Bloodshot #7 kicks off an action-packed story that basically unleashes hell on Earth as Bloodshot must hunt down monsters, living weapons, and other threats after they’re set loose from a top-secret facility. Written by Tim Seeley, Bloodshot #7 features pencils and inks by Marc Laming and he’ll provide the same for Bloodshot #9, the final chapter of the storyline. A new “Fully Loaded Edition” is on sale August 12 and features 8 bonus pages of content including an interview with co-creator Kevin VanHook.

Marc Laming is a British born artist who has worked on a plethora of characters ranging from Judge Dredd to the Incredible Hulk over a career spanning three decades.

We got a chance to ask Marc a few questions via email about his work on Bloodshot #7 and #9.

Graphic Policy: Hi Marc! How’s tricks?

Marc Laming: Good thank you, I’m keeping good and busy during these difficult times.

GP: With Bloodshot, you’re both pencilling and inking the book. Do you approach the art differently when doing both verses when just penciling?

ML: I haven’t just pencilled a book since the early 2000s when I was working for DC/Vertigo. Since then the market has tended to prefer hiring artists that are self-contained units and I had to learn really quickly to ink my own work so I was happy with the results.

GP: You’ve drawn a large variety of characters over your career. How does drawing Bloodshot differ from others you’ve drawn?

ML: Bloodshot gives you the opportunity to draw so many different things! It covers the obvious action and adventure but there are sci-fi elements across all of the Valiant universe that make it loads of fun and Bloodshot being a very different kind of hero allows for quiet more personal moments too.

GP: Can you take us through your process when you take on a new character?

ML: The writer’s script and the story’s requirements come first and then it is a question of deciding if they are larger than life or something more real world based. Then it is just a question of doing some research based on the script and starting to draw character sheets in my sketch books and on the Cintiq until we are all happy with the look of the new character.

GP: We’ve seen with other artists and publishers that a film can influence the look of a character or comic. Has that factored in at all?

ML: It depends on the project but on Bloodshot I was taking much more inspiration from the incredible work done on the series by artists such as Lewis Larosa, Brett Booth, Paolo Rivera and Dougie Braithwaite than I did on the movie spectacular as it is. 

GP: With Bloodshot #7, you were able to add a lot of nuance to an action packed story by way of Bloodshot and Eidolin’s expressions and body language. I might have forgotten my question… Oh – when it comes to the visual storytelling, do you prefer the subtle moments or the big bombastic ones? 

ML: I like them both but those quiet more tender moments really allow you to put all the emphasis on character and acting in the drawing.

GP: When it comes to drawing locations you may or may not have visited, do you use a lot of visual reference or just kinda wing it?

ML: I use probably much more reference than I really need – In issue nine for example all the buildings and streets in the Russian city are real and you could visit them if you went there. The same of course is true of the London locations including the sewers which were fully researched too!

GP: You’ve worked on Ninjak (with Eternal Warrior) and Archer & Armstrong in the past; what other Valiant character would you like to get your hands on?

ML: I’d love to do a historical Eternal Warrior story and I love the characters from Divinity so any of those would be great to work on in future, oh and Livewire.

GP: What have you got in store for us in the near future after Bloodshot #9? Anything that you can tell us?

ML: I’m currently working on a large graphic novel but that’s all I can say about that right now, but I’m sure I will be shouting about it on my social media soon.

GP: Thank you very much for your time!

Check out an early look at Bloodshot #9!