Conflicted about Bloodshot

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nwoslave
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Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by nwoslave »

So I have about 33 books on my hold list, most are ongoing and the rest are mini series. I'm thinking of cutting some fat and Bloodshot is up for consideration.

I just don't see where it's going and if it has a destination it's taking its sweet time getting there.

I bought into the prepaid bundle but I'm willing to let it go. I'm just not feeling it like before and it would be the first title from Valiant I drop but I don't want to miss out on later issues if it gets good.

Cut or save it? Opinions.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by jmatt »

I'm enjoying it. YMMV.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by TheFerg714 »

nwoslave wrote:So I have about 33 books on my hold list, most are ongoing and the rest are mini series. I'm thinking of cutting some fat and Bloodshot is up for consideration.

I just don't see where it's going and if it has a destination it's taking its sweet time getting there.

I bought into the prepaid bundle but I'm willing to let it go. I'm just not feeling it like before and it would be the first title from Valiant I drop but I don't want to miss out on later issues if it gets good.

Cut or save it? Opinions.

Sent from my HTC U11 using Tapatalk
I'm going through the same thing man.

I was a big fan of Reborn, but the first arc of Salvation was just okay, and didn't seem to really set up anything interesting besides, "hey, look! There's two timelines!" (I did like the Rampage issue, however, even though he hasn't been utilized yet) Since then, I have not been happy with the second arc. Let's just break it down really quick.
#6- Literally all set-up.
#7- Literally nothing. Absolute zero.
#8- So Bloodshot went into the Deadside without a plan, and the only reason it worked is because he happened to run into Shadowman? That said, I am intrigued by Bloodshot's deal.
#9- I love Bloodhound, but is it really necessary to have ANOTHER break from the main story already?
#10- Oooo, and now he's in 4001!! This is starting to feel gimmicky.

I'm going to buy #9 and 10, but it's up in the air for me. Now that I'm not necessarily "loyal" to Valiant, I have no problem dropping books that I'm not liking. Before, I would give them a few issue buffers before calling it, but I'm just not feeling that kind anymore. For reference, I started with Rai in May 2014, and the only books I've dropped from VEI were Dead Drop (at #3), A+A (#6), Gen. Zero (#6), Renegade (#7, I actually liked it well enough, but didn't want to support), Unity (#21), Dr. Mirage: Second Lives (#3), and Days of Steel (#2).

More than anything, I just think Bloodshot might need a new writer and a new direction. I'm kind of tired of Lemire's solemn and melodramatic take on the character. I'd like to see a shift toward a more action/gunplay-oriented focus.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by slack »

You should probably drop something you haven't pre-ordered. You're screwing over your LCS if you drop a pre-order... They're stuck having to order them for you, you should be stuck buying them.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by Sunlight on Snow »

Jeff Lemire's Bloodshot has been my favorite ongoing series since The Valiant. I'm still enjoying Salvation and think it's just about to get really exciting. Ray meeting his future clone was first teased or hinted at in last year's FCBD edition and then reconfirmed in BSS #3 when Ray told Magic he's trapped in 4002. Now we're finally getting there. I also like the little twist that Jessie entered the Deadside as a baby and returned much older meaning the "soon" timeline isn't really so far away.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by nonplayer »

I was very disapointed when valiant started making comics that wernt my cup of tea.
I am a loyal valiant fan but for a wile now I havent liked what's on the big V plate. Now that DMG is running the Valiant charaters it's gotten really easy to not feel guilty about supporting them. I only get bloodshot and Xo and thoes are full runs so I wont bail just because a few issues are lame.
Collecting comics for me is like a relationship not every day is going to be perfect but the love is still there for me so I will continue collecting bloodshot an xo and following valiant till either they release some comics I am interested in or they screw the pooch so bad I leave for good which I dont see happening.
I Miss the good old days.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by TheFerg714 »

nonplayer wrote:I was very disapointed when valiant started making comics that wernt my cup of tea.
I am a loyal valiant fan but for a wile now I havent liked what's on the big V plate. Now that DMG is running the Valiant charaters it's gotten really easy to not feel guilty about supporting them. I only get bloodshot and Xo and thoes are full runs so I wont bail just because a few issues are lame.
Collecting comics for me is like a relationship not every day is going to be perfect but the love is still there for me so I will continue collecting bloodshot an xo and following valiant till either they release some comics I am interested in or they screw the pooch so bad I leave for good which I dont see happening.
Bro, Ninja-K has been great.

nwoslave
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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by nwoslave »

slack wrote:You should probably drop something you haven't pre-ordered. You're screwing over your LCS if you drop a pre-order... They're stuck having to order them for you, you should be stuck buying them.

ill give them your condolences if and when i decide to drop a title. But dont worry too much about them im sure ill add another title i enjoy to replace it and i wont feel guilty because i give them the courtousy of at least buying that months issue. and i read 33 titles after all.


nonplayer wrote:I was very disapointed when valiant started making comics that wernt my cup of tea.
I am a loyal valiant fan but for a wile now I havent liked what's on the big V plate. Now that DMG is running the Valiant charaters it's gotten really easy to not feel guilty about supporting them. I only get bloodshot and Xo and thoes are full runs so I wont bail just because a few issues are lame.
Collecting comics for me is like a relationship not every day is going to be perfect but the love is still there for me so I will continue collecting bloodshot an xo and following valiant till either they release some comics I am interested in or they screw the pooch so bad I leave for good which I dont see happening.

It is not so much this comic is not my cup of tea its just so decompresed. The first arc ended flat. this arc is aimless. It reminds me a lot of Harbinger Renegades. Like it has no real story but its only purpose is to provide less than neccessary background on a larger story that being HW2.

TheFerg714 wrote:I'm going through the same thing man.

I was a big fan of Reborn, but the first arc of Salvation was just okay, and didn't seem to really set up anything interesting besides, "hey, look! There's two timelines!" (I did like the Rampage issue, however, even though he hasn't been utilized yet) Since then, I have not been happy with the second arc. Let's just break it down really quick.
#6- Literally all set-up.
#7- Literally nothing. Absolute zero.
#8- So Bloodshot went into the Deadside without a plan, and the only reason it worked is because he happened to run into Shadowman? That said, I am intrigued by Bloodshot's deal.
#9- I love Bloodhound, but is it really necessary to have ANOTHER break from the main story already?
#10- Oooo, and now he's in 4001!! This is starting to feel gimmicky.

that pretty much sums up how i feel. id say issues 1-5 were a big fat nothing burger.

the only saving grace is 4001. if its still meh im dropping it.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by IMJ »

I think that for me, the original appeal of Valiant was the incredible connectivity of the Universe during a time when their Universe was fresh and the coming together of Unity was a truly culminating event. There hasn't been much of that for me in the new Universe, although I will say that many of the stories of the new V read great in the deluxe editions, for me things mostly fell apart when I started to view them as a mini-series publisher, publishing stories with angles on the characters that I didn't find appealing.

If the new V had maintained a steady publishing line with some kind of continuity plan, I might've held on longer myself.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by Ryan »

Ok so I haven't been following this series closely, but I picked up the new issue (#9) and it's literally a story about dogs in WWII. huh? I really want to like the new Valiant, but this kind of stuff makes it hard. Is it too much to ask for a Bloodshot story when I buy a Bloodshot comic?

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by greg »

Ryan wrote:Ok so I haven't been following this series closely, but I picked up the new issue (#9) and it's literally a story about dogs in WWII. huh? I really want to like the new Valiant, but this kind of stuff makes it hard. Is it too much to ask for a Bloodshot story when I buy a Bloodshot comic?
It was a World War I story about early attempts at Bloodshot technology tested on dogs a hundred years ago during wartime.

That's not a "Ray is Bloodshot today but can't remember his past" story (repeating dozens of other issues), but it is a Bloodshot program origin chapter (expanding two or three other origin issue stories).

I guess I'm the opposite. I'm pretty tired of issues and arcs of Ray saying: "I don't remember who I am" followed by someone saying "I will help you find out" followed by Ray killing other character extras we don't know, followed by Ray having the chance to find out more about his past, followed by Ray saying "nah, don't tell me".

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by Ryan »

greg wrote:It was a World War I story about early attempts at Bloodshot technology tested on dogs a hundred years ago during wartime.

That's not a "Ray is Bloodshot today but can't remember his past" story (repeating dozens of other issues), but it is a Bloodshot program origin chapter (expanding two or three other origin issue stories).

I guess I'm the opposite. I'm pretty tired of issues and arcs of Ray saying: "I don't remember who I am" followed by someone saying "I will help you find out" followed by Ray killing other character extras we don't know, followed by Ray having the chance to find out more about his past, followed by Ray saying "nah, don't tell me".
I acknowledge that randomly trying to read issue 9 of a series is asking for confusion these days, and I appreciate the explanation about where this fits in with the larger story.

However I think if they sell single issues as their own unit, they have to realize some people will read them casually and there's a risk in doing experimental stories in a book called Bloodshot.

I'm certainly not arguing for boring or repetitive stories. There's a lot of ways to do action drama that don't involve flogging the same horse repeatedly. How many Jason Bourne novels have been written? All of them have basically the same premise, but the story also has to move and stay fresh. If you pick up any Bourne book, you'll probably get a satisfying action/spy thriller, they won't be like 'we did that before, so here's a story about Bourne's dog'.

I'm being extreme to make a point, I get that Bloodshot 9 is just one chapter of the story. What I'm saying is that a Bloodshot comic on the stands carries audience expectations, in the same that a Bourne book does. I'm glad there are still Bloodshot comics on the stands though! Appreciate the discussion :thumb:

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by TheFerg714 »

Ryan wrote:Ok so I haven't been following this series closely, but I picked up the new issue (#9) and it's literally a story about dogs in WWII. huh? I really want to like the new Valiant, but this kind of stuff makes it hard. Is it too much to ask for a Bloodshot story when I buy a Bloodshot comic?
I'm kind of annoyed by Bloodshot taking way too many breaks from the main story, especially when the ongoing story is moving so slowly(/pointlessly), but dude, it was the Bloodhound origin issue. I'm sorry you didn't get what you wanted, but the cover literally has Bloodhound attacking someone in a trench. Wtf did you expect? :?

Bottom line: there's nothing wrong with taking a break from the main story to tell an origin story for a side character, especially an awesome one like Bloodhound. Really not sure why you're letting this one issue paint your perspective of Valiant as a whole. It's very simple for you to just go find the #1, instead of picking some random issue off the shelf and being upset because it wasn't what you were expecting.
Ryan wrote:I acknowledge that randomly trying to read issue 9 of a series is asking for confusion these days, and I appreciate the explanation about where this fits in with the larger story.
I don't know how that wasn't clear just by reading the issue... facepalm
What I'm saying is that a Bloodshot comic on the stands carries audience expectations, in the same that a Bourne book does.
X-O's Anniversary issue was specifically about Shanhara. Would you have been upset at that too? Similarly, Ninja-K #4 was about Ninja-G and X-O #10 was about the bounty hunters. Are these issues somehow a problem for you?

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by Ryan »

TheFerg714 wrote: I'm kind of annoyed by Bloodshot taking way too many breaks from the main story, especially when the ongoing story is moving so slowly(/pointlessly), but dude, it was the Bloodhound origin issue. I'm sorry you didn't get what you wanted, but the cover literally has Bloodhound attacking someone in a trench. Wtf did you expect? :?

Bottom line: there's nothing wrong with taking a break from the main story to tell an origin story for a side character, especially an awesome one like Bloodhound. Really not sure why you're letting this one issue paint your perspective of Valiant as a whole. It's very simple for you to just go find the #1, instead of picking some random issue off the shelf and being upset because it wasn't what you were expecting.
Just because a dog is on the cover doesn't lead me to conclude that the entire issue is about the dog. If the issue had been labeled and sold as a Bloodhound one shot, I wouldn't have given it a second look. Since I haven't read a lot of comics the last few years, I'm looking at these books more from the perspective of a casual reader. I admit I'm focusing more on things I see as flaws and trying to offer constructive criticism from my perspective.
X-O's Anniversary issue was specifically about Shanhara. Would you have been upset at that too? Similarly, Ninja-K #4 was about Ninja-G and X-O #10 was about the bounty hunters. Are these issues somehow a problem for you?
Even though I haven't read those issues, I would probably have a problem with them too. With few rare exceptions, I think the title character should be the main character of the book.

I can appreciate thinking outside of the box and trying to do things in a new way but I don't personally like spending a whole issue with a side character. Every work of fiction needs a protagonist that the reader experiences the story through. If thats missing I feel kind of let down somehow. It hurts the flow cause you lose that connection. I think it would work better for me if the side characters stories could be woven within the larger main character storyline.

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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by agent_graves »

TheFerg714 wrote:More than anything, I just think Bloodshot might need a new writer and a new direction. I'm kind of tired of Lemire's solemn and melodramatic take on the character. I'd like to see a shift toward a more action/gunplay-oriented focus.
Agreed! I’m reading Bloodshot because Lemire is writing it, but I’ve been losing interest as of late... :?
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Re: Conflicted about Bloodshot

Post by grendeljd »

agent_graves wrote:
TheFerg714 wrote:More than anything, I just think Bloodshot might need a new writer and a new direction. I'm kind of tired of Lemire's solemn and melodramatic take on the character. I'd like to see a shift toward a more action/gunplay-oriented focus.
Agreed! I’m reading Bloodshot because Lemire is writing it, but I’ve been losing interest as of late... :?
Yeah - while I think Lemire has done a great job fleshing out & stretching the mythos of Bloodshot in new ways that add some great depth to him, I would also like to see a shift back towards more action & adventure stories. Not so much that we lose or ignore the character depth that has been built, but less of a focus on this extreme "reluctant hero" angle.

I think his attempts to forget who he is & be a family man have made for some great stories, but now that his kid has been force aged to a point where she can end up being a kind of sidekick involved in his life rather than a helpless infant, there's some potential for some really good action stories again. We've had a lengthy taste of him having a big reason to stay out of action, now might be the time to re-introduce a good reason to keep him back in action.
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