Jeff Lemire has steered through various genres as he's guided Bloodshot's life off the rails and back to sanity, creating a long-form narrative which has taken the character right up to the brink - and back. And this September the character heads off on his next great journey - and it's a righteous, bloody revenge thriller called "Bloodshot: Salvation". Teaming up with artists Lewis LaRosa and Mico Suayan, the new series will raise the stakes once more, and bring Bloodshot up against his most personal threat to date.

Note: this interview contains spoilers for "Bloodshot U.S.A."

The storyline, announced earlier today via the Washington Post, centers around the character's relationship with his girlfriend Magic, which has quickly developed into something strong and real - and is set to deepen further with the news that Magic is pregnant, and that they have a daughter together. But Magic's family members are white supremacists and, hearing the news, they kidnap the pair and force Bloodshot to return to his violent ways in order to get her back. In short, it's Bloodshot Vs the Alt-Right, in a bloody fight for family. To find out more about the new series, CBR spoke to Lemire about his work on the book.

CBR: Bloodshot’s life of violence has been something he’s questioned at several points, but as this series begins, he’s decided to renounce it for good. What brings about that decision?

Jeff Lemire: Parenthood. As our book begins, we see that Ray (Bloodshot) and Magic now have a daughter, Jessie. And anyone who has ever become a parent will tell you that it changes everything in your life. For Bloodshot, it’s no different. His main priority now is protecting his family, and that means leaving all the violence and craziness in the past and keep it away form his baby daughter.

We’ve seen him form relationships before, but what do you enjoy about getting to write him paired up with Magic? How do you view their life together, and how they work as a couple?

Magic kind of came out of nowhere when I was writing "Bloodshot Reborn." I don’t think she was originally going to play such a big part in the series, or in Bloodshot’s life. But the more I wrote them together, the more their relationship just took on a life of its own. She seems like the perfect foil for Ray. She is his opposite in many ways, but they are both very damaged. They both come from dark and violent pasts (we will learn much more about Magic’s past in the new series) and that is something that drew them together. Alone they are each lost, but together they seem to be able to move forward and leave the pain of their pasts behind.

The relationship is also going to lead directly into the central hook of the new book - Magic’s family are prominent white nationalists. You’ve looked at American culture and society before within the series, but what made you want to address these current-day issues within Bloodshot?

It’s hard to ignore what is happening in America and in the world right now. It’s on my mind, and weighs heavily on my life. As a parent, I am constantly trying to protect my son from everything that is happening. I wanted to channel this anxiety and fear into Bloodshot/Ray.

But I want to stress that this is only one aspect of a much larger, much more layered story plan. I don’t want the book to be one note or just become some heavy-handed political allegory. There is nothing more boring than that. It is still entertainment. We still get to see lots of fun comic book stuff, like Bloodhound fighting demons, for instance.

So we can confirm that Bloodhound, the nanite-powered superdog, will remain by Bloodshot's side?

Bloodhound will remain a central character in the series. Hound is Ray’s best buddy, and they are going to get into some serious trouble together.

Do you view this as a revenge story? What kind of tone can we expect from the book?

Much like with "Bloodshot Reborn," I am looking at each arc as almost a different genre. Arc one will be a revenge story, arc two will be a supernatural adventure, arc three is very much a big science-fiction story. I want to keep it fresh and use Bloodshot to explore lots of different genres and tones. But at the heart of it all, tying it all together is a very emotional story about Ray and Magic and their daughter.

In addition to the white-supremacist faction/cult that Bloodshot is coming up against, you’ll be introducing a number of superpowered villains both new and revived from Valiant’s past… how does Rampage return to the pages of "Bloodshot," and who are Omen?

First, in terms of Omen, I sort of felt that Project Rising Spirit had run its course, at least in the pages of "Bloodshot". We’d seen so much of PRS in Valiant and in "Bloodshot" already, and it all sort of came to head with them in the big Bloodshot USA event. So I didn’t want to just retread old ground with "Bloodshot Salvation." I wanted some thing new, something more specific to what Ray was dealing with now and to where he was as a character. Omen also reflects what’s going on in America right now a bit more.

And in terms of Rampage, I realized that we had done 25 issues of Bloodshot with "Reborn" and "U.S.A.," and Bloodshot never really had a real villain in any of those stories. Aside from PRS he was mostly his own worst enemy. So I wanted to use Rampage to finally give Ray an adversary that was a match for him.

How has working with Lewis LaRosa informed the story you’re telling? What’s the collaborative experience like with him, redesigning characters like Rampage for the new Valiant Universe?

I love Lewis. He is a great guy and a great artist. He can do big, widescreen cinematic action like no one else, but still root it in the characters. I was dying to do more work with him, so the events of "Salvation" are perfect.

Also of note here is that you’re splitting the storyline into two timeframes: the book is set both in the present (with Lewis) and also the near future (with Mico Suayan). What was it that interested you in taking that approach, in telling two simultaneous stories running concurrent to one another?

The story is a bit more complex than it appears on the surface and using the two-timelines is a narrative device I love to play with. And Mico and Lewis both fit each of the storylines perfectly and compliment each other very very well. It also helps create some continuity with Bloodshot Reborn and the new series, as both Lewis and Mico were a big part of Reborn.

How have you found working with Mico on the future timeline? What does his style bring to that part of the comic?

Mico brings a realism to the book that is unparalleled. He can make the dark, gritty, realistic world of Bloodshot come alive and seem real. I just love his work and I love the life he brings to Magic in particular.

What will be the focus of the future-timeline narrative? Who’ll be appearing, and how is that story informed by the present-day storyline with Bloodshot?

I can’t say too much without giving it all away. But one BIG hint is the word “future.” I’ll leave it there.

"Bloodshot Salvation" #1 will be published this September.