Comics
Review: ‘Bloodshot’ #8
Bloodshot is a series that has been building some momentum over the past couple of issues and issue #8 delivers the kill shot. Overall “Bloodshot” has been good, but it’s been missing that one element that transforms it into a great book that immediately jumps to the top of everyone’s read pile. With this issue they’ve found the missing puzzle piece as the creative team comes together and fires on all cylinders.
WRITTEN BY: Duane Swierczynski
ART BY: Manuel Garcia & Matt Ryan
PUBLISHER: Valiant
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: February 13th, 2013
In the last issue readers learned that in Bloodshot’s past he has been used as a harbinger hunter to captures psiots for Project Rising Spirit’s experiments. Now Bloodshot is caught between a group of misfit killers known as Team CHAINSAW that want him dead, and the harbinger children that he imprisoned for Project Rising Spirit. The issue is full of nail biting action, mixed with tons of intensity, intrigue and mystery.
Writer Duane Swierczynski has been bringing “Bloodshot” to a boil and he now seems to have found his groove. There have been a few blanks fired along the way with this series, but Swierczynski has finally found his mark and is hitting the target dead on in consecutive issues. The cliffhanger endings have been enough to keep readers interest piqued enough to come back each month, but the series is finally starting to pay off as all the plot lines are beginning to come together to form one cohesive narrative. Each issue has revealed more of the mystery surrounding Bloodshot’s past with every issue and it will be interesting to see how it develops further with the impending Harbinger Wars crossover looming on the horizon.
The art by Manuel Garcia truly steals the spotlight in this issue. Previously the artistic duties on this book were shared with Artuor Lozzi and the pair split the book down the middle with Garcia handling present day scenes and Lozzi doing the flashback sequences. Lozzi’s slick style is some of drastic change to Garcia’s gritty line work and the switching back and forth between the two had a tendency to take the reader out of the story. The dual artists on the same book made it disjointed at times, but with this issue Garcia takes center stage and turns out a performance worthy of a standing ovation. His line work is intensely detailed, he delivers some pulse pounding action sequences, and his double page spread in this issue is simply gorgeous. Garcia’s best panel of the entire issue is a particularly gory scene where Bloodshot performs a Mortal Kombat style execution on one of his enemies and it looks simply awesome.
These last few issues of “Bloodshot” have really ramped up the action and intensity, which has taken this book to a new level. This issue is another strong showing that continues to show that Valiant is focused on putting out quality books rather than flooding store shelves.
4/5 Skulls
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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