Bloodshot is getting reloaded in a big way. The unstoppable machine-man assassin is on his way to the big screen for the first time next February with star Vin Diesel and Sony’s bid to start a new superhero universe with the characters of Valiant Comics. And then there’s the news today out of Emerald City Comic-Con in Seattle that Valiant will roll out a new upgraded Bloodshot series launching in September.

Valiant has brought in writer Tim Seely (Revival, Hack/Slash) and artist Brett Booth (Teen Titans, Batman Beyond) for the series that will seek shelf synergy with the ramping feature film. The covers will be illustrated by Declan Shalvey (Return of Wolverine, Luke Cage). Then a trade paperback collecting the first three monthly issues arrives in December. Below, you’ll find an exclusive preview of Booth’s highly polished artwork from the project.

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Also on the way from Valiant: a special Bloodshot adventure (written by Seeley, art by Tomás Giorello) as the company’s giveaway for Free Comic Book Day 2019. Expect to hear a lot more about it today with Seeley’s appearance at Emerald City Comic Con.

Seeley got his start in comics a decade and a half ago as an artist and then writer on G.I. Joe for Image Comics and Devil’s Due Comics. That experience shares some commando sensibilities with Bloodshot’s super-soldier backstory.

Seeley was also the writer of the inventive Hack/Slash series (about a female protagonist who hunts down the slasher killers who prey on teens) and his other credits include Grayson and Batman Eternal for DC as well as Age of X-Man: Apocalypse and the X-Tracts for Marvel Comics.

Seeley views his Bloodshot mission as keeping faithful to the brand’s trademark of epic mayhem. He also reconnects to the First Blood-like themes of exploited soldiers who change their own marching orders.

“I don’t feel like I need to reinvent the wheel with Bloodshot,” Seeley said. “What I need to do is tell a big, crazy story that can only be done in comics, and I need it to be powerful and emotional and relevant in a way only comics can do. I want to go back to basics and tell a story about a guy who was made to be a weapon but isn’t allowing anyone to use him ever again. He’s an outcast, an outsider, and he can’t help but use his indestructible body to help people, even though all it ever does is get him in trouble. With great power comes a great big pile of shell casings!”

The Valiant team are hoping to capitalize on the film adaptation that is aiming for an intense franchise that’s hard-wired for intense sci-fi action along the lines of Total Recall or Robocop. The character Bloodshot was created by Bob Layton and Kevin VanHook.

Sony Pictures’ Bloodshot film is set to debut in theaters on Feb. 21, 2020, and stars Vin Diesel, Eiza González, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell, Guy Pearce, and Lamorne Morris. It is directed by Dave Wilson and written by Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer. The project is produced by Neal Moritz and Toby Jaffe of Original Film along with Dinesh Shamdasani, and Vin Diesel, and executive produced by Dan Mintz, Founder of DMG Entertainment, along with Louis G. Friedman, Yu Dong, Jeffrey Chan, Rita LeBlanc, Buddy Patrick, and Matthew Vaughn.

Below, two pages of interior art by Booth (inks by Adelso Corona, and colors by Andrew Dalhouse) from the new Bloodshot adventures from Valiant Comics. Also, a new promo image that will be unveiled today at Emerald City Comic-Con.

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