BRZRKR

BRZRKR
Publication information
Publisher	Boom! Studios
Format	Limited series
Genre	Action, Supernatural, Sci Fi
No. of issues	12
Creative team
Created by	Keanu Reeves Matt Kindt
Written by	Keanu Reeves Matt Kindt
Penciller(s)	Ron Garney
Inker(s)	Ron Garney
Letterer(s)	Clem Robins
Colorist(s)	Bill Crabtree

BRZRKR is a comic book series created and written by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt and drawn by Ron Garney. The comic follows an immortal half-human, half-God warrior, known as B or Berzerker. Cursed and compelled to violence, he has fought and killed his way through the ages, but now works for the U.S. Government completing missions too violent and dangerous for anyone else.

The first issue of the 12-issue limited series was published on March 3, 2021, by Boom! Studios. It raised more than $1.4 million USD in its funding campaign on Kickstarter. The series was initially announced to be illustrated by Alessandro Vitti, but this was later changed as the art was handled by Ron Garney instead.

Plot

BRZRKR follows a mysterious, immortal warrior known only as B, a man who has lived for over 80,000 years, gifted—or perhaps cursed—with superhuman strength and speed, godlike regenerative abilities, and an uncontrollable urge to commit unspeakable acts of carnage and violence. In the present day, B works as a weapon for the U.S. government, undertaking black-ops missions too dangerous for normal soldiers. In exchange, they promise to help him unlock the secrets of his origin—and grant him the one thing he wants the most, the ability to finally die.

As B endures each brutal mission, his body quickly regenerates from horrific damage, but the many psychological scars of his unending violent life remain. Between operations for the US government, he’s studied and counseled by Dr. Diana Ahuja, a government scientist who seeks to unravel the mystery of his biology and mind. Through her therapy sessions, they develop a strong connection, and B begins to recount his origins: he was born in prehistoric times to a human mother who prayed for a weapon to protect her nomadic tribe from surrounding oppressors, and the being of cosmic energy she prayed to, who impregnated her with B instead, granting them an undying living weapon with monstrous, uncontrollable rage.

From conception, B was very different from the average human. He spent only two months in his mother’s womb before birth, his body developed, grew, and healed incredibly fast, and he killed violently without remorse making his people refer to him as Unute which means weapon or tool. This only reinforced and convinced his surrogate father to raise and train him as the tool of war they prayed for to protect their tribe from the relentlessness and savagery of the larger tribes and villages that surrounded them, sending him into battle where he slaughtered and dismembered enemies in increasingly gruesome ways until his surrogate father's greed and desire for conquest eventually lead to the tragic demise of B’s mother, and their entire tribe. After this, B wandered the Earth alone for centuries, fighting in countless wars, toppling empires, and inspiring a cult-like following of people who revered, manipulated, and followed him for ages, passing their ways and knowledge from one generation to the next. They sought to gain his abilities by all means, and have been trying, but failing to for a centuries. B was unable to procreate and lost loved ones who aged and died while he remained unchanged. The weight of his curse grew heavier with time, leading him to strongly desire a way to end his suffering and finally die.

In the present, the U.S. government, led by a high-ranking influential figure called Cladwell (revealed to be a member of the above-mentioned ancient cult)and who seemed to understand the full extent of B's abilities and his importance. Cladwell continued to use B as a living weapon, while attempting to replicate his DNA to build immortal super-soldiers. B Is fully aware and remains indifferent to their intention as long as they would keep the promise of finding a way to make him mortal. Together with Dr. Ahuja, B begins to uncover his true origin by confronting his repressed emotions about his mother’s death and using a special device to harness his energy and connect with the cosmic being responsible for B’s creation—his father. This brief connection reveals the location of his birth and an artifact his father gave to his mother, one capable of permanently ridding B of his abilities and making him mortal. Through her close connection with B, Diana also links with the cosmic entity, granting her abilities of her own and a psychic connection to B.

B reveals the location of the artifact, heading there with the US military, Cladwell, and Diana. Utilizing their psychic connection to navigate B’s memories, he and Diana find the artifact which he activates, summoning a massive bolt of energy from outer space to their location. The U.S. military taps this energy from orbit back to their secret base using a satellite. Cladwell machinations come to light as he orchestrates events to transfer B’s abilities to himself, and Diana activates her psychic connection to B, once again linking to the cosmic entity in an attempt to understand it’s intension. The climax unfolds with Caldwell, now imbued with B’s former abilities. Now overcome with the urge to kill, he initiates an assault on the surrounding US military officials, and B. Despite his newfound mortality, B confronts Caldwell, leading to a decisive battle. Diana’s intervention proves crucial, as she utilizes her new powers to aid B in overcoming Caldwell’s threat.

The series concludes on an open-ended note, leaving readers contemplating the implications of the character’s choices, the enduring impact of the Berserker power, and the potential for future narratives within the BRZRKR universe. This finale not only provides a resolution to Unute’s quest but also sets the stage for further exploration of the themes introduced throughout the series.

Reception

Issue #1 sold over 615,000 copies, making it the top-selling single issue since Star Wars #1 in 2015.

The 12-issue original series of BRZRKR and the 4 one-shot releases have a strong collective average critic score of 7.1 out of 10 for 77 reviews, and an even higher average user score of 8.6 out of 10 for 383 reviews on the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup.

Collected editions

Collections of BRZRKR

Title	Material collected	Published date	ISBN
BRZRKR Vol. 1	BRZRKR #1–4	November 2021	978-1684156856
BRZRKR Vol. 2	BRZRKR #5–8	September 2022	978-1684158157
BRZRKR Vol. 3	BRZRKR #9–12	October 2023	978-1684157129

Adaptations and spin-offs

Main article: BRZRKR (franchise)

On March 22, 2021, Netflix announced it was developing a live-action film adaptation and a follow-up anime series based on the comics with Reeves cast as the lead. In October 2021, Mattson Tomlin was writing the live-action film adaptation. In March 2025, it was announced Justin Lin would direct and produce the film.

In July 2022, during Keanu Reeves' panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, it was announced that the anime series adaptation will be produced by Production I.G and have two seasons.

On July 23, 2024, a novel entitled The Book of Elsewhere, which is set in the world of the BRZRKR comic book series, was published. The novels is a collaboration between Keanu Reeves and British author China Miéville.

A one-shot spinoff by Keanu Reeves, acclaimed writer and artist Steve Skroce (We Stand On Guard), and Eisner-winning colorist Dave Stewart titled BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness, set in Atlantis and pitting the immortal B. against a Lovecraftian nightmare released on July 26, 2023.

Another one-shot spin-off comic written by Reeves and Mattson Tomlin, with art by Rebekah Isaacs and colors by Jordie Bellaire, titled BRZRKR: Fallen Empire, set in a fictional desert empire, Olos, where B. finds love and is manipulated, was released on November 29, 2023. The comic had cover variants by Joëlle Jones, Jenny Frison, and Yanick Paquette.

In October 2023, Boom! Studios announced the first volume of the "Bloodlines" spin-off run, written by Keanu Reeves and Mattson Tomlin and illustrated by Steve Skroce. It was released on March 27, 2024.

A new one-shot spinoff by Keanu Reeves, New York Times bestselling author Matt Kindt, legendary artist Ron Garney, and the iconic Bill Crabtree titled BRZRKR: THE LOST BOOK OF B following B.’s time serving as the ultimate weapon of the notorious warlord Ghengis Khan, released on August 21, 2024.

In February 2024, writer Jason Aaron was revealed to be writing a "standalone Western story" for the "Bloodlines" run of the series with artist Salvador Larroca, titled BRZRKR: A Faceful of Bullets. It was released on July 24, 2024.

The second volume of the BRZRKR: Bloodlines spinoff series co-written by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, & Jason Aaron, and Illustrated by Ron Garney & Salvador Larroca released on December 18, 2024. It collects BRZRKR: The Lost Book of B, and BRZRKR: A Face Full of Bullets.