Reviews»Comic Books»Bloodshot Reborn #5
BSRB_005_COVER-B_SUAYAN
Kareem Ali 3

Bloodshot Reborn #5

 

  • The good

    Artwork fit wonderfully. Breakthrough at the end of issue.

  • The bad

    No story progression until the end since issue is dominated by Bloodsquirt adventures. Doesn't show situation with other nanites or Agent Festival

  • The ugly

    • Bloodshot Reborn #5 continues with Bloodshot struggling to gain control over the nanites as they try to influence him to go on a murderous rampage. Since acquiring more nanites Bloodshot has been haunted about the thought of losing control, and he can feel them working to manipulate him tearing away what’s left of him. Even though he still hasn’t been able to face whatever’s in the file about his true identity he knows what he doesn’t want to become due to the nanites. He tries to bury his thoughts by getting drunk but the nanites counter the effects so that won’t help him forget at this point. However, he also knows that he can’t just leave the remaining nanites out there because of what they will do and the blood that will be spilled. And he believes that if he can stop it then he can atone for some of the things he did while under Project Rising Spirit’s control. But Bloodsquirt, the psychotic manifestation of the murderous rage in the form of a cartoon character, has his own idea of what Ray should do next. Yeah, Bloodsquirt wants him to find the remaining nanites but so he can become a cold-blooded killer again, and forces Ray to go on the hunt with him. But is this all in his mind? And if so, has he finally lost complete control?

    BSRB_005_003
    I’ve been enjoying this series thoroughly despite not being a big fan of Bloodsquirt and how those hallucinations could take away from the otherwise engrossing events taking place. So I was wary starting this issue knowing that Bloodsquirt was going to play a major role in it. One thing I will say is Raul Allen and Patricia Martin’s artwork was excellent in capturing Bloodshot’s altered state of mind and the world he hallucinated throughout this issue. So all the random, and sometimes trippy, situations Bloodshot found himself in this issue were at least conveyed beautifully, and the artwork fit the story. Unfortunately the story wasn’t very entertaining until the last few pages, and that was due to the endless hallucinations that weren’t interesting to me. If you’ve loved Bloodsquirt since he was introduced then you might enjoy this entire issue but it just felt like a spoof while other meaningful developments during this series were completely ignored. Agent Festival didnt’ make an appearance nor was there any mention of what was occurring with the missing nanites. It’s like this issue was avoiding the continuation of the story more than Ray was avoiding what was in the files. One thing that has been clear about Bloodshot has been the way the nanites have psychologically tormented him and the burden of the murders while under Project Rising Spirit’s control. And Bloodsquirt and the imaginary Kay have played heavy roles throughout this series. So I didn’t feel it was necessary to dedicate an entire issue to what has already been made clear about the character. Thankfully there was progress at the end, and that was actually enjoyable so hopefully next issue starts giving more answers that Ray can use in the actual world and not just for his hallucinations.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    The majority of Bloodshot Reborn #5 feels like a filler issue as his “adventures” with Bloodsquirt dominate this issue. Their adventures have a slight redeeming quality but pales in comparison to the overall engrossing story in this series that’s neglected this issue until the end. At least the artwork fits the tone of the adventures as it captures Bloodshot’s altered mind state wonderfully. However, I’m looking forward to next issue when some answers finally arrive about the truth of Bloodshot’s identity.

     

    Release Date:8/5/15

    Writer: Jeff Lemire

    Artist: Raul Allen, Patricia Martin

  • Rating ( 6.25 )
  • Total score 6.3

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: