BRZRKR #1
Keanu Reeves writes his first comic in BRZRKR #1, by writers Matt Kindt and Keanu Reeves, artist Ron Garney, colorist Bill Crabtree, and letterer Clem Robins. BRZRKR’s first issue is a tour de force of a comic, one that starts at a hundred miles an hour and then gets really, really intriguing.
It’s kind of hard to really describe this issue and not because it’s some complex narrative. The main character is never named but is apparently the superpowered member of a special forces group. They’re sent in to kill the president of what is probably a Latin American country, and he’s a superpowered wrecking ball- tearing through everyone in front of him and taking hits that would kill anyone else. He succeeds in his mission, much worse for the wear. The whole issue is captioned by a framing device that takes place after the fight, with the main character talking to a doctor who has promised to help him with his problem- he wants mortality. She says she’s going to help him, but she noticed something weird in his brain scans- new neural pathways opening up. He remembered something, and he tells her- he remembers being born eighty thousand years ago.
Kindt and Reeves really knock it out of the park with this one. Most of the issue is just amazing action, but the narrative framing device is enough to make readers question things and think about what’s going on. The mystery of the whole thing is one of the best parts of the issue- watching the main character tear through everyone and survive everything that’s thrown at him is a treat, and the mystery of the whole thing makes it so much more compelling and rewarding later in the issue when readers start to get snippets of answers.
The main character has been around for a very long time and allows the government to experiment on him in the hopes of losing the immortality that seems almost like a curse to him. He doesn’t mind killing for the government seemingly, possibly because he feels it’s payment. His handler seems to care about him, as does the doctor, but he’s also taking some kind of pill and under a new “protocol”. This sense of mystery and secrets permeates the whole book, and it makes the revelation at the end of the book that much stronger. It also serves as a great way to get readers coming back- Reeves and Kindt have laid out enough bait to keep a reader coming back.
Garney’s art is perfect for this issue. The action scenes in this book are amazing- the main character’s hard-hitting and violent fighting style is rendered perfectly by Garney’s heavy yet detailed pencils. The violence is a bit over the top but that actual fights, and it shows how someone with superstrength fighting people without it would be affected- heads explode when punched, hearts are ripped out, eyeballs fly. There’s also the visual storytelling- the main character gets more and more damaged as the battle goes on, a metaphor for the pain of his seemingly immortal existence. Garney was the perfect choice of artist for this comic.
BRZRKR #1 is breathtaking. It feels like the beginning of a Keanu Reeves movie, which is fitting since he helped write it. He and Kindt’s working relationship seems to be very good. There are so many secrets in this comic, and the visual storytelling is strong, thanks to veteran artist Garney. Reeves’s first foray into the comic industry is a definite winner, and he has great talent backing him up. BRZRKR #1 is an intriguing, action-packed book that will leave readers begging for more.
