From pulp heroes and barbarians to the farthest reaches of space, this was anything but a dull week.

The Wills character and motivations are explored, as Vaughn reveals nobility within the money hungry hunter.

He celebrates his delusional victory by having sex with The Stalk.

Its rare that a reader can say eeeeek and whoa in the same second, but there you go.

Vaughan has done all his world building through these characters.

By switching perspective to The Will and Isabella, readers get to see a different P.O.V.

of the hows and whys of this galaxy.

Vaughn establishes The Wills strength, weaponry, and abilities.

She is the spurned ex who has a righteous reason for seeing Marko punished.

While the characters are multi-dimensional and robust, it is world building where Vaughan truly excels.

The world ofSagahas its own unique cultures, system of magic, interactions, and rules.

These are established almost primarily through dialogue and characterization.

It is an impressive lesson in craft that never fails to disappoint.

Saga is unique experience unlike any in comics today, and I look forward to my next visit.

Plus, the book always contains the best letters page in comics.

While the zero issue felt like a chase-the-artifact movie serial, this issue is pure pulp.

Francesco Francavilla has quickly become an industry darling, being tapped for covers by every publisher in the business.

His line has graced the covers ofThe Lone Ranger,Hellboy, and evenArchie.

His work inThe Black Beetlerivals some of his best, to date.

The Black Beetles world glows and the balance of light and dark creates a visually interesting environment.

Francescos writing is, well, its interesting.

I felt like I was reading an Italian comic book that was newly published in an English-speaking market.

Either way, it takes nothing away from the book and actually added to the pulpy-ness.

I really wanted to love this comic.

The problem is I feel like Ive read this story before.

Green Hornet and Kato are incidental to the story, although thats certainly by design.

The Green Gun Girl comes off a little flat, unfortunately.

But I still have to applaud the creative team for trying something a little different.

Green Hornet die-hards (ahem…we DO exist) will surely find something to like about it.

And, really, I shouldnt complain too much whenever I get a new dose of pulp-style action.

Here he sits helplessly, while the crew of The Tigress lay dying, afflicted with plague.

Meanwhile, a mob has formed and is headed to the dock where The Tigress is secured.

Brian Wood presents us with a Conan that feels closer to his prose roots than the various filmed versions.

Wood also handles the emotional extremes of Conans personality with great style.

The dialogue feels like proper Conan and the captions read with some of Robert E. Howards flair.

It not a dull story, but it definitely feels like an interlude before the more action-oriented adventures begin.

However, the book does have its share of blood, guts and severed parts.

Declan Shalveys art works well with the material.

His Conan is dark, sullen-eyed and strong.

Dave Stewart handled the colors, so they are gorgeous.

Im running out of adjectives to describe his work, so Ill leave it at that.

While this issue is definitely not an optimal jumping-on point, the coming issues promise to be exactly that.

Bloodshot is not just a pale Punisher clone.

Swierczynski explores the theme of manipulation through Bloodshot, and this idea gives the series its identity.

In fact, this whole issue is a flashback.

On the surface,Bloodshotis a familiar title: big hero, big guns, along with big violence.

Writing:8/10

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