BRZRKR #12 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 12, March 2023

Considering that this “epic conclusion to the ground-breaking original series” is a staggering fifty pages in length, it’s doubtful many within this comic’s audience will be particularly impressed with what they read. True, this book’s opening certainly holds true to its publisher’s promise of the nefarious Caldwell facing off against the titular character in a frantically-paced showdown. But by the time Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s script purportedly provides a horrific-looking demise to Diana Ahuja’s treacherous boss at the hands of the cosmically-powered Doctor herself, many a bibliophile will arguably be wondering just where on Earth the rest of his hefty tome is going to take them.

Disappointingly, the answer is seemingly a somewhat sedentary journey towards ‘sequel-land’, where the creative team slowly put in place all the elements needed to establish a follow-up storyline, rather than focus on actually explaining just what happened somewhere in the middle of a Saudi Arabian desert. Indeed, rather than try to explain just how the immortal warrior suddenly becomes corporeal, or why the US Government’s physician is somehow able to utilise extra-terrestrial-based energy waves, this publication instead starts to tell a tale with elements potentially taken straight from the pages of Kenneth Johnson’s screenplay for the 1984 American television show “V: The Final Battle” - such as Diana miraculously giving birth to a baby girl who exhibits both superhuman powers and physically matures at an accelerated rate.

Perhaps this plot’s saving grace therefore lies with the tremendous sense of betrayal generated by this comic’s handling of the ‘powers that be.’ Having declared their overall scheme to cajole Unute into helping them make contact with his creator a success – “mostly”, the authorities cold-bloodedly decide to eliminate all witnesses to their mission, including the now vulnerable Berserker himself. Such treachery really does strike home just how untrustworthy the American administration have become, particularly when handler Jim Keever readily accepts the order to shoot the man who previously saved his own life during a botched military assignment; “I’m sorry son. It’s been an honour.” 

Ultimately, a vast amount of the storytelling inside Issue Twelve of “BRZRKR” rests upon the shoulders of Ron Garney, who unquestionably excels when it comes to pencilling the almost bestial nature of the insanely savage close combat fighting Diana’s ultimate survival entails. However, even the Inkwell Award-nominee appears to struggle to make his panels interesting as this over-sized tome plods ever onwards, most notably towards its end when the American artist has to repeatedly sketch each of its considerably-sized cast stoically standing alone as they look up towards an uncertain future.

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