BRZRKR #1 Review: Keanu Reeves’ violent comic book debut seems to fall short of the hype
That doesn’t mean the comic didn’t make a lot of sales
BRZRKR is a comic written by Hollywood star Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt, with illustrations by Ron Garnery. It became the best selling comic of the 2020 with a massive 600,000+ copies sold before debuting on March 3rd. From this, it’s understandable that the comic is greatly anticipated and has a lot of excitement surrounding it.
Keanu Reeves' #BRZRKR Comic Kickstarter Closes In On $350K in Less Than 24 Hours https://t.co/aG4R9EHBSK @boomstudios pic.twitter.com/f33i4OHvKQ
— Comic Book Resources (@CBR) September 2, 2020
Another overpowered character
The excitement for the comic is understandable. Keanu is called “The Internet’s Boyfriend” and his kindness and philanthropy is known by almost everyone. Moreover, his movies such as the Matrix and John Wick franchises are some of the biggest hits.
But the comic doesn’t match up to the hype. The premise is interesting – a half-mortal, half-god killing machine makes a deal with the U.S. government in exchange for what he wants the most: the truth on how to end his life after decades of suffering, carnage, and bloodshed. But the character is something readers have already seen across numerous stories.
Similarities with Wolverine
In short, the character is pretty much Wolverine, with some Hollywood charm. From the opening, we can note the similarities – an overall shaggy and unkept appearance, a constant feeling of not belonging anywhere, and of course, the berserk rage. Page after page in the first issue is filled with Berserker killing all who stands in his way, sometimes using very creative methods. But where he differs from Wolverine is just how dispassionate and detached he is from everything.
The dialogues are sparse, and the illustrations tell most of the story, but we can understand the hollowness in the character and understand how much of a monster he had to be to reach this state.
In conclusion, the story is flashy in most of the areas and has made a bloody and violent debut. It is a fun read, but it needs to do something outside the box for it to be memorable.
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