Jeff Lemire & Doug Braithwaite Upgrade Valiant’s Unstoppable Soldier for 4001 A.D.: BLOODSHOT #1
Here’s your first look at a lettered preview of 4001 A.D.: Bloodshot #1 by writer Jeff Lemire and artist Doug Braithwaite, on sale June 8th, 2016 from Valiant Comics.
Press Release
Valiant is proud to present an advance preview of 4001 A.D.: BLOODSHOT #1 – an explosive new adventure launching directly out of the pages of the summer’s blockbuster crossover event and into an essential standalone one-shot from New York Times best-selling writer Jeff Lemire (BLOODSHOT REBORN, Descender) and Valiant-exclusive superstar Doug Braithwaite (NINJAK, Justice)! On June 8th, the future will be written in blood, bullets, and bombshells when Valiant’s unstoppable soldier wages war on the forces of 4001 A.D.! As Rai’s insurrection against the tyrannical A.I. called Father and the kingdom of New Japan escalates, Project Rising Spirit’s most lethal creation will rise from the ashes of history to fight one final battle that will shake the 41st century to its core!
Centuries ago, Bloodshot was the man called Ray Garrison. Now, in the year 4001 A.D., Ray Garrison is no more…but the nanites that once thrived inside him endure still. With their master long since gone, the microscopic machines that once drove Bloodshot through every firefight, healed every wound, and calculated every outcome have one final directive left to execute…but what could it possibly be? And how will the forces of the future react when the infamous man-turned-machine called Bloodshot returns to fight another day?
On June 8th, the future starts here as superstar creators Jeff Lemire and Doug Braithwaite bring Bloodshot barreling into the 41st century of the Valiant Universe with an all-new, standalone tale at the epicenter of “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.“! Featuring covers by Ryan Lee (Uncanny Inhuman) and CAFU (UNITY), jump on board here with an entirely self-contained entry point into the summer’s most anticipated crossover event, only in 4001 A.D.: BLOODSHOT #1!
Encompassing the core 4001 A.D. event series, the return of Valiant’s acclaimed RAI ongoing series, and four all-new one-shots revealing the future incarnations of the Valiant Universe’s most iconic heroes, “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.” is the biggest and most visionary Valiant event to date – and a perfect introduction to the largest independent superhero universe in comics today.
It all starts here on May 4th in 4001 A.D. #1 (of 4) – the FIRST ISSUE of the all-new, standalone event series following Rai and the 41st century’s most formidable heroes into the fight against New Japan from New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (DIVINITY II) and superstar artists Clayton Crain (Carnage) and David Mack (Daredevil)!
Then, “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.” explodes with the return of Rai’s award-winning ongoing series in RAI #13 – the FIRST ISSUE of an ALL-NEW JUMPING-ON POINT revealing the origin of New Japan and its very first guardian! Discover the essential history behind the dawn of 4001 A.D. here as New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt (NINJAK) and acclaimed artist CAFU (UNITY) unearth the answers behind Father’s tyrannical rise to power. How did New Japan come to orbit Earth? Who created Father? And just what is Rai’s true nature…and what happened to his nine earlier predecessors that once patrolled New Japan in his stead? Discover the shocking answers as RAI #13 returns to set the events of 4001 A.D. in motion – and reveals the epic arc of the Valiant Universe’s future history!
Plus: “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.” escalates even further as a staggering cast of superstar talents come aboard to reveal what the 41st century holds for Valiant’s most iconic heroes in a new series of four indispensable one-shots! Featuring X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Shadowman, and the debut of an all-new, top-secret character with a crucial tie to the present and future of the Valiant Universe, “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.” erupts into full force here with four new chapters from Valiant’s most acclaimed creators, ripped directly from the pages of 4001 A.D.:
4001 A.D.: X-O MANOWAR #1
Written by Robert Venditti (BOOK OF DEATH); Art by Clayton Henry (HARBINGER WARS)
Coming in May
4001 A.D.: BLOODSHOT #1
Written by Jeff Lemire (BLOODSHOT REBORN); Art by Doug Braithwaite (ARMOR HUNTERS)
Coming in June
4001 A.D.: SHADOWMAN #1
Written by Jody Houser (FAITH) & Rafer Roberts (A&A: THE ADVENTURES OF ARCHER & ARMSTRONG); Art by Robert Gill (BOOK OF DEATH)
Coming in July
4001 A.D.: [CLASSIFIED] #1
Written by [CLASSIFIED]; Art by [CLASSIFIED]
Coming in August
Each chapter of “THE SUMMER OF THE 4001 A.D.” is designed for maximum accessibility and can be read in concert with the core 4001 A.D. series or stand on its own for a centuries-spanning vision of the future.
One hundred years from today, Father – the benevolent artificial intelligence that governs the island nation of Japan – will gain sentience. To defend its borders, Father will take drastic action by launching Japan into space…where its people can thrive in isolation, away from the overpopulated and resource-deprived planet below. Over the centuries, as New Japan orbits our increasingly unstable world, it will become a model society – one built on peace, prosperity…and Father’s control.
A thousand years from today, Father will create the first Rai, founding a lineage of technologically enhanced heroes engineered to defend New Japan and sworn to protect it from all enemies. For hundreds of years into the future, the Rai will single-handedly enforce New Japan’s justice well…and serve Father without question.
Now, at the dawn of 4001 A.D., the latest Rai is about to inherit the dark truth behind the origin of his kind…and discover the sinister secret at the heart of Father’s existence. For New Japan to live, Earth must die…and as Rai challenges his former master for the first time in more than a millennium, the lone guardian of New Japan will be cast out of his own Father’s kingdom…
Exiled from the only realm he’s ever known, Rai now walks the ravaged world of 4001 A.D. in search of forgotten heroes like himself…on a mission to collect the last surviving legends of a broken planet…and to forge a rebellion with the power to bring the most advanced civilization in history crashing back down to Earth.
Earth must rise. Father must fall. Rai! Eternal Warrior! X-O Manowar! Bloodshot! Shadowman! Geomancer! And more! The war for the ultimate fate of humanity begins on May 4th in 4001 A.D. #1 (of 4) by superstar creators Matt Kindt, Clayton Crain, and David Mack – and continues all summer long as “THE SUMMER OF 4001 A.D.” rages on!
4001 A.D. #1 (of 4)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CLAYTON CRAIN and DAVID MACK
Cover A by CLAYTON CRAIN (MAR161791)
Cover B by TULA LOTAY (MAR161792)
Cover C by RYAN BODENHEIM (MAR161793)
Valiant x CGC Replica Variant by CLAYTON HENRY (MAR161794)
Character Design Variant by CLAYTON CRAIN (MAR161796)
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE (MAR161797)
Interlocking Artist Variant by RYAN SOOK (MAR161798)
Interlocking B&W Sketch Artist Variant by RYAN SOOK (MAR161799)
Blank Cover also available (MAR161795)
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On sale MAY 4 (FOC – 4/11/16)
4001 A.D.: X-O MANOWAR #1
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by CLAYTON HENRY
Cover A by CAFU (MAR161805)
Cover B by PHIL JIMENEZ (MAR161806)
Character Design Variant by MATT KINDT (MAR161807)
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE (MAR161808)
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | ONE-SHOT | On sale MAY 11 (FOC – 4/18/16)
RAI #13 (NEW ARC! “4001 A.D.”)
Written by MATT KINDT
Art by CAFU
Cover A by DAVID MACK (MAR161800)
Cover B by ANDRES GUINALDO (MAR161801)
Valiant x CGC Replica Variant by CLAYTON HENRY (MAR161802)
Character Design Variant by CAFU (MAR161803)
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE (MAR161804)
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On sale MAY 18 (FOC – 4/25/16)
4001 A.D.: BLOODSHOT #1
Written by JEFF LEMIRE
Art by DOUG BRAITHWAITE
Cover A by RYAN LEE (APR162056)
Cover B by CAFU (APR162057)
Character Design Variant by RYAN LEE (APR162058)
Interlocking Mega-Cover Variant by RYAN LEE (APR162059)
$3.99 | 32 pgs. | T+ | On sale JUNE 8 (FOC – 5/16/16)
