Vinny’s Comic Picks of the Week!
Bloodshot Salavation #12 (Valiant Comics)
Runners Up: Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps (DC Comics), Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel Comics)
Jeff Lemire ends his epic run with Bloodshot with this week’s Bloodshot Salvation #12. Backed up on art by Doug Braithwaite, with two incredible covers from Kenneth Rocafort and Renato Guedes, Lemire shows his incredible sense of pacing, creating an issue that never stops moving through all of its pages. His run on these titles has reminded me of Ennis on Preacher, all killer-no filler. While I hate to see him leave the character, Lemire has truly created something special here and I hope his epic is recognized as one of the finest in the modern era. With the Vin Diesel Bloodshot film in production as I write, I can only hope that Valiant pushes this material to new fans and that it has had recognizable impact on the script they contributed to.
I found myself looking back on another spectacular run, as Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps ends with its fiftieth issue. Though not the most universally praised of the Rebirth titles, the book gained momentum as it ran, and the last few arcs have been something remarkable. Robert Venditti and Rafael Sandoval wrap up not only the series, but style of storytelling which has remained fairly consistent since Geoff Johns’ 2005 relaunch. Sometimes the end of something can be just as beautiful as the beginning. While thirteen years of comics is a tough thing to go back and read, if you haven’t checked out Green Lantern since then, you’ve missed what is arguably the most important eras in the character’s history. With Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp’s The Green Lantern on the horizon, I could not be more excited to see where this all goes.
Hope is reborn in Fantastic Four #1, continuing both a hot streak for Dan Slott and Marvel Comics on the whole. While this issue is not what you are most likely expecting, it is a great continuation of the work being done in Marvel Two-In-One and, well, brings some familiar elements back into play. The all-star art team of Sara Pichelli, Simone Bianchi and Skottie Young all contribute to this, which may lead you to ask how these distinct styles all work in one issue.
I’m not telling.
I will say one thing though.
*Spoiler Alert*
As hope is reborn, so is Doom.