Advanced Review: Bloodshot Salvation #7

Bloodshot Salvation #7
Writer and Artist: Jeff Lemire
Publisher: Valiant

A review by Josh Rose

Welcome to the Deadside!

Ray Garrison, aka Bloodshot, is on a mission to save his daughter Jessie. She has an infection from the very nanites that give Bloodshot his powers. So Bloodshot and his dog Bloodhound are taking Jessie into the Deadside hoping there may be a cure in Valiant’s version of the underworld. But here’s the twist and really unique thing about Bloodshot Salvation #7: Bloodshot is blind and everything is black. And I mean everything!

John Byrne did something similar with an issue of Alpha Flight, having the Canadian super team fight a snow monster in a completely white issue. Jeff Lemire takes that concept and does his own thing, but instead of it being all white, this time it’s all black except for the final page. White lines are used, not only to show where the panels are, but to also show some of the obstacles Bloodshot comes across. He lays out the panels in a way that makes it easy to know which text to read next. Otherwise your imagination does most of the heavy lifting. There is one instance where Lemire uses the white lines to draw the shape of something big with wings, but if you were blind with years of experience you would only be able to picture the shape of it.

Lemire does a fantastic job pacing the story, and making sure we feel the same anxieties that Bloodshot would as a father, coupled with the loss of his vision. He returns things back to the status quo at the end, restoring his sight.

The Verdict: Check It Out!
I can’t see people wanting to pay $4 for a book that almost completely black with little actual art in it. But Lemire does do what he set out to do: Shake things up for himself and the reader. Bloodshot Salvation #7 is very interesting due to its execution.

Bloodshot Salvation #7 is out on March 7, 2018.