This book is a good look at the excesses of the 90's and is interesting for a number of reasons. If you are a Liefeld fan, you probably already have this. If you want to find out what all the fuss is about when people talk about 90's comics, this is a prime example of the good and bad. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to dig out some old Jesus Jones and Blind Melons cds to complete this trip down memory lane. Read Full Review

Rob Liefield"creator of Deadpool, Cable and the X-Force " is considered one of the most polarizing and controversial comic creators ever. This time around, he returns to his Image roots by unleashing one of his signature creations, BLOODSTRIKE. In the new volume of the titular series, Liefield serves both as the writer and artist, while Jeremy Colwell does the coloring stuffs with Bloodstrike #1. But the better question is; does Liefield's overall quality as a comic creator improve since then? Sad to say, I can generally mutter NEIN. Read Full Review

Look, it's might not be the best story you ever read or art you ever see, but Bloodstrike #1 is FUN. This issue was a refreshing reminder of another era of comics for me. Fans of 90's Image comics and characters should definitely have a great time with this series. If you weren't a fan of Liefeld's before, don't even bother picking this one up. If you're new to Rob Liefeld or the characters he's created, give it a try. You might like it, you might not but it's worth a shot. I can't stress enough this is not for young kids. Don't leave this mixed in with your Gotham Academyand Ms. Marvel books. Read Full Review

The story never gets better from there. Operative Cabbot, BloodStrike's version of Cable, is called in to save Operative Alpha and there's a scene with Bloodwulf that's blatantly excessive just to be excessive. There's cannibalism, decapitations and castrations over the course of this first issue and most of it senseless. If you're a huge fan of Liefeld, you may get some enjoyment out of this first issue, but I'm a fan of his and I found very little to enjoy with this first issue. If Liefeld embraced the satire and poked fun at the 90s style of art and story, I may have enjoyed this more. Unfortunately I think he was trying to be serious with doses of humor thrown in, and it just came off as ridiculous. Read Full Review

The book reads like a bad parody of early '90s superhero excess. The characters are all (extremely) thinly veiled riffs of familiar heroes like Deadpool and Cable. The violence, sexual humor and profanity give the book a very juvenile quality, and that's to say nothing of the grotesquely exaggerated, implausible anatomy. Read Full Review

To recommend this book would be tantamount to telling you to spend your hard earned cash on a complete incoherent mess. I am sure that their are Liefeld fans out there and that's great; to each his own. Bloodstrike is just one of those new titles that never really gets out of the starting gate. If it was a different artist and writer, I guarantee I would say the same exact thing about this book. Throw enough garbage at the wall and something is bound to stick. However with Bloodstrike you genuinely wish that nothing stuck to the proverbial wall. A total “pass” on this new series that whose genre I cannot even quantify. Read Full Review

I cant figure out if the intent was to be a parody, either. It seems to be played straight by Rob online and nothing in the comic seems to indicate that it is meant to be satire. Liefeld typically plays that up in his work. It is at a weird place that doesnt seem to have a market outside of the loyal Bloodstrike fans that demanded this series but they surely would be taken back by some of this book. It isnt compelling story telling. There are elements of Bloodstrike that are fantastic especially the brother aspect between Cabot and Battlestone and the concept of Born Again but those are neglected here for some cheap attempt at ribald comedy that doesnt click. The story is paint by the numbers Liefeld. I love the guy but this book, outside of some absurd moments, is just boring. Read Full Review

Its easy to bag on Liefeld ofcourse, I have no interest in piling on because it's popular. No he cant draw feet but nothing in his art stood out as particularly bad and some of the layouts I thought were actually pretty creative and eye catching. The book is full of color and broad expressions and if you arent bothered by the fact the all of the characters are uninspired approximations of Marvel heroes (at one point literally Wolverine) the book is not bad to look at, again through the lens of 90s action books. The theme of my review, as I said before, and that I dont know who the book is for. Yes it has boobs, and people say the fuck word, and there is gratuitous violence but that does not a good book make. Call me jaded but I need more than that if Im going to come back around, even if the entire hook is a throwback, I just dont have a ton of fond Liefeld memories growing up I guess. Read Full Review

Unfortunately for this first issue, the story and the art get the Rob Liefeld that causes people to roll their eyes, not the one that causes people to be impressed. It is too bad, because from a contextual point the story is there, and so is the artistic design. It just seems as though he did not know where to draw the line, and with less creative control as he has often had under the big two publishers, that he went too far with his own concept. This therefore comes off as more Michael Bay-like than anything, and it is a failed attempt. It could have been good, but too much of too much makes it fail. Read Full Review

There will certainly be critics of “Bloodstrike” who insist that it does not have the capacity to be self aware. That it's simply a 90's creator cashing in a quick nostalgia check by indulging bad comic cliches everyone else has agreed to let go. But that implies a cynicism in Liefeld which simply does not exist. He is a man of pure idealistic energy who wishes to go back to a simpler time. And it's because of you meddling SJWs that comics can't involve more cock screaming. Read Full Review

Bloodstrike #1 is completely and utterly awful and the worst of it was that it wasn't even so bad it's good like you would hope. The writing is just terrible; the first issue does a horrible job of being accessible for new audiences, the artwork is garish, and the overall tone and edgy nature of the book makes it into one of the ugliest and most unpleasant experiences I have had reading a comic. There are moments of unintentional hilarity, but I cannot recommend this book in the slightest, even those who are big fans of Rob. If you want fun bad Liefeld comics, check out the remaster first volume of Youngblood that had Joe Casey involved with or even the New 52 Hawk & Dove series. Read Full Review

I don't know who this comic-book is for; too violent for young children, too stupid for everyone else. In case this review hasn't made it crystal clear, this is an issue to be avoided at all costs. There is literally no redeeming feature to this embarrassment of a comic-book that quite frankly I'm surprised Image even agreed to publish. These kinds of ridiculous stories are bad for the comic-book medium as a whole, and are part of the reason many non-readers still look down on comics as a lesser form of entertainment. Your $3.99 would be put to better use if you threw it in the sea. Read Full Review

From a technical standpoint, Bloodstrike has many problems to forgive if you are going to enjoy it fully, and for me, there are just too many. Read Full Review

Titled "The Junk," this story is adolescent teen humor at best, with dialogue like, "But -- my man parts ...ack." "Bloodstrike" #1 is a rough read. Liefeld might be trying for satire or parody here, but it falls flat and simply becomes more uninspiring artwork from one of Image Comics' founders. Read Full Review