Prepare yourself as the most ambitious moment in Valiant’s history launches forward with two original stories, exclusive to Free Comic Book Day 2019!

Before Sony’s live-action BLOODSHOT blockbuster film takes movie theaters around the globe by storm in 2020, discover a breathtaking new tale of Valiant’s brutal one-man army!

Then, the 41st century dawns anew with a pulse-pounding prologue to FALLEN WORLD, a shocking new event series starring Rai—the formidable protector of a future Earth— that launches just days before Free Comic Book Day…

Look, I don’t want to sound unfair, but this free comic contained one of the better Bloodshot stories since Jeff Lemire ended his run. It didn’t have the same level of impact as Lemire’s run did, but then to compare this thirteen page story to Lemire’s run is grossly unfair. Tim Seeley did, however, give me what I have been wanting since the end of Harbinger Wars II, and that is a continuation of Bloodshot’s story and not an unnecessary retelling of his origin.

With the thirteen page Bloodshot story serving as a prelude to the upcoming series, Seeley gives us a story that has a classic framework at its core; hero saves person from thugs – but reducing it to this base level means that I’m ignoring the nuance and foreshadowing that Seeley slips into the story. After having read the prelude to the series, I’m already looking forward to seeing where the writer takes the character once Bloodshot launches later this year.

Dan Abnett‘s Fallen World preview adds an interesting angle to his upcoming miniseries (and as of the first issue, you don’t need to read the prelude to enjoy the miniseries). This story centers around two people who are members of a religious movement dedicated to worshiping Father, New Japan’s AI Overlord before the satellite city came crashing to Earth. In the short nine page tale we get a good insight into the leader of said religious order as he receives a revelation as to the nature and source of his faith. In nine pages, Abnett delivers a surprising treatise on faith and how we choose to react when that faith is challenged; do we double down or open our hearts to the possibility of change?

Both stories feature art from two of the most visually exciting artists around; Tomas Giorello and Juan Jose Ryp on the first and second story, respectively. Given that this is a free comic, one could almost have expected Valiant to give the stories to a couple of up and coming artists, and not ones of this caliber. The effect of this is that despite there being two distinct art styles within the book, they’re both wonderful to look at and each artist adds a lot to the story despite the reduced page count.

The Free Comic Book Day special also includes an interview with each writer, which serves as another way to hook you into the upcoming stories (as if the two preludes weren’t enough). If this wasn’t free, I’d tell you to go buy it.

Bloodshot Prelude
Writer: Tim Seeley Pencils: Tomas Giorello
Colours: Diego Rodriguez Letters: Dave Sharpe
Story: 8.6 Art: 8.9 Overall: 8.8
Fallen World Prelude
Writer: Dan Abnett Pencils: Juan Jose Ryp
Colours: Andrew Dalhouse Letters: Jeff Powell
Story: 8.9 Art: 8.9 Overall: 8.9
Recommendation: It’s free. Pick it up.

Valiant provided Graphic Policy with an early FREE copy for review.