Comic Review: Bloodshot Rising Spirit #4

Bloodshot Rising Spirit #4

Valiant Entertainment

Writer: Kevin Grevioux

Artist: Harvey Tolibao and Isaac Goodhart

Bloodshot Rising Spirit has been a bland prequel story so far, with outdated storytelling, poor dialogue, and inconsistent art. Until this run, any book that Bloodshot headlined was a must read, but so far it has been difficult to recommend this book to even the most hardcore Bloodshot fans. Does issue four change anything?

It really doesn’t. In Bloodshot Rising Spirit #4, Bloodshot is now rogue with a shoddy perception of the world thanks his implants glitching out. With a dangerous asset missing in a foreign country, Project Rising Spirit is forced to call upon the aid of the H.A.R.D Corps. If this series was going to get better, I figured it would be this issue. With Bloodshot finally out in the open with a fragile psyche, this could have been an excellent opportunity for the creative team to right the ship. Unfortunately, the dysfunctional implant doesn’t play a significant role in the issue (aside from a couple of panels) and Bloodshot still isn’t a dynamic or even interesting character.

The dialogue is still awful, with Bloodshot’s handlers feeling stiff as they yell at each other and Rising Spirit. The dialogue almost feels like it is satire, mocking the old action movies of the 80s and 90s. The constant shouting between the characters is laughably bad, and it is hard to take anything seriously with the constant use of expletives.

The appearance of H.A.R.D Corps can be fun for a few readers, but the characters hardly feel like themselves in this issue. Most of their lines are quick one-liners, and we don’t see much of them (which will likely change during the next issue). The issue’s highlights are the well-choreographed action scenes, but even these are flawed due to the art.

The art is split between Harvey Tolibao and Isaac Goodhart. The use of two artists is jarring, and the issue experiences a clear change in tone as Goodhart takes over the second half of the issue. The second half at least looks better, with better proportions and expressions for the characters. Overall though, this issue’s art isn’t spectacular.

Bloodshot Rising Spirit #4 is another disappointing issue. Its highlights are just a few fun action scenes. It’s hard to recommend this to anyone, even hardcore fans.