Stranded on a mysterious desert island, Bloodshot is running for his life! But as he tries to make sense of his surroundings, he’s quickly discovering that this is no ordinary tropical getaway… 

After the somewhat disappointing conclusion  of the otherwise enjoyable The Analogue Man in Bloodshot Reborn #13  left us set up remarkably well for the new story Bloodshot Island. And this is a story that seems to have a lot of promise.

The opening chapter of Bloodshot Island actually started on the last couple pages of the last issue, but the recap page will catch you up if this is your first taste of Bloodshot. There’s a very different feel to this arc than the past two (albeit Bloodshot Island is only one issue in), which is not entirely unexpected as you could say the same about the previous two as well.

Jeff Lemire is joined by a new art team for this issue; Mico Suayan and David Baron. The pair have a tough task ahead of them taking over the series from Lewis Larosa, Stefano Gaudiano and Brian Reber, but you won’t notice a drop in art quality here; Bloodshot Reborn continues to be one of the best looking comics out there. The issue itself reads like the scene in the Incredibles where Mr. Incredible is on the island, except it’s a little bit more brutal – although it is wonderfully realized. There are some interesting new, or at least new-to-me, characters introduced, but perhaps the most intriguing of which is a certain four legged one. The new characters don’t have the screen time to really shine too much, but with this being the first chapter of a new arc, that’s bound to change.

This is a typically solid start to an arc, which is what you can usually expect from Valiant, but I’ve noticed that some (perhaps too many) of Valiants arcs tend to have a strong start tapering off to a slightly weaker ending, so I’ll keep my expectations lower for now. However the story ends, though, this is a great jumping on point if you’re curious about ol’ Bloodshot.

Story: Jeff Lemire Artist: Mico Suayan Colourist: David Baron
Story: 8 Art:8 Overall: 8 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review