Bloodshot’s time in H.A.R.D. Corps comes to an end in a dramatic fashion in this issue. The run has taken the strange team up in several directions, including the murder of Genius last issue which led to the entire team hunting Bloodshot for revenge and recontainment.
H.A.R.D. Corps has, in the meantime, emerged as as nasty an organization as you’ll likely to see, but over the run of the comic. As is to be expected from Bloodshot, the comic is violent, with lives and limbs at stake throughout the battle. Dysart and Gage have added more layers to the H.A.R.D. Corps side of things as well, making parting from the team difficult; they’ve left plenty of room for further development and division inside the ranks, even as Bloodshot is no longer a part of things. In a world of nuance and change, for example, Kozol remains a constant evil. What, if anything, will be done to or about him and his plans is up in the air. Palmer can no longer tell himself that he is working on the side of the angels, but there does remain the little difficulty of the implants.
Barrionuevo’s art captures each team-member’s idiosyncrasies and individual style. Flatline, for example, is still fairly naïve and her innocence contrasts with Palmer’s hardened soldier look. Both again differ from the boardroom members questioning Kozol about his decisions and plans; they are not field folk. This is less nuanced than usual for the tale, but it does make for an effective contrast. Even the unnamed soldiers in the background are differentiated.
Folks who have been following Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps from the beginning won’t want to miss this finish.
Writer: Joshua Dysart & Christos Gage
Artist: Al Barrionuevo
Colors: Matt Milla with Allen Passalaqua
Letters: Dave Sharpe
Cover Artist: Al Barrionuevo, Pere Perez
