Armor Hunters: Bloodshot #3 review

I had high hopes for this miniseries, thanks to the amazing creative team, and a strong first issue. The second issue let me down and became one of the lowest rated books since I started this site. How will the conclusion to this miniseries do? Read on for my review.

The story

The final issue of the miniseries picks up right where the last left off – with Bloodshot on the hunt for Malgam inside the M.E.R.O. base. The beginning of the book has a very cinematic feel with counts of Malgam’s heartbeat as he is being chased by Bloodshot. A fight ensues leaving Bloodshot trapped in rubble and Malgam finding a Vine ship which M.E.R.O. has stashed in a secret underground bunker. As he tries to escape, Bloodshot makes use of his nanite abilities to take control of the base’s system, shut down Malgam’s escape route, and trap Malgam in a force field created by routing the base’s electrical systems to the energy shields aboard the Vine ship.

While not perfect, this issue was much better than the last. Harris’ use of Livewire made sense for the story, though being a big Livewire fan I am always eager to see her used more. The action was much more subdued this issue, which was a nice change of pace from the constant barrage of action we’ve seen over the series.

I really enjoyed how Harris worked Vine technology into the story even if it was only for a brief section and even if it felt slightly like a plot device to once more contain Malgam. We haven’t seen any mention of the Vine throughout Armor Hunters which is rather a shame, so points to Harris for the nod.

Overall, the issue wraps Armor Hunters: Bloodshot up nicely and ended as expected. I look forward to seeing more of Harris’ work in the future, though I hope he’s given more time to develop his characters, especially one as important to the Valiant universe as Bloodshot.

The art

Hairsine’s work last issue left a lot to be desired but his art in this issue was a step in the right direction. There are still a couple of panels that lack any type of detail, but his gritty panels and simple line work looked much more finished this time around. The standout part of the artistic team still remains David Baron’s color work which has remained top notch throughout the miniseries.

Overall

For fans of Bloodshot, this will be an enjoyable issue. With a tighter story and better artwork than last issue, I was able to forgive some of the books weak points, but don’t expect a standout book.

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Issue information

Written by Joe Harris
Art by Trevor Hairsine
Covers by Phillip Tan and Riley Rossmo
Price: $3.99
Release date: September 17, 2014