REVIEW: Bloodshot, Volume Two: The Rise and the Fall

PLOT: Bloodshot is finally free of the memories that have haunted him since his awakening - but now even greater mysteries remain. Who was he before he was transformed into a walking weapon? And just what purpose did he serve for Project Rising Spirit? Now, a rogue PRS scientist has told Bloodshot the location of the answers he needs - and they're buried deep within an off-the-grid, savagely fortified black site that will rain hellfire down upon anyone who dares trespass. And, once he's inside, he may just discover that he's not the only indestructible killing machine PRS ever dreamed into the world... What is Project Rising Spirit's true function in the Valiant Universe? Who will answer for their crimes? And what darker secrets yet await in the recesses of their classified compound?

REVIEW: This volume of Bloodshot furthers the tie into Harbinger which makes me really happy and now I'm super excited for Harbinger Wars. Again our new dark hero Bloodshot dismantles his enemies piece by piece with a powerful body that's merely at half capacity for nearly the whole volume. I particularly love this series over the others in Valiant because it's a lot darker than the rest of them. It's a dark hero who reminds of someone like The Punisher or Deadpool. The fact that the story is tying into that of Harbinger and will likely turn into an insanely awesome crossover event, definitely makes it even cooler to me. Blood is in the title of the comic, and there is definitely no shortage of the real thing on the pages. Most of the comics on Valiant are somewhat violent, but this one is above and beyond the rest. I'm really loving all of these Valiant heroes and the more and more I read I'm discovering that they are all vital pieces to the Valiant universe and each plays their own role. One of the villains in this volume is called Gamma and it's not because of radiation, but she's like a giant grandma that feeds off the fears of children, in this case, psiot children. It's actually a pretty good villain and though it's a bit comical, I really enjoyed it. Any adult comic that can validate the existence of an evil grandma villain, has to be good. Also, the art again is absolutely phenomenal and draws one into the story so easily.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Harbinger, Volume Two: Renegades

PLOT: Led by omega-powered psionic Toyo Harada, the Harbinger Foundation is a secret organization that has controlled and subverted the course of recent history. With a secret army of psychic soldiers at his command, no one has dared defy Toyo Harada's plans for the human race - until now! Harada's most powerful student, Peter Stanchek, has discovered the true nature of the Harbinger Foundation and he will stop at nothing to prevent Harada's vision from coming to pass. With a classified list of Harada's next recruits in hand, it falls to Peter to draft the next generation of empowered youth and form the frontline in humanity's resistance to the Harbinger Foundation. Peter. Kris. Zephyr. Flamingo. Torque. Their fight for the future comes out of the shadows and into the Valiant Universe when "Renegades" begins.

REVIEW: Another Valiant comic and another valiant entry. Harbinger is definitely one of the best superhero titles currently running, and I'm a big fan of a lot of the New 52. Valiant knows what they are doing with their characters, and Harbinger is just so awesome. I remembered really liking the first volume I read and I couldn't really remember why when diving into this second volume. As the story went on it became clear to me again why this is such a great series, and it's because the characters are so great. Peter is a great hero even though he plays by his own rules, and his new group of recently activated psiots are all awesome and have their own abilities and unique personalities. I can't say there's a single character in this book I don't like, and the powers just all make sense for their individual lives. Seeing all of these heroes together is so cool, and it makes a reader like me really want to see where this Harbinger storyline can go. The other great thing about these Valiant comics is that they are considerably adult, but still tasteful and really great reads. If you haven't gotten into the new Valiant comics, you should go out and do yourself a favor. Too awesome to miss out on right now.

WRITING : ( 9 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: X-O Manowar, Volume Two: Enter Ninjak

PLOT: Agents of the alien race known as The Vine have been living in secret among us for centuries, and now they've just been activated for one final mission - purge the Earth of all human life! An invasion fleet is on its way and the only weapon in existence powerful enough to defeat it is the X-O Manowar armor. To pinpoint The Vine's weaknesses, Aric will need to enlist the help of the master weapons specialist charged with taking him down - the feared and formidable Ninjak. But, first, Aric will have to convince him that his masters in British Intelligence have sold humanity into the hands of the enemy...

REVIEW: I read the first volume of X-O Manowar right before I started reviewing books on here, but I looked it up on my Goodreads account to see what I had said about it to maybe flesh out my thoughts here. Unfortunately for you, and for me, all I had to say about X-O Manowar, Volume One: By The Sword was "Space and I just never get along..." with a 3-star rating. I have to say that I had forgetten that I didn't like the first volume so much, because this volume was really cool. I have been very pleased with the series coming from Valiant comics recently that we're getting in at my library. Stuff like Harbinger and Bloodshot have been awesome, and there's still a few more I haven't read the first volumes for. What these books have is really great action in terms of multiple panels without dialogue and fights that destroy faces and produce blood. I love some adult violence in my comic books from time to time, so it's really nice to see that with a simple enough story to get into. This volume was a little more entertaining than its predecessor and I think it was because there were enemies after the armor and main character, as opposed to the first one only being about the journey of our main character and the armor choosing him, along with his eventual escape. I'd recommend any of the Valiant comics to any readers of adult graphic novels, and X-O Manowar is probably the strongest entry for sci-fi/fantasy.

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 6 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 7 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

REVIEW: Bloodshot, Volume One: Setting the World on Fire

PLOT: Your name is Angelo Mortalli. Your brother is trapped behind enemy lines and on the verge of - no. That's not right. Your name is Raymond Garrison. You've retired from the dangers of the field, but a desperate plea from your oldest friend plunges you into a vicious firefight that - no. That's not right, either. You are Bloodshot. You are the shade of gray that freedom requires. The perfect confluence of military necessity and cutting-edge technology. A walking WikiLeaks. A reservoir of dirty secrets that could set the world on fire. And you've just been captured!

REVIEW: Never before had I heard of the character Bloodshot, but you can imagine by the cover above I had to pick it up and at least see what it was about. I have to say I was quite surprised with how awesome this was. I reviewed the first volume of Harbinger a couple weeks back (also new from Valiant), and said how that was surprisingly good as well. Where that one has the goods, this one has all the same elements but maybe a notch up higher on the scale. Bloodshot is a straight up bad ass, and when he finds out that all he's been fighting for what was merely a dream, he lets loose on anyone who stands in his path to redemption. I particularly loved the cells where Bloodshot had been shot or injured, and he was regenerating and bringing himself back to live. Just truly cool, hard adult violence in the comic and I always love to see that. I cannot wait to see what a second volume has in store, and the covers for the issues in here were amazing. I would definitely recommend Bloodshot to any fans of action, science fiction, both, or blood, because this comic has it all.

WRITING : ( 8 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 9 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 10 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 10 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 9 / 10 )

REVIEW: Harbinger, Volume One: Omega Rising

PLOT: Super-powered teenager Peter Stanchek is on a dangerous path. Skipping across the country in a desperate attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities, Peter is quickly realizing that he's a psionically-charged "harbinger" with the potential to reshape the course of human history. But Peter's plight has not gone unnoticed. Respected philanthropist and fellow harbinger, Toyo Harada, is about to offer Peter the chance at the things for which the boy has always longed - family, inner peace, self-control - and induct him into the sprawling, secret network of conspiracy and subversion known as the Harbinger Foundation. Now, Peter begins his long road towards a destiny that will shake the very foundations of the Valiant Universe. His first lesson? All power comes with a price!

REVIEW: This was a pretty bad ass little read. Lots of different cool superpowers at play, and a cool but uncompromising hero. After reading this volume, I'm much more excited for the potential of the story. The illustration is also great, very easy to look at. Often times with lesser known comics, it's the art that can throw someone off of a good story. This series does a great job of keeping the reader entertained visually while they're learning a whole new world and its characters.

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 8 / 10 )

STORY : ( 7 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 7 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 7 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )