A few years ago,I ventured into my local comic book shop and my esteemed comic dealer and friend told me about a then, little-known comic called Bloodshot.  I instantly liked the idea, the premise was imaginative and on flicking to the first page I was immediately impressed.  The art was great, the dialogue quick, and the story well paced.  So you’ll be pleased to hear then that Bloodshot Reborn follows this tradition and certainly does not disappoint. There’s something about Jeff Lemire’s writing that is playful but humble in the way he draws his characters and the turbulent situations they find themselves in.  The easiest way to describe the plot of Bloodshot Reborn #15 (and #14 for that matter) is Planet Hulk combined with some morbid version of Groundhog Day.  Ray Garrison aka Bloodshot has awoken on a tropical island surrounded by, wait for it... other Bloodshots!  It seems some sadist has taken these soldiers from various points in history and dumped them all on this island to be massacred over and over by an elusive enemy known only as Deathmate.  You see, in case you didn’t know, a Bloodshots’ nano-technology allows them to heal from even the most extreme, mortal wounds.  Death has no meaning to them, even more so as they are released from their cell every day only to be murdered over and over again.  It’s horrific.  But our Bloodshot is having none of it, he won’t accept this vicious Bill Murray-like cycle, and unites his nano-enhanced brothers against their shared enemy, hoping to escape this rinse-and-repeat nightmare.

The cyberpunk style of Mico Suayan’s art only enhances the story, and the cool grey tones from David Baron help provide the machine-like aesthetic, whilst still oozing out bright splashes of colour during the action scenes.  Many of the panels are exquisite in their detail, from internal machinery to the clothes on the soldiers’ backs.  It all feels just like I remember and that makes me very happy indeed.

I confess to not starting this comic from the very beginning but this issue was fun and intriguing enough to make me go back and catch up.  I’ve really missed following the extremely bloody and at times downright trippy exploits of Bloodshot as he shoots and revives his way through the battlefield that is his life in Project Rising Spirit.  I’m rooting for him but our enigmatic hero’s going to need all the help he can get.

Will you join the fight?

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