Valiant's Bloodshotreturns after a brief hiatus with the fully reloaded issue #7 which is jam-packed with extras. That issue is the beginning of the newest arcnamed "Burned" arc, which follows theunkillable hero facing some overwhelming threats. Bloodshot joins forces with an agency known as The Burned in order to rescue Mina Nez, who was forced to work for the Black Bar for some time. The rescue is the easy part; what lies ahead, maybe something not even Bloodshot can stop.

CBR spoke with writer Tim Seeley, who's been writing the newest iteration of Bloodshot since it's recent relaunch, to chat about his take on the titular hero, the brief hiatus between issues, and who'd he like to see Bloodshot crossover with.

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CBR: Your work has often taken superheroes and approached them from unusual genre angles; neither Grayson nor Shattershot is a typical superhero fare, and Extracts was in part examining the idea of the superhero. What other genres matter for Bloodshot, and what do you think the series has to say about superheroes?

Tim Seeley:For my take on Bloodshot, I think I definitely dove back into the creation of Bloodshot. I think he's alwaysbeen a sort of Frankenstein's monster. You know, he's an experiment in immortality essentially. Someone who didn't ask to be brought back, which is very much Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. So I picked up a lot of those elements and I'm obviously kind of familiar with horror. So it was an easy angle for me to kind of use as an inspiration for the storyline.

It's also very much an action movie sort of genre. There'sno doubt about it that when you're reading Bloodshot it looks like you're seeing the movie. You can see the elements of the actionmovies of the '80s and '90s where it's sort of the essential hero against overwhelming odds that sometimes ends with that Schwarzenegger style movie rescue.

Issue #7 of Bloodshot ends with a pretty big cliffhanger ending. How was it having to sit for five months waiting for Issue #8 to finally come out?

Not ideal, especially since you knowthat Issue #7was supposed to come out,and then the movie was supposed to be released. It's was supposed to be welcomed by a waiting world with open arms and everybody was excited. And then, of course, it was released the same weekend where things started closing down because the international worldwide pandemic was occurring. So obviously best-laid plans of mice and men and all of that...

I think Valiant did the bestto try and roll with the punches. Having that gap between the two issues where there was not intended to be a gap left readers salivating and waiting for the next part of the story. They'll jump right back in when we will come back out withthe sort of remixed edition to remindeveryone of what happened in Issue #7 and then it will fall in line on a regular schedule.

Do you think Bloodshot is actually being selfish for trying to atone for the bad that he's done when just existing is such a danger to the rest of the world?

Yeah, I think that's my take on the character. I think, to some degree, the character is consumed by this idea that he needs to make up for what was done to him. But also maybe this ishis unwillingness to admit that those people aren't able to control him. I think that he really is defined by a desire to have his own will and even though it keeps going against him, he really that's what he exists for. He has to prove himself so that he can make his own decisions.

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With big changes occurring at the end of Issue #7 with The Burned and a vault full of monsters now on the loose. Is the tone for the story going to change overall as Bloodshot is now up against Godzilla-sized foes?

No, it doesn't really change the tone of the book. I mean, obviously, you know, that's a big crazy moment. But my take on it is that it's still an action story, and we have to up the stakes to up the danger. He's a guy who can't die of traditional means. So him getting stomped on by Godzilla isn't going to kill him. But the danger obviously is now all these things are spilling out into the worldso he has to try and stopthem before they can destroy other people's lives. We still treat it the same even though he is up against this immense force, but the difference is he can keep going until he's paste. But it's still really about his relationship with Nix and his relationship with Eidolon and those sorts of connections that he's made. That's what the real story is. It's just the amount of mayhem that we put him through that changes.

How does writing in the Valiant Universe differ from those of Marvel or DC where you've also written?

I kind of think the Valiant Universe is a bit more cynical universe to some degree because it was founded in the 90s. Theres a desire for readers to see that its a little bit more grounded. The Valiant Universe tends to mean that these are characters are coming from an understanding the government doesn't always have our best interests in mind. Or that giant corporations aren't trying to save us either but just looking to make their money. There's a cynicism to that because people in the '90s start to realize it, and it's carried through. I think in every iteration of theValiant Universethat there have been stories of superpowersbeing influenced by corporate interests and by the politics of governmentsfor their wars. It all kind of comes from that viewpoint.

You introduced some comic book versions of Bloodshot film characters in this year's Free Comic Book Day issue. Will they be showing up in the comic anytime soon?

Yeah, I mean, it would have rolled right into the original planwhere you would have got that issue, and then two or three weeks later, you would have gotten the story that connected to that. But obviously things changed. So those characters do show up in issue 10. Basically the segment of the story you get in the free Comic Book Day issuethat all those things it's important to the overall story and all ties in. Actually, I think some of those panels you actually get to see are drawn by Brett Booth in that issue. So it's an important piece of the puzzle and we make sure that it ties all together to the next arc.

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If you could cross over with any of the other properties you're writing right now with Bloodshot, which one would it be?

I joke that I would do Money Shots. So it would be "Blood Money Shot" or "Money Bloodshot" or "Shotshot" or whatever people want to do. But it actually makes sense that I'm writing a Crow story that shares a pretty similar audience to Bloodshot so that one would be a pretty cool mashup.

Between Bloodshot and Money Shot, what's messier?

Oh, man, I can just feel for Greg from Valiant dying sweating for what I say on this one. ButBloodshot definitely because he's gonna clean up his own guts. That's a much more unpleasant scenario than the Money Shot one.

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Dan is a lifelong DC comics fan with a passion for helping others find stories and characters they will love. He co-hosts the podcast Supersons with his brother where they try to make DC comics more accessible for new readers. Dan has written for AIPT! and WMQ Comics previously. Any time not spent doing nerdy stuff is with his dog Dinah or his cats Kory & Mera.

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Bloodshot Writer Tim Seeley Explains What Makes the Valiant Hero Stand Out - CBR - Comic Book Resources