There’s a long, long through-line of comic book properties that have successfully made the jump to other, broader, forms of pop culture offerings.
Released from the cages of their original four-color newsprint origins, we now see the 21st century Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and Avengers characters each and every day in places like animation, video games, books, film, toys, cereal boxes and toothpaste tubes.
Whether you’re a fan of comics or not, comic book characters have become the ether that we all breathe.
Interestingly, with the advent of creator-owned comic book characters (alongside their more corporate cousins) over the better part of the last half century, the medium of comic books themselves has arguably become a sort of proving ground for new intellectual properties and a potential loss leader for ideas that might resonate beyond the printed periodical page.
Sure, some of those ideas have fizzled away in the pop culture zeitgeist, remembered only for the important, but momentary joy, a reader finds while excitedly turning pages of a comic book.
Others, however, have made the tremendous leap into the wild minds of a global populace, hungry for new heroes, new villains and new, modern ideas and philosophies.
Over the last few years, one character has stood out from the rest and made the crazed jump from sequential art to other forms of storytelling – never once leaving original readers behind.
Of course, if could only be BRZRKR!
Released in early 2021 as a twelve-part series from publisher Boom! Studios, BRZRKR is the creation of film legend and longtime comic book fan, Keanu Reeves (The Matrix, John Wick, Constantine, Bill & Ted, etc.) alongside fan-favourite scribe, Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT, Dept. H., Fear Case, Folklords, Crimson Flower, Super Spy). BRZRKR is the story of an immortal barbarian who has been wondering the world for over eight thousand years. He has one purpose only: bloodthirsty violence. In the twenty-first century, “B” as he has become known, finds himself in the employ of the US government, as a soldier on missions too dangerous for the common man. All the while, he is under scrutiny and research, as scientists, psychologists and historians try to uncover his mysterious origins for their own nefarious purposes. All the while, B tries to remember his own past while discovering his long-sought future away from the ethos that bred him, bringing him into a place that houses only peace.
The original twelve-issue BRZRKR series thrillingly took readers from the pre-civilization wastelands of northern Europe where magic, ritual and arcane gods ruled the day, to modern times, high-science and, of course, warfare. Today sees the release of the full original series of BRZRKR in both a wonderful hardcover compilation and a companion hardcover slip-cased edition.
At the hands of Reeves of Kindt, the BRZRKR tale is an action-packed and creative re-mix of Conan, Highlander and John Wick. It’s fast-paced and full of mystery and bloody violence and the visuals by the extraordinary Ron Garney (Wolverine, Captain America, Daredevil, Uncanny X-Men, JLA) are as over-the-top and edge-of-your-seat violent – and emotive – as they could possibly come!
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the BRZRKR franchise is that it has made the leap into other pop culture genres. Both a film and anime series are currently in the works at Netflix, set to star Reeves in the title role. Additionally, The Book of Elsewhere, by award-winning sci-fi and fantasy novelist, China Mieville, along with Reeves, was just released this summer. Set in the BRZRKR universe, the story details an alternate world and its own immortal warrior, harkening Michael Moorcock’s eternal champion, Elric of Melnibone, and showcasing that the BRZRKR idea is as broad in scope as the imagination of Reeves and his collaborators.
Make the run to your local comic shop or better bookstore and pick up the tale that started the berserker zeitgeist with the BRZRKR Deluxe Edition HC today!
For a taste of the story and its visuals, you can watch the original trailer to BRZRKR directly below!
