BRZRKR #5 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 5, September 2021

Publicised by “BOOM! Studios” as “the start of a new story arc in the top-selling twelve-issue limited series by the iconic Keanu Reeves and New York Times bestselling co-writer Matt Kindt” Issue Five of “BRZRKR” undeniably shows an entirely different aspect to the immortal being who has been brutally butchering apart his legions of foes for eighty thousand years. But whilst this intriguing look at the more intimate side of the warrior’s existence proves to be an enthralling experience, there will probably be those within the comic’s audience who may well feel the seemingly endless carousel of doomed lovers throughout history starts to get a little monotonous before too long.

Indeed, having painted both a truly terrifying and touching portrayal of the titular character’s horribly painful first love some twenty-thousand years ago, it’s arguably questionable just why this book’s narrative subsequently continues to repeat the same tragic tale of stillborn babies and unsuccessful births for the rest of the twenty-four page periodical; “I never saw my child. Only later would I know its fate. It took years of making the same mistake before I realised… finally realising a future for anyone but me was impossible.”

Somewhat intriguingly however, this publication’s writing partnership does still manage to ‘wrong-foot’ its readers with a supposedly emotional bond developing between the Bezerker and Doctor Diana Ahuja. Initially it seems that the pair will be doing more than drinking Scotch together when the scientific researcher rather unprofessionally visits her ‘test subject’ one evening at his home in order to “build more of a connection between us.” However, this later appears to have been just another of the academic’s treacherous ruses to simply manipulate him into providing her with the technical data the U.S. Government wants surrounding his immortality.

Ably aiding Reeves and Kindt with their storytelling is Ron Garney, whose pencilling of the aforementioned meeting between the Bezerker and a Late Stone Age native girl is arguably the highlight of this comic. Bravely interposing between a truly gigantic brown bear and the terrified young woman, the artist goes on to sketch a heart-melting end to the smitten warrior as he is literally torn apart limb from limb by his mate’s fearful tribe, whilst she tragically gives birth to a lifeless child.

The regular cover art for "BRZRKR" #5 by Lee Garbett