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

BRZRKR #11 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 11, December 2022

Arguably padding out this “penultimate issue of the record-breaking hit comic book series BRZRKR” with some serious interplanetary-based mummery and plenty of 'text-lite' splash pages, Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s narrative certainly doesn’t lack dynamic action, or at least the impression that something catastrophically cataclysmic is occurring somewhere in an inhospitable Saudi Arabian desert. Indeed, as ‘mind-blowing endings’ go, this publication has it all, with colourist Bill Crabtree providing an incredibly colourful celestial lightning show denoting the sheer alien nature of “the metaphysical Blue Plane” and artist Ron Garney prodigiously pencilling a subsequent scintillating fire-fight packed with plenty of hot lead once it becomes clear that the American authorities are not the only military organisation eager to get their hands on the perpetual warrior’s godlike powers.

Frustratingly however, despite this plethora of spectacular set-pieces, most notably a sequence which sees Caldwell’s elaborate scientific research centre explode with a combination of crackling electricity and homicidal clones, it is more than likely that many a reader will be scratching their heads trying to understand just what is actually going on. Sure, it seems clear that the titular character has been badly betrayed by the bespectacled brains behind the government’s experiments to better understand why he cannot be permanently killed. But the sudden suggestion that his mysterious, deity-crafted origin is entirely due to aliens is arguably both disappointingly cliched and confusingly contrived.

For those bibliophiles bamboozled by such extra-terrestrial technobabble and this publication’s blue-tinted light show though, the notion of the Black Ops Team’s commanding agent simply going rogue in order to achieve his own immortality is much easier to understand. In fact, this sudden shift in the status quo probably won’t shock or surprise too many within this million-copy selling series’ audience considering just how duplicitous and murderous the man has been in the past. Yet his sudden emergence as the leader of the cult dedicated to the Bezerker definitely provides the plot with an intriguing twist, especially when it becomes abundantly clear that Caldwell’s well-armed forces are so advanced that they can hold off his former employers long enough for him to enter an energised box and become irradiated with all the phenomenal capabilities Unute desperately seeks to lose; “God. Dammit. Eagle Team with me! Time to put this motherf*%ker down.”

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

BRZRKR #10 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 10, September 2022

Considering that a physically scarred titular character spends half this twenty-four-page periodical quietly recovering on a bunk-bed having previously unleashed his “full fury” upon the American authorities, it is difficult to imagine many within its audience feeling that Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s storyline is actually building “towards a conclusion that will blow fans’ minds!” Sure, the immortal warrior does eventually find his way back to his ancient birthplace in the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia, so as to recover his biological mother’s mysterious “bird” artefact. But the sheer amount of technobabble and gobbledegook the reader must endure before this memorable moment occurs is incredibly off-putting; “Confirm floral formula series 2AK1. Execute new floral formula series 2AK2.”

Furthermore, this comic’s infuriatingly pedestrian-paced narrative never seemingly states what any of Caldwell’s directives are for the Machiavellian murderer’s “master plan”, or even simply what the covert government department are expecting to happen once “B” arrives at their intended destination. Instead, Unute is just told to recuperate for ten days, whilst Doctor Diana Ahuja blissfully wanders around a hydroponics garden firing black lightning from her fingertips, and then later operates a huge hyper-computer which requires so much power that “half the Western Seaboard is about to black out.”

Eventually, it does become clear that the suddenly telepathic physician’s herbal concoction is thought to be that drunk by her patient’s long-dead mother to help the ancient hunter-gatherer’s mind “make contact” with the godlike powers that created her son. However, besides sending Unute on a hallucinogenic guilt trip back to his parent’s uber-gory demise, this book’s writers don’t explain why this is particularly important nor how it causes a metal phoenix to inexplicably rise from ‘a mile deep in the desert’ and savagely skewer the supposedly undying combatant alive.

Debatably doing his best to at least provide this publication’s panels with something interesting to look at is Ron Garney. Sadly though, even the former “Daredevil” artist can’t work miracles with a plot featuring two stone-still characters sat endlessly looking at one another in a confinement cell. Yet at least he’s able to imbue the military’s climatic build-up with all the excited apprehensive a bibliophile might expect from the Armed Forces surrounding a target imbued with any number of unknown magical properties.

The regular cover art to "BRZRKR" #10 by Ron Garney & Bill Crabtree

BRZRKR #9 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 9, June 2022

Advertised as the first instalment of this mini-series’ “stunning conclusion”, Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s narrative for Issue Nine of “BRZRKR” probably left many within its audience scratching their heads in bemusement during the twenty-four page plot’s opening half. Indeed, just where in subatomic space the spectral body of Unute finds himself floating about is anybody’s guess, especially when the immortal warrior subsequently confronts the electrically-charged visage of his progenitor and fails to find any answers to his questions whatsoever; “You have to tell me something. After all this time it’s -- Father! Answer me! Don’t Go!”

Sadly, the co-writers’ exposition doesn’t get any better once the titular character finally returns to Earth, and without any obvious motivation goes on a mass killing spree throughout Caldwell’s state-of-the-art military complex. Admittedly, this surprisingly lengthy action-sequence proves a real feast for the eyes of any perusing bibliophile who happens to have a penchant for extreme bodily mutilation and endless gory entrails being spattered all over the place. However, for those readers with less leathery stomachs, the endless panels of heavily-armoured soldiers being torn apart like tissue paper for no evident reason quickly becomes a little much.

Disappointingly, even at this comic’s end, when it finally appears that the Bezerker’s handler Jim has managed to manoeuver the mass-murdering maniac inside a large incinerator, the logic of the penmanship seemingly goes awry with Doctor Diana Ahuja somehow escaping her recuperation inside a liquid-filled bio-tube just in time to burn out Unute’s eyes with her own energy-crackling eye-beams. Of course, the mental (and emotional) connection between these characters has long been established, but it is arguably hard to accept that the surprisingly athletic psychologist is suddenly able to manipulate all sorts of physical matter as if she was some sort of Jean Grey clone.

Ultimately though, the vast majority of this book’s storytelling rests upon the layouts of Ron Garney and in this area the publication excels. In fact, the vast majority of the tale’s frantic pace is generated through the two-time costume illustrator’s incredible ability to repeatedly interchange between panels depicting Jim’s mounting apprehension at the deadly, supernatural form racing towards his position, and the barbaric violence of Unute as he literally tears through the bodies of the best servicemen the American authorities can throw in his direction.

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

BRZRKR #8 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 8, April 2022

Supposedly depicting the titular character’s ‘mental journey reaching its culmination’ whilst being voluntarily trapped inside a metal box buried deep beneath a featureless desert, Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s storyline for Issue Eight of “BRZRKR” certainly tries to maintain the sense of savage destruction which has followed “Unute” since this mini-series’ start. Yet despite the twenty-four-page periodical containing so violent an earthquake that the American authorities lose eleven men to Caldwell’s grand experiment, it’s decidedly difficult not to imagine that some within its audience will be disappointed with the central plot’s seismic shift in direction.

Indeed, having seemingly been simply preoccupied with the immortal warrior’s outrageously violent journey through the ages, and his tragic inability to bare children with the plethora of women he has fallen in love with, this particular publication instead transforms “B” into an energy being capable of ‘breaching the quantum realm’ in an effort to finally come face-to-face with his ‘biological’ father. Such an arguable change in focus from science fantasy to science fiction is a little befuddling, especially when the notion of a new energy source, the synthesisation of “novel amino acids” and the viable animation of “the Unute [clone] Assemblage” are all bandied around within seconds of one another.

To make matters worse however, it is never explained just why the unkillable test subject is suddenly able to conjure up such a massive amount of distinctly dark, almost Sith-like looking energy, from within his body. Sure, the eternal soldier has been able to generate a modicum of such power before, to regenerate his physical body when it has been badly mauled or even obliterated. But just why he’s able to suddenly tap into the fantastic force’s actual source is rather ‘up in the air’ – unless it somehow comes as a result of all Doctor Diana Ahuja’s trials and tribulations; “What are you doing? We’ve pulled all our men back. It’s not safe.”

Lamentably though, this comic’s lack of solid storytelling also seems to adversely affect Ron Garney’s layouts, with the former “Captain America” artist somewhat struggling to find much inspiration with the script he was given, as Caldwell predominantly waxes lyrical to something resembling a Jedi Order remote droid whilst pottering through a well-equipped laboratory. In addition, it’s hard for even a two-time Eisner Award nominee to make a bland backdrop terribly exciting, even when the sun-baked landscape itself is being torn asunder by crackling energy beams and the occasional Humvee is shown fatally falling into a crater.

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

BRZRKR #7 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 7, February 2022

Considering that this entire twenty-four page periodical essentially comprises of little more than a conversation between the titular character and his long-time patron Caldwell, it is incredible just how utterly enthralling Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s narrative for Issue Seven of “BRZRKR” actually is. For whilst such a premise unapologetically relies upon a seemingly endless series of text boxes and word balloons crammed full of dialogue and exposition, the discussion’s actual subject matter arguably captures the attention straight from the start, as the bespectacled anthropologist begins a lengthy explanation as to the origin behind the immortal mercenary's latest acquisition from ancient antiquity; “You and Keever did well on the last mission. You have no idea how long I’ve been working to acquire that little box.”

This highly engaging flashback sequence rather neatly transports the reader back through time, from the nefarious, criminal underworld of the modern-day relic market to “the birth of a new religion” at the Battle of Babylonia in 2300 B.C. Such a rich tapestry of drama rather succinctly shows just what a miraculous effect upon humanity the long-lived warrior has had, and ultimately provides the publication with a somewhat disconcerting moment when it’s revealed that the unimpressive-looking piece of shrivelled, grey matter so many people have died over through the millennia is just the wizened remains of a severed hand.

Similarly as perturbing is the disclosure as to just how obsessed with his ‘old friend’ Caldwell actually is, to the point where in his younger days, the cold-hearted collector rather matter-of-factly murdered both men and woman with his bare hands so as to gain access to their knowledge and/or property. This utter obsession helps reinforce just how duplicitous the bespectacled benefactor is, and, alongside the self-centred sponsor’s insane fixation upon identifying the very birthplace of the Berzerker, rather rivetingly makes it clear that whatever experiment he recommends the immortal participate in next, is definitely not going to have the soul-searching subject’s best interests at heart.

Throwing just the odd bucket of gore and bodily mutilation into the mix is artist Ron Garney, whose ability to imbue all of the numerous flashback sequences with a genuine sense of their respective civilisations and chronologies, really helps sell the sheer scale of how much time has passed since some of the events took place. Of particular note is the illustrator’s ability to pencil the sheer savagery of the aforementioned ancient battle in Mesopotamia, where limbs, entrails and organs are bloodthirstily hewn all over the place.

The regular cover art for "BRZRKR" #7 by Lee Garbett

BRZRKR #6 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 6, December 2021

Absolutely packed full of senseless violence from across the ages, Issue Six of “BRZRKR” grabs its audience straight from the start, and never lets go until its shock ending, which makes plain just how strongly the American authorities have been playing this comic’s titular character for a fool from the start. Indeed, within the space of just a few panels at this book’s very end, any sympathy readers might have had for Doctor Diana Ahuja and her possible feelings for the immortal warrior are arguably thrown completely out of the window, following the revelation that the woman was “secretly recording everything” her ‘patient’ had been saying during his most recent ‘botched’ mission.

Equally as successful in generating a strong emotional reaction from any perusing bibliophile is Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s sub-plot depicting Berzerker’s badly-injured handler, Jim, needing to receive modern-day medical attention before he dies from his wounds. Bleeding from a large hole in his side, as well as literally being covered in multiple shrapnel cuts, the fever-riddled fighter’s increasingly poor health is poignantly well-penned, and at one point makes it genuinely appear as if the seasoned soldier is about to succumb to his infected lacerations just before his journey to safety up into the mountaintops can be successfully achieved; “You… You’ve seen so much conflict. Why’d you pick our side?”

Impressively, the fact that the pair’s failed assignment was in reality doomed before it even began, courtesy of Caldwell deciding to risk the veteran soldier’s life in order to elicit a “brothers in arms” moment of trusting revelation between the two blood-soaked men, never enters the mind until the rescue chopper finally lands. But once the United States' duplicity becomes clear, the sheer sense of betrayal towards those who are supposedly meant to be helping Berzerker deal with his persistent bloodlust is disconcertingly palpable.

Ron Garney also needs an enormous ‘pat on the back’ for his crucial contribution to this twenty-four page periodical. The artist produces some memorable, jaw-dropping set-pieces, such as an unarmed immortal warrior lifting up an enemy tank with his bare hands or participating in a large-scale, black powder-era fracas, which really help sell the ferocious nature of the Berzerker’s fighting prowess. However, it’s probably the penciller’s ability to slowly suggest the biting fatigue wearing Jim down during his travels through the hostile countryside which will remain longest in the mind’s eye.

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

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

BRZRKR #4 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 4, July 2021

Surely showing this mini-series’ mass-murdering machine at his most vulnerable as the crestfallen killer single-handedly faces the combined armies of his late father’s surviving enemies, Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s script for Issue Four of “BRZRKR” certainly imbues the titular character with plenty of intriguing emotions. In fact, this entire twenty-page periodical’s plot contains an enthralling abundance of its cast feeling either extreme regret, mental anguish, physical pain, self-indulgent anger, jealously-driven fear, paternal disillusionment or overwhelming grief; “So long ago. I always assumed it was time that made me forget. And distance. I’ve lived a thousand lives since then. The memory is still there. Perfectly intact. It was just waiting there.”

Foremost of these non-blood soaked hooks is the way this comic’s collaborative penmanship depicts Bezerker’s parents finally having a parting of ways over their son’s future. The inhuman warrior’s mother has always been shown to have his best interests at heart, even when they badly conflict with the power-mad machinations of the young man’s (step) father, and thus her decision to pray for a magical gift from the gods which promises to “take the curse from” her child makes perfect sense. Unfortunately however, such a present would also badly jeopardise the dictatorial plans of her husband, who fatally decides to put his own greedy ambitions as King ahead of those of his family.

Likewise, there’s a real change shown in both the lead protagonist “cursed and compelled to violence”, as well as his modern-day head shrink, Doctor Diana Ahuja. Bezerker’s despair at the pitiless death of his mother, along with his stark realisation that much of her demise lies at the feet of his father’s selfish aspirations, weighs so heavily upon the half-mortal half-deity, that he eventually decides to commit suicide in the most grisly of fashions, rather than live any longer. Whilst the U.S. Government’s psychiatric ‘tool’ realises just how mentally damaged her patient must be, and somewhat surprisingly decides to suddenly ignore her orders by being completely honest with her patient for once.

Of course, that’s not to say that there still isn’t buckets of gore aplenty for those bibliophiles who only plucked this publication off of the spinner-rack for its gratuitous depiction of half-naked wildlings being brutally broken into a bloody pulp. In fact, neatly dispersed in between all this comic’s healthy exposition as to how Bezerker discovered he couldn’t be killed, is arguably some of artist Ron Garney’s most grisly-looking demises to date, including a sequence depicting the black-haired ‘weapon’ slaughtering his opponents with the jawbone of horse as if he were the biblical hero Samson himself.

The regular cover art for "BRZRKR" #4 by Rafael Grampa

BRZRKR #3 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 3, June 2021

For those bibliophiles who thoroughly enjoy buckets of blood being literally thrown across each and every page of their books, Issue Three of “BRZRKR” must surely have landed well, considering that its collaboratively written storyline predominantly depicts its titular character cutting a red swathe through the numerous tribes who supposedly threaten his ‘vulnerable’ Prehistoric community. Indeed, Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s narrative is most definitely not for the faint-hearted as it features the long-haired killing machine repeatedly hacking his way through his hapless opponents with a deadly double-handed axe that seems to have little trouble decapitating, eviscerating and mutilating anybody foolish enough to get within the blade’s razor-sharp reach.

Intriguingly however, this comic isn’t arguably just about gratuitous gore, thanks largely to a well-penned sub-plot concerning Bezerker’s (non-biological) father increasingly succumbing to the power his son’s immortality offers their tribe. Initially born out of a desperate desire to simply survive the repeated raiding parties striking their village to its very core, the young warrior is suddenly seen to be little more than a “tool” which once fully-honed, will seemingly help the ambitious leader conquer vast expanses of land, and bring even those civilisations who offer no danger whatsoever to his rule, under the headman’s vicious heel; “This village is so far, father. How can they possibly be a threat?”

In addition, this publication does a good job of sowing the seeds of doubt in the lead protagonist’s mind that there must be more to life than him simply wading through the bodies of broken men, women and children just because his patriarch commands it. In fact, the friction between the living weapon’s mother and her power-hungry husband becomes quite palpable by this comic’s end, especially once the woman’s offspring confides in her his doubts and she realises that they emotionally echo her own concerns as to his God-given gift being badly misused.

Equally as enthralling as this book’s narrative, is the attention to detail which Ron Garney’s excellent pencilling provides. Some readers may unfairly gloss over the artist’s scarlet-soaked layouts as one of many ‘over-the-top’ illustrations which litter this publication’s battle-scenes. But for those who take the time to look a little closer at each panel’s composition, they contain some astonishingly savage moments, such as Bezerker literally severing the odd enemy’s head by squishing the fellow’s neck flat with his bare hand, or battering to death an unnamed King’s bodyguard using their monarch’s amputated leg as a particularly grisly weapon.

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

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

BRZRKR #1 - BOOM! Studios

BRZRKR No. 1, February 2021

Financed through a highly successful “Kickstarter” in September 2020, which saw 14,571 backers pledge an astonishing $1,447,212 so as “to help bring this project to life”, this super-sized forty-three page periodical must have seemed like manna from heaven for those readers who enjoy an utterly insane amount of non-stop gratuitous violence within their comic books. Indeed, just Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt’s body count alone for their collaboratively penned storyline makes an impressive overall number, but that simply doesn’t do the titular character’s savage violence and penchant for bodily mutilation any justice whatsoever.

For starters, the immortal soldier is relentless in his mission to thwart some Dominican Republic President from fleeing the presumably corrupt official’s country scot-free, and will stop at absolutely nothing to tear the man’s bloody heart from out of his horribly disfigured corpse – Whether the situation requires Berzerker to hurl himself out of a top-flight high-rise residence or single-handedly charge a heavily-armed, armoured car. In addition, the machine-like killer uses everything he can get his battle-damaged hands on to aid him in his quest, including one hapless victim’s rib bone which subsequently finds its way into the throat of another opponent; “I’d like to think this is different. Does this feel different to you?”

Happily however, despite all these enjoyable entrails and severed body parts, Issue One of “BRZRKR” still contains plenty of plot to keep its audience coming back for more. The writing partnership’s suggestion that the lead protagonist has suddenly remembered being born some eighty thousand years ago and how this may impact upon his already-traumatised psychological state is thoroughly intriguing, as is whether the recent memory of the dead President’s adolescent son being shot through the head by a government operative so as to prevent him from being a witness, will make the assassin start to question his role working for the authorities.

Perhaps this publication’s greatest asset though, are the breathtakingly stunning panels pencilled by Ron Garney, who seems to have completely immersed his creative skills in the ridiculous energy created by Reeves and Kindt’s script. The increasing damage depicted upon Berzerker whilst he is shot, marred by explosions and fire-ball causing collisions is well-worth the cost of this comic alone, never mind the illustrator’s attention to tiny details, such as the look in the warrior’s eye as he recalls the first sight of his heavily bearded father as he is about to batter to death “El Presidente”.

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