From Valiant Comics comes the mega-sized Bloodshot Annual #1. This special, jampacked comic is Written by JEFF LEMIRE with RAY FAWKES, MICHEL FIFFE & BENJAMIN MARRA, and PAUL MAYBURY featuring Art by KANO with RAY FAWKES, BENJAMIN MARRA, and PAUL MAYBURY. It is available in stores now!
Bloodshot Reborn: Annual #1 takes a break from Jeff Lemire’s fast-paced and post-apocalyptic storyline ‘The Analog Man’ and presents a comic that is full to the brim with short stories and features guest writers and artists. At one point during the Bloodsquirt story, we actually pull away from the concluded action to the offices of Valiant Comics where they ask each other, “what the hell were we thinking publishing this?” It’s hilarious. This extra-large sized book is worth the larger price point and it’s a nice change of pace to be able to just pick something up and have a little fun.
My favorite storyline deals with a spoof on Friday the 13th, where Bloodshot is sent to Camp Silver Lake to battle Jacob, the masked slasher who has been terrorizing stupid teenagers for years. Get it? Jacob? What starts out like a goofy mashup of genres, eventually turns into something far more interesting however and by the end, Lemire and Kano have wound up completely shattering any expectations we may have had a couple pages into this one. Ray Fawkes continues the tale later on in the book, but I wanted more. I would love to explore this Jacob storyline even further – what a fabulous twist on the slasher genre by integrating the world of Bloodshot right up the ass of horror.
There are jabs left and right at other comic companies, including a clever reboot one that I literally laughed outloud at and then there are beautiful moments that I didn’t expect whatsoever. It all comes back to Jacob – BRING ME MORE JACOB VALIANT! DO IT NOW! I’d love to ask Kano if he drew inspiration in Jacob’s facial features from that of Till from Rammstein…. Sans the horrible disfigurement that dude looks like the man who sings ‘Du Hast’ on stage while shooting fire out of his arms.
The final story confused me a little. But that’s OK. There’s a little something in here for every Bloodshot fan. I didn’t expect to be as moved as I was and I sure didn’t expect to laugh at the adventures of that adorable little bastard Bloodsquirt, but I damn sure did. Once again Valiant delivers and I highly recommend you grab this over-sized issue and if you haven’t begun Lemire’s run on Bloodshot Reborn – there’s still time before Bloodshot Island strikes this year.
Rating: [star rating=”4″]