As the endless process of life, death, and rebirth plagues Bloodshot and his fellow prisoners of Bloodshot Island, the being that hunts them – the ruthlessly efficient killer called Deathmate – grows stronger with each agonizing day. But as Bloodshot momentarily gains the upper hand on the shadowy organization that created him and its enigmatic instrument of destruction, he may stumble upon the greatest secrets of the island…and his own haunted past!

With the other two Valiant comics this week featuring some pretty epic confrontations, Bloodshot Reborn #16 has a decidedly more focused story, as Bloodshot, and his earlier version counterparts, face off against the nigh unstoppable Deathmate. Jeff Lemire infuses this story, a story that I’ve been fond of calling a Groundhog Day/Survivor mash-up, with some tense moments.

We already know that when one of the Bloodshots is killed by Deathmate on their island prison, they’re returned to life through some as-yet-unexplained method and forced to repeat the process. Knowing that we may watch the cast die off (and we have, at least twice) lends a genuine feeling of tension as the outcome of each day, even though it feels as though Lemire is taking a deliberately unsubtle shot at how cyclical the notion of a “comic book death” really is.

Bloodshot Reborn #16 is one of, if not the, best comic so far in the series. Lemire is firing on all cylinders, with the plot getting very interesting, and his dialogue between the newest Bloodshot and Bloodhound being a particular highlight. But it’s the art from Mico Suyan and colourist David Baron that steals the show yet again. The comic is quite possibly one of the best on the racks this week, rivaled only by Valiant‘s 4001 A.D. #4, and is a pleasure to read.

If you’re not reading this series, you’re missing out.

Story: Jeff Lemire Art: Mico Suyan Colors: David Baron
Story: 8.5 Art: 9.5 Overall: 9 Recommendation: Buy

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review.