey such destruction so granularly as Davis-Hunt does so this is a treat for comic book fans. 

In issue four, Bloodshot has tracked down another product of war cursed with nightmares, the remnants of war trapped in his head.  Eric Zawadski takes over for Davis-Hunt and adds his own style that fits right into the series. There's still great attention to detail and cinematic visuals that carry the issue. The only problem seems to be a little lack of clarity on how much of the story is real, imagined, or from which perspective. There are two storylines happening at once, in the present and the past. Bloodshot has been hallucinating throughout the arc seeing loved ones who have passed. A glitch as it was described in an earlier issue. In the present, he's trying to get Verlane, another enhanced soldier who's fighting cops while having nightmarish visions. In the other timeline, he's fighting Hobbes who may or may not have killed Bloodshot's family.  The reader isn't always sure what to believe as fact. 

More importantly, and what becomes clearer after reading this arc is the sad reality that these "spent shells" who've gone haywire after being used by the military parallel the real-life soldiers who return from war and conflict damaged physically, emotionally, and/or mentally in this country. It's no secret that many have been let down by a system that is insufficient to care for them upon return. And sure, these heightened super-enhanced individuals are made for our entertainment in the pages of a comic book, Camp reminds us in a subtle way that real soldiers are human beings who just need to be heard. 

A special shout-out to Valiant for including a tribute to actor Jason David Frank (Power Rangers) who played Bloodshot in the 2018 movie Ninjak VS the Valiant Universe.

'Bloodshot: Unleashed' has been a literal thrill-a-minute, and not even this muddy issue can supplant the amazing artistry that has gone over the entire arc.