Building My Own Trade...With Trades #2

Bloodshot Vol 1-3  (Valiant)
By: Duane Swierczynski, Manuel Garcia, Arturo Lozzi

and Harbinger Wars Vol 1
By: Joshua Dysart, Duane Swierczynski, Clayton Henry, Clayton Crain

I love two things (aside from my family and other normal things to love):
1. Humblebundle.com
2. Comic Book Movies

It doesn't matter how good or bad the movie is, it's the kind of cinematic escapism I need from any sort of movie that may be related to history or politics (which my wife loves, but feels too much like "work" to me).  In seeing the preview for Bloodshot when we went to see 1917, I was excited, because I was loosely familiar with the premise and knew it gave me something new to read.  Thus, my love of Humble Bundle pays off, because they currently have a Bloodshot bundle, and I have all three of the digital trades at my fingertips before the movie comes out!

Of all of the crazy sci-fi technology that truly causes peak anxiety, nanotechnology is one of those things that really gets to me, which makes this an odd universe for me to dive into, but the story (like the potential for nanobots) fully consumed me, or as was noted in the first trade "We are having a grey goo moment." Volume 1 does an excellent job introducing us to Bloodshot, his golden nanobots which repair him, and some of the goals of Project Rising Spirit.  I really like the plot device of using Bloodshot's desire to protect his family as a means for packing his brain with false memories to motivate him to kill.

Volume 2 is where we meet several other young Psiots who are held by PRS, and as Bloodshot is fighting his way through the stronghold, you get background on some of the psychological trauma some of these folks have undergone (especially in the final 2 books, as Bloodshot is saving them thinking he is the Boogeyman).  It is also interesting watching some of these children take ownership of their powers to take down the sadistic Grammy.

Harbinger wars was an interesting all-out assault on Vegas watching three to four different groups really fight for their freedom, or for their greater masters.  Also watching Bloodshot through the back end in a state of half-headedness was satisfying in its own grotesque way.  Seeing the rise of Harada also gives an interesting new arc as PRS is being torn apart both literally and figuratively post-Vegas incident. Can I also note that the power of the young woman to turn into animals is awesome, especially since she has only seen animals in children's books?  It adds a quite humorous moment to a carnage-heavy battle.

In Volume 3, you see all of the liberated children start to coalesce behind Bloodshot as their new leader, which was a quick turn since they feared him and then put themselves on the line for him in the PRS escape battle. One of my favorite moments from this volume is seeing the Harada Protocol become enacted by conversation in Bloodshot's head, it was fun seeing what sparked the Madness from Harbinger Wars. Really all of the panels that give insight to the goings on in Bloodshot's head are what made this fascinating.

What should you do? If you are looking for a new (old) world to re-immerse yourself into the bloodshot cluster of stories are quite amazing, especially with the movie coming out soon, and the fact that you can pick up 20+ books on humble bundle in the for the next couple of days.  I'm going to keep flying through these, because the storyline keeps taking unpredictable turns, and the art is fascinating for all of the gore, there is a lot of exciting battle detail, and other nuggets you discover as the children use their powers!