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Today, Valiant announced seven new series at their annual #ValiantSummit.

When a comics publisher talks about a miniseries launching in a prestige format, we often think about some of the best material in comics. Landmark stories crafted by DC in the ‘80s including Batman: The Dark Knight debuted in this special thick format — the comic was so inspirational that other comics companies followed suit. […]

This week, a longtime staffer of the internet’s premiere comic book website, The Beat, became obsessed…obsessed with ‘90s X-Men comics. We tried to take away copies of comics like X-Cutioner’s Song from the staffer — but the efforts of the full staff at the Stately Beat Manor (home of team Comics Beat) proved futile. We were […]

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Mico Suayan

Colorist: David Baron

Letters: David Lanphear

Bloodshot has had difficulty finding his identity at Valiant since the relaunch of the company back in 2012. The title has switched writers a few times already along with art teams and general focus. The Valiant, a recent event series from the publisher changed the dynamic of the lead hero, directly affecting the events inside of Valiant’s newest relaunch, Bloodshot Reborn #1.

Identity is the major theme of this issue. How does a robot discover his (or it’s) own humanity? The opening page depicted by Mico Suayan immediately tackles the theme and takes the idea to task. The rest of the opening sequence preps readers for a quick retrospective, a wise decision for new readers jumping into the character. The issue goes onto validate Bloodshot’s important role in the Valiant Universe within Unity and The Valiant.

The book begins in Colorado and gives the comic a new tone. Does this new incarnation of the hero have a chance in avoiding the violence as he travels down to do some handiwork at a motel?

It’s Bloodshot…so the answer should be a given. With the protagonists’ life in such a deep dark pit evoked from recent events, it might be hard for new fans to find a reason to empathetically devote their interest into the character. Bloodshot isn’t the man that he used to be, but this new identity doesn’t seem to suit the hero either. Thankfully, unexpected whimsy is hiding within this comic that may change your mind on the story being told.

Suayan’s art evokes pain and suffering within the different characters via hyper-detailed linework. The style works particularly well for Bloodshot, serving as as a bleak militaristic drama. Suayan’s approach to the mundane is played up as a dichotomy between the differences of the stories being told within the book. The artist drapes much of this story in thick shadow to illustrate the gritty narrative depicted in the tale. A major art surprise is hidden in the first installment that will be sure to delight readers familiar with the past work of Jeff Lemire.

About halfway into the narrative of this first issue, the scenery changes based on one pivotal scene that alters the nature of this entire book. In order to get fans truly interested into the narrative of Bloodshot himself, something radical had to be introduced into the first chapter. To spoil the hook would be a crime, but it’s safe to say that this first tale really does offer the unexpected to readers in the form of a brand new character that will hopefully drive Bloodshot Reborn for the foreseeable future. This book can be defined by that welcomed piece of whimsy hinted at in this first issue — it pushes this story from boring Punisher analogue into…something else.

It’s clear that Lemire and Suayan are crafting a story with this character that can be defined as subversive, but this first issue still plays it’s cards close to the chest. The tone of this series is splintering off into numerous different places, to the point where this first installment may actually serve the comics world better as a prologue rather than an actual first issue. While recommending this tale to the already established Bloodshot fandom seems like a given, to see whether this story could reach an audience with much broader scope could be possible. If the promise of something that can bend genre in a completely different direction doesn’t drive you to pick up Bloodshot Reborn #1, you should still make sure to keep your opinion informed by following the press coverage. Valiant seems closer than ever to reimagining the concept for one of their greatest and most beloved superheroes towards sheer delight with the power of Jeff Lemire, Mico Suayan, and some clever ideas.

• Valiant announced VALIANT ORIGINS a web series spotlighting the origins of Valiant’s biggest heroes. 10 episodes will be released bi-weekly Valiant’s official YouTube channel.  Heroes in the spotlight include Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, Ninjak, Livewire, Quantum and Woody, Divinity and more.

• In July Valiant is releasing the BOOK OF DEATH. Teaser art by Robert Gill.

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman is now exclusive with IDW with many new projects to be announced. “Kevin is one of my oldest friends in comics and it makes me extremely happy that he’s going to be part of the IDW team, said IDW CEO and Publisher, Ted Adams. “Kevin’s contribution to pop culture can’t be overstated and everyone at IDW is looking forward to helping him bring his new ideas into the world.”

• Archaia is release an Art of Mouse Guard book in July:

THE ART OF MOUSE GUARD 2005-2015

Author: David Petersen

Artists: David Petersen, Mike Mignola, Stan Sakai, Bill Willingham, Various

Cover: David Petersen

Format: 12″ x 12″, 368 pages, color and B&W, hardcover

On sale: July 2015

Celebrate the first 10 years of a comics classic from the very first sketch. For the first time since the series debut, David Petersen’s process for creating the world of Mouse Guard and bringing it to life in stunning illustration is documented in exquisite detail. With never-before-seen sketches; 100 pages of full-color, oversized artwork; and commentary from colleagues, collaborators, and Petersen himself, readers and fans get an unprecedented look behind the pages at how their favorite characters and adventures were born.

• Boom is releasing Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wars, a miniseries by Jen Wang (In Real Life) and Britt Wilson, also in July.

Cake is a Card Wars champ who can’t be beat, and Fionna…is really tired of getting beaten! They set off in search of a challenger who can really test Cake’s mettle. When they stumble across some gamer slugs, they think they’ve hit the jackpot, but these guys have never heard of Cake and refuse to even play with her!

 

• And Dark Horse is releasing TEN new series!

Barb Wire #1

Chris Warner (W)

Patrick Olliffe (A)

On Sale in July

Nail-hard tough and drop-dead gorgeous, Barb Wire is the baddest bounty hunter on the mean streets of Steel Harbor, where gangsters can lift bulldozers and leap rusting factories in a single bound. The hunting is stupid good and the bounties are hella big—if Barb lives long enough to collect!

King Tiger #1

Randy Stradley (W)

Doug Wheatley (A)

On Sale in August

Blood, death, and fire—the darkest kind of magic. A monstrous secret from King Tiger’s past has found the mystic warrior, but can Tiger’s skills and sorcery triumph against an unthinkable supernatural obscenity linked to his own destiny? If the Tiger falls, the Dragon will rise!

Negative Space #1

Ryan K Lindsay (W)

Owen Gieni (A)

On Sale in July

When one man’s writer’s block gets in the way of his suicide note, he goes for a walk to clear his head and soon uncovers a century-old conspiracy dedicated to creating and mining the worst lows of human desperation. A corporation has manipulated his life purely so they can farm his suicide note as a sadness artifact that will be packed and shipped to ancient underwater creatures who feed off our strongest and most base emotions. Our hero partners with a cult intent on exposing the corporation, and only a suicide mission can solve the whole mess.

The Tomorrows #1

Curt Pires (W)

Jason Copland (A)

On Sale in July

A bold new speculative-fiction comic from the mind of writer Curt Pires, each issue illustrated by a different brilliant artist!

The future: art is illegal. Everything everyone ever posted online has been weaponized against them. The reign of the Corporation is quickly becoming as absolute as it is brutal—unless the Tomorrows can stop it.

They told you the counterculture was dead. They were wrong. Welcome to the new reality.

Death Head #1

Zack Keller, Nick Keller (W)

Joanna Estep (A)

On Sale in July

When Niles and Justine Burton go camping to get a break from their stressful lives, they expect to find peace . . . not an abandoned village hiding an ancient evil. In a turn of events ripped straight from a horror movie, a brutal killer wearing a plague doctor’s mask begins hunting Niles, Justine, and their two kids. Who is the Plague Doctor? What does he want? And how will the family survive?

Zodiac Starforce #1

Kevin Panetta (W)

Paulina Ganucheau (A)

On Sale in August

They’re an elite group of teenage girls with magical powers who have sworn to protect our planet against dark creatures . . . as long as they can get out of class! Known as the Zodiac Starforce, these high-school girls aren’t just combating math tests. They’re also battling monsters—not your typical afterschool activity! But when an evil force from another dimension infects team leader Emma, she must work with her team of magically powered friends to save herself—and the world—from the evil Diana and her mean-girl minions!

From Kevin Panetta (Bravest Warriors) and Paulina Ganucheau (TMNT: New Animated Adventures, Bravest Warriors), this super-fun and heartfelt story of growing up and friendship—with plenty of magical-girl fighting action—delivers the most exciting new ensemble cast in comics!

Adam.3 #1

Scott Kolins (W/A)

On Sale in August

Award-winning writer and artist Scott Kolins (Past Aways, The Flash, The Avengers, Solomon Grundy) premieres Adam.3.

On a futuristic island paradise populated by talking animals and monitored by orbiting control satellites, the peaceful lives of Adam and his wife Skye are troubled by growing tension between Adam and his previous son, Beo. The situation goes from bad to worse when an alien invader infects the animals—turning them into aliens themselves. When Beo is captured, Adam must battle his transformed animal friends to save his son—and their island home!

Power Cubed #1

Aaron Lopresti (W/A)

On Sale in September

On his eighteenth birthday, Kenny’s inventor father gives him a phenomenal piece of matter-reinterpreting technology, attracting the attention of a bumbling Nazi scientist and an elite government agent. Aaron Lopresti delivers a comical coming-of-age tale in a fantastic sci-fi universe!

The Steam Man #1

Mark Miller (W)

Joe R. Lansdale (W)

Piotr Kowalski (A)

On Sale in October

The Old West (but not as we know it): Giant robots that run on steam power are created to take down invading Martians and armies of killer albino apes in an all-out brawl. The Steam Man, a giant metal man operated by a team of monster hunters, seems to have the town protected and the West under control, until a crazed and powerful vampire comes to town to bring forth the apocalypse.

Chimichanga: Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face #1

Eric Powell (W)

Stephanie Buscema (A)

On Sale in late 2015

Wrinkle’s Traveling Circus’s most adorable bearded girl and her savory-named beast are back, and there is a new act in store! Come one, come all to the Sorrow of the World’s Worst Face! But beware: those who look behind the curtain are in for an awful treat, and it’s not just his face we’re talkin’ about!

TweetValiant are pushing to the next stage of superhero this year, taking their five comics (all of which seem to have been very well reviewed so far, beating statistical probability to a pulp) and experimenting with crossovers and events. The first title they relaunched in 2012, X-O Manowar, is entering an event storyline called Planet [...]