BRZRKR #2 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 2, April 2021

Firmly focused upon the origin story behind Bezerker’s incredible aptitude for physical violence and longevity, Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s 80,000 year old narrative for this second chapter to their twelve-issue limited series probably caught a fair proportion of its audience off-guard upon its release in April 2021. Sure, the twenty-page periodical’s plot does occasionally return to the modern day as “U.S. government doctor Diana Ahuja seeks to unlock the mysterious B.’s memories”, but these scenes are both rather brief and fleeting.

Fortunately though, this change of setting to the Paleolithic still provides this publication with some incredibly thrilling, pulse-pounding set-pieces, such as the then adolescent killing machine successfully mutilating almost an entire heavily-armed raiding force in defence of his village, as well as giving a good explanation as to just why the ever-restless titular character now wants to be mortal; “I remember that day, now. I remember having parents… Having a tribe… Having a purpose. And I remember that being the last time… The last time I ever felt… Happy.”

In addition, the collaborative creators do a good job in suggesting just how long Bezerker has ‘suffered’ at the hands of so-called scientists in an effort to understand his extraordinary super-powers. As a boy, his ability to quite literally tear wolf, bear and unfortunate boy to bloody pieces with his bare hands whilst experiencing his inhuman bloodlust is arguably accepted by his fellow tribespeople as the price to pay for their protector’s coming of age. Yet during the most recent centuries, when Mankind is supposedly more civilised (and potentially curious as to how things work), the immortal warrior undergoes days, months and years of physical measuring, samples, psychological profiling, injections and scans.

Undeniably presenting these early exploits with all the sense-shattering savagery a reader might expect from such a viciously barbaric time in Humanity’s history is Ron Garney, whose figure’s facial expressions alone tell a horror story of a thousand words. Indeed, much of this comic’s emotion stems from the artist’s ability to show both the love and fear in the eyes of Bezerker’s parents, as well as the pain and terror of the man-child’s numerous victims – whether they be his hapless peers, long-fanged animals or overconfident cavalry.

Written by: Keanu Reeves & Matt Kindt, and Illustrated by: Ron Garney