Keanu Reeves’s Bloody Blockbuster ‘BRZRKR’ Moves To A New Format

Never mind that Keanu Reeves has been one of the most bankable film stars for the past 25 years. These days he is happy to be the mastermind behind the best selling comic series BRZRKR, from Boom! Studios, with Netflix adapting the IP into a feature film as well as an anime spinoff series. After lighting up Kickstarter with a $1.45 million prefunding campaign, a record for a comics project on the platform, BRZRKR went on to sell over 650,000 copies of issue #1 at retail, making it the highest selling original title of the 21st century.

The BRZRKR series, projected to run 12 issues, is having its first 4-issue arc collected as a graphic novel due out October 5, with initial preorders exceeding 100K already. I had a chance to speak with Reeves, taking a break from shooting John Wick 4 in Berlin, and his creative collaborators, writer Matt Kindt and artist Ron Garney, about their thoughts on the success and future direction of the series.

For those coming in late, BRZRKR follows the exploits of an immortal, indestructible warrior who has been used for the past 80,000 years as a weapon by various factions who benefit from his ability to decimate entire armies. The protagonist, known only as B, gets possessed by blood lust in combat situations, resulting in enormous body counts and gruesome violence. The story finds him currently working with US Special Forces on assignments too dangerous for anyone else. Between killing sprees, he is undergoing therapy to unlock the secrets of his origins, ostensibly to help him gain balance, but also to help the military reverse-engineer whatever makes him tick.

Kindt, a veteran writer adept at delivering intelligent thrillers like Mind MGMT and Super Spy, serves up a suitably intriguing script with plenty of opportunity for action. Garney has long been one of the best pure storytellers in comics, with kinetic, no-nonsense artwork that keeps the action moving panel to panel, page to page. On BRZRKR, he’s clearly having the time of his life with the balletic over-the-top fight scenes. While these two professionals (alongside colorist Bill Crabtree, letterer Clem Robins, and character designer/cover artist by Rafael Grampá) add craft, the ambiance of BRZRKR is right on brand for Reeves, who has made a career playing tough guys who have to crack their own internal code to rediscover their true identity.

Reeves isn’t the first celebrity to spearhead a comic series, but the industry hasn’t seen sales numbers like this since the early 1990s. Asked what he thought accounted for BRZRKR connecting so strongly to the market, Reeves first thanked fans for their support, then credited Boom’s strategy of drumming up support through the crowdfunding campaign. “They really built up community enthusiasm, and I think people liked the idea of this half-man, half-god killing machine. I mean, that sounds cool, right?”

Kindt added that Reeves’s involvement brought in a lot of fans who may not have read comics lately, but would check out something with his name on it. Garney agreed, adding that “this is the kind of character Keanu is known for,” so the book is likely to appeal to his fans.

Elaborating on his inspiration for the story, Reeves said “Anything creative comes out of one’s experience and interests. When I did The Matrix, I got exposed to Hong Kong action cinema, which opened the door to manga and anime, plus other genres like film noir.” BRZRKR, he said, is his synthesis of those influences, telling a story that hits familiar notes in his distinctive voice and style.

Kindt said the book is a true collaboration, with plots evolving from frequent phone calls and story conferences that Reeves squeezes in between his film projects. “We develop a very tight outline that we bounce back and forth between us, even adding some dialogue at that early stage,” he said. “Once we have the script, we send it over to Ron, who does his magic.”

“I’ve never had a collaborative experience like this,” said Garney. “It’s like we’re a three-headed monster, all imprinting ourselves on the final result. It’s a very rewarding creative experience.”

While that sense of energy comes through in the story, BRZRKR walks a fine line between depicting the protagonist’s excessive violence as an aspect of his character and wallowing in the many gory ways to kill people with your bare hands. Reeves strongly defended the book’s graphic “take no prisoners” approach, saying that the protagonist’s inner conflict with his nature and his resistance to being exploited as a weapon are the emotional essence of the conflict.

“The character struggles with this,” said Reeves. “He doesn’t like what he’s doing. He gets very emotional about the consequences of his actions, so it’s not at all dispassionate. That’s part of the tension that’s in it. Yes, people are having their arms ripped off, and there’s the celebratory, symphony aspect of it of it. But [in the story] we’re looking at the interests who want that violence, the people who profit from it. That’s the core of the story.”

Kindt added that forthcoming chapters of BRZRKR would explore the implications of the violence as they echo through the relationships of the characters.

Needless to say, there is already significant interest in the property beyond the world of comics, especially with the leading role not just written for Keanu Reeves, but actually by Keanu Reeves, who was not shy about saying this is a part he’d want. After all, you can’t spell BRZRKR without “KR.” That led to a quick deal with Netflix, announced in May, for an anime series and live action feature co-produced by Reeves, Boom! Studio’s Ross Richie and Stephen Cristy, and Stephen Hamel for Company Films.

In the near term, however, he and his collaborators remain focused on finishing the story they started. “There’s still the next story arc,” said Reeves. “We hope readers will stay with us for that.”

For those wishing to catch up, the collection of the first four issues of BRZRKR comes out October 5th from Boom! Studios.