The BRZRKR comic by Keanu Reeves is bloody great
I somehow missed the fabulous BRZRKR comic by Keanu Reeves and found it via a circuitous route after buying The Book of Elsewhere – which Mr Reeves also wrote along with China Miéville.
I had written about the upcoming release of The Book of Elsewhere on my Substack – The Cosmic Scroll. (Apologies for the plug, but if you want scifi or fantasy news, it’s where all the cool kids are.) I was pretty excited about the book as the premise sounded intriguing, and I am a big fan of China Miéville.
The premise of BRZRKR and The Book of Elsewhere
Here is the blurb:
She said, We needed a tool. So I asked the gods.
There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had many names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as “B.”
And he wants to be able to die.
In the present day, a U.S. black-ops group has promised him they can help with that. And all he needs to do is help them in return. But when an all-too-mortal soldier comes back to life, the impossible event ultimately points toward a force even more mysterious than B himself. One at least as strong. And one with a plan all its own.
In a collaboration that combines Miéville’s singular style and creativity with Reeves’s haunting and soul-stirring narrative, these two inimitable artists have created something utterly unique, sure to delight existing fans and to create scores of new ones.
This blurb actually works for both the comic and book, which might seem odd and totally confused me at first. It also meant that once I had bought the book, I then bought the comic. Let me explain.
As I said, I had written about The Book of Elsewhere on my Substack. I was then in a local bookshop and saw a really nice copy of it. This one, in fact:
You can see the comic book stuff at the start. I soon learned that it was set in the world of BRZRKR.
Whatever the hell that was.
So I googled it and found it on Amazon. I then started to read the book and it was a tad confusing. Not too bad though, but there was a nagging doubt that I was missing out on something. I hate nagging doubts.
So I started to read BRZRKR in preparation for reading The Book of Elsewhere. I am now on Volume 3.
BRZKR is as violent and chaotic as the title suggests
I really didn’t mean to get so into the comic, but then it is so goddamn good. The blurb above gives a good explanation, but it centres around an immortal warrior who doesn’t necessarily want to die – but would at least like the option. He came into being 80,000 years ago and seems to be a weapon delivered by the gods. Or god. Whatever.
So he is immortal, fast, and incredibly strong. He’s also filled with incredible rage and violence. If you ever fancied reading about a man who could rip off a enemy’s limb and beat several people to death with it – this is your comic.
The artwork is also, happily, spectacular. I don’t know how much I am allowed to show, but I am sure you can find some online. Or buy the comic and see for yourself. I bought Vol 1, which combines several individual comics, but that was obviously a gamble.
I fully intend to read The Book of Elsewhere at some point in the near future. For now though, I am obsessed with the comic. Whether it will actually help me understand the world of the book, remains to be seen but it has been a superb diversion.
You can check out BRZRKR here and The Book of Elsewhere here if you’re intrigued. Enjoy.
(This post contains affiliate links to things that are great.)