Welcome to the Comics Corner. I am a lifelong reader of both Comics and Manga who loves to tell people about good stories. Even as a fan, I acknowledge comics can be a tough thing to get into with a lot of confusion surrounding popular stories. Contrary to popular belief, there is more to American comics than superheroes and there are dozens of great publishers outside of Marvel and DC. My aim with this series is to help you comb through the hundreds of potential stories and find the gems you’ll want to pick up when you first step foot in a comic book store.

This series will focus on all kinds of titles, both new and old from every publisher. Though I will try to avoid superheroes, for the most part, there are still some great stories in that genre. Today I’ll be discussing Keanu Reeves’ comic book creation, BRZRKR. This series was created and written by Reeves with help from Matt Kindt. The artwork is done by Rob Garney and colorist, Bill Crabtree. Volume one collects the first four issues of the series, which originally began on Kickstarter before being published by BOOM! Studios. BRZRKR is set to be a twelve-issue series and will conclude later this year.

The series follows the immortal killing machine known simply as B, who now works as a living weapon for the United States government. In return for his services, the U.S studies B and searches for answers in his past that could lead to a cure for his curse. I won’t get into specific story details here, but if you would like more information surrounding the creation and details surrounding the narrative check out this article here.

Right away I would like to give a general disclaimer. This series is incredibly violent and filled with extreme levels of gore. I would not advise you to pick this up if you are easily disturbed by this as it encompasses a majority of the content here. About sixty percent of this first volume is just action with little dialogue so it certainly is a quick read.

The story as a whole is intriguing. I like learning about B’s abilities and the circumstances that resulted in his immortality. I also think the writers did a good job showing how this ability should not ever be viewed in a positive light. Each foe B overcomes leads him further to his mental breaking point and his personality has evolved to that of a jaded and morose character.

The artwork is also well done, with a gritty look that further emphasizes the brutality of the violence. Garney takes special care with a lot of scenes to give them an almost cinematic look. The action is easy to follow with creative fight choreography straight out of a Mortal Kombat video game.

Unfortunately, this is about where the positive aspects end for this book. The premise of an ancient warrior who battles throughout history is not particularly original. It feels like this book is reiterating a lot of concepts and themes explored by titles like Image comics The Old Guard. B himself also feels extremely similar to characters such as Wolverine, Vandal Savage, or Valiant Comics’ Eternal Warrior.

Another aspect of this book that bothered me is the fact that Reeves clearly wrote himself as the main character. If you know anything about creative writing this is usually a big red flag for a story. This is because it can quickly lead to a story devolving into nothing more than a self-indulgent power fantasy. As an author, it is your job to make your readers care about the characters you are spinning the narrative around. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by giving your reader the chance to imagine themselves as a part of the story.

There are certainly other factors as well. However, because Reeves made it so glaringly obvious here that this story is about him, it didn’t help me attach to his protagonist. It doesn’t help that this character also feels very similar to a lot of roles we’ve seen Reeves play before. B doesn’t feel much different from John Wick and this only serves to make him even more forgettable.

I hope that the story can find a way to distinguish itself and develop its own style. There is a nice cliffhanger at the end of issue four that could allow for some interesting political intrigue. As it stands now though, I found myself feeling pretty ambivalent towards this book. It’s not terrible by any means. However, it feels as though the main distinguishing premise here was simply the hyper-violence, but even this aspect is something you can find in dozens of other titles. If you are a huge Keanu Reeves fan you will enjoy this book, but if not I would recommend exploring other titles.

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BRZRKR

$16.99

5

Score

5.0/10

Pros

• Cool gritty artwork
• Creative action scenes

Cons

• Forgettable main character
• Unoriginal themes and premise