I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Brzrkr: Bloodlines Vol 1 is the start of a new graphic novel series featuring an immortal character and a lot of violence and gore. I was expecting the violence and gore, but with Keanu Reeves' name on this series, I was also expecting...Well... more than I got.
I can't help feeling let down by this book and the start to this series. I didn't feel the story had much of a story to it and that the main character was quite cardboard within the mayhem around it. The illustrations are fantastic, but the story/plot itself just didn't do it justice, unfortunately.

First I would like to thank NetGalley, the Author, the Artist and the Publisher for this ARC.

Aw man!!!!
Where to begin.

I'm a big fan of everything Keanu Reeves does. His Art, Music, Movies,...
I'm also a big fan of Graphic content, be it violence, death, gore, nudity, sexual,....
But it also depends on the art. I can be very picky.

This Graphic novel tells two tales:
The first is the tale of Unute as the undefeated protector of Atlantis and the destruction of it. With only 2 survivors, the narrator , who is also a scroll-keeper, and Unute.
The second tale is about that same B. but a couple of hundred years later and the destruction of another city, but this time the narrator has something to hide and in the end, does not survive.

Both tales are not for the faint-hearted. They show violence, conspiracy, a little nudity and a lot of blood.

I personally loved the art, although I guess it might not be for every one.
I enjoyed looking at it, enjoyed reading it.
And I would definitely recommend this.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Honestly, I was really excited for the intial volume of BRZRKR. How could I not be? Keanu Reeves is breathtaking and bloody, brutal, immortal John Wick is a great pitch, but I was rather disappointed. I had kinda checked out of the comic, but when I saw the cover for this with Fantasy John Wick in the 1992 Dracula armour and I couldn't not pick it up.

I wasn't disappointed.

This volume contains two stories of the ancient history of Fantasy John Wick.

In the first, FJW is the one man army and king's guard of Atlantis and singlehandedly defeats an entire army, before Lovecraftian cult results in him going mono a monster with Cthulu!

The second has the air of A Thousand Arabian Nights with the sole survivor of a recent epoch of FJW's bloody fury desperately tell the grizzly story. No longer a guard, FJN was captured and made an gladitoral champion, chained and unleashed for amusement, much like Angron, Lord of the Red Sands, of Warhammer 40K and the World Eaters fame. Through plotting and eventual romance he escapes, taking himself off to sate his regular periods of rage, which results in further intrigue and blood.

I had a lot more fun with these than the initial volume. There seems to be a better understanding of just how ridiculous and silly the concept is and the story and artwork captures and reflects this in a way that makes the whole thing all the more enjoyable.

It's still very much 'dudes rock the comic' with women sidelined, impressed and horny for, or betraying FJN and the other men in their lives, which isn't the best. There's a genuine attempt at inclusion with his squire in the first story and the fact the whole second story is framed by the telling by a woman, but this being the trope fest that it is (complimentary and derogatory) it's not the best.

It's also hard to get past the Last Samurai white saviour element with some of the depictions of other characters teetering on the line of possible racist caricature. I don't have enough knowledge or understanding to say too much on this though.

Ultimately, it's some very silly, extremely bloody fun and I genuinely had a good time with it and would be interested in carrying this series on.

I have previously read the first volume of this new comic book series, which I enjoyed. This book has two new writers and has two stories from the distant past of the Berserker.

If you’re not familiar with the premise a man known by different names at different times lives to fight and can not die. He becomes berserk and falls into a trance. Think Conan mixed with Wolverine and John Wick.

It’s ultra violent, filled with adult language and situations and megaplex entertainment. If you can sit down and spend fifteen minutes or so you can be thoroughly satisfied by the action.

I have not read the original BRZRKR series (because I did not know it existed until now!) but I was quite interested to check out BRZRKR: Bloodlines once I saw Keanu Reeves’ co-authored it. The artwork is super cool and I appreciated the direct, for-adults language. For fans of Vinland saga and invincible. This series is soon to be adapted by Netflix so I will be checking out the rest of the story there.

A riveting and visual feast of a narrative that gives a much anticipated insight into the origins of Brzrkrr. It’s gnarly, gritty, and engaging. Great artwork that brings the action to life in your eyes.

I went into this graphic novel with zero expectations. Was it a debut, or part of an ongoing series? I didn't know, and it didn't matter. I fell for the premise, and my curiosity over what a Keanu Reeves-led graphic novel entailed. Result: Is there more?

Two distinct stories are in "BRZRKR: Bloodlines." While each story shares the singular arc of the anti-hero main character, they served different results. The first story (Poetry of Madness) followed an mythology-tinged setting complete with the Greek pantheon, Cthulhu, and Atlantis. As an introduction to this graphic novel, I was confused by who was who, what was what, and why the hell is Cthulhu there?! I "kind of" got a feel for the MC but not enough to sate my questions. Story: 3 out of 5.

The second story (Fallen Empire) was miles above the previous one. It had mystery, suspense, horror, romance, betrayal, revenge - listen, it had ALL THE COOL STUFF! I enjoyed the story so much. The writing was tighter, providing a satisfying look into the MC and the people around him. I was gobsmacked by certain info, which is what I hope to find when I read comics and graphic novels. Story: 5 out of 5.

Looking at the creative team's bios, I am excited to get my hands on more of their projects. I'm hooked!

Loved the whole BRZRKR series and read it in one sitting. I can't wait for it to be adapted into a show. I love the character B and his whole backstory as I could relate to some of the trauma aspects. The art was also done beautifully and fit the story well

So I been following the BRZRKR comics and this is one of my favorites. It has a lot of action inside of it and kept me engaged and entertained. I love the writing style for it is magnificent and could totally hear the different voices for each character everytime they came up. Thank you Keanu and Mattson for the fabulous graphic comics and can’t wait to read more when they are released.

I will start this review off by saying that this series will not be for everyone. There is a gratuitous amount of violence and gore depicted throughout the graphic novel. Fans of the manga series and Keanu Reeves himself will most likely be aware of the tone of this graphic novel before starting it.

I am one of the people that this did not work for, as although I do not mind gore or violence in graphic novels, I do think that it was over-the-top (intentionally so, as again that is the tone of the series). It did more to distract me than it did to add to the story.

Volume 1 has two storylines, Poetry of Madness and Fallen Empire. Poetry of Madness features the immortal protagonist named B, who is a warrior and has a high status in the realm of Atlantis. The protagonist is tasked with defending the realm when the King (with the help of a cult) brings literal evil to the world that must be defeated. Fallen Empire also involves a royal, this time a politically motivated Queen, who uses B to overcome her opponents, and our immortal protagonist proves to be a force to be reckoned with.

Thank you to BOOM! Studios and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this work.

I truly enjoyed this comic book. I am generally weary of comic books these days, but this was fun. I will continue to read this title, more than likely in physical format rather than digital.

Brzrkr: Bloodlines is my introduction to the world of Unute the Berserker. What a fun character, I don’t know if this book serves as a prequel of sorts or an “early years”, whatever it is, I’m into reading everything else that’s come before. An interesting narrative and fun artwork (maybe a little light hearted when compared to the grim material).

I dug it. Thank you for the opportunity.

You there! Yes, you! Are you looking for a comic read that’s more style over substance? What about a super action-packed gore-fest that has elements of Lovecraftian horror? Well, look no further than Brzrkr: Bloodlines.

Before we begin, thank you to Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first series. I liked it enough. Thought it was fun, engaging, and gory. This one here is more of the same. With one notable exception… there’s even less of a story here.

While there are moments of intrigue and promise, the storyline occasionally meanders, leaving some of the character motivations and plot points underdeveloped.

The book’s pacing is a mixed bag: it rushes through potentially interesting subplots and then lingers on action scenes without providing enough context or emotional weight.

Over all, I enjoyed it. If you’ve never read this series before, I wouldn’t start with this one. Fans would appreciate this more. But if you just want to look at some gory artwork, I’d say go for it.

This is the first BRZRKR graphic novel I've read, but it's very accessible and by that I mean I didn't feel like I was missing out on anything by not reading the previous publications. You'll love this book if you enjoyed the dry humor in the John Wick movies and the world building of Constantine. I'm really looking forward to checking out other content in this series.

You there! Yes, you! Are you looking for a comic read that’s more style over substance? What about a super action-packed gore-fest that has elements of Lovecraftian horror? Well, look no further than Brzrkr: Bloodlines.

Before we begin, thank you to Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first series. I liked it enough. Thought it was fun, engaging, and gory. This one here is more of the same. With one notable exception… there’s even less of a story here.

While there are moments of intrigue and promise, the storyline occasionally meanders, leaving some of the character motivations and plot points underdeveloped.

The book’s pacing is a mixed bag: it rushes through potentially interesting subplots and then lingers on action scenes without providing enough context or emotional weight.

Over all, I enjoyed it. If you’ve never read this series before, I wouldn’t start with this one. Fans would appreciate this more. But if you just want to look at some gory artwork, I’d say go for it.

I dove into Brzrkr: Bloodlines Volume 1 without prior knowledge of the series, and while I'm sure I missed some context, I thoroughly enjoyed this backstory.

The irony, deception, and gore kept me interested, and the ending left me eager for more. The artwork was impressive, adding to the overall intensity of the story.

Despite being a newcomer to the series, I highly recommend Brzrkr: Bloodlines Volume 1. It's a gripping and action-packed read that left me happy.

Thank you NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for the ARC.

The violence and the graphics reminded me so much of Samurai Jack. I guess mainly because the ration between showing the blood and the war violence or contestant war violence was really heavy. I like the old-school comic look that it had and the story line as really good to go with the graphics. I just can’t believe that she lied to him knowing what type of person he was and what he was capable of doing but, sure enough when they ad sex she thought it was her way of asking the truth. He had already figured it out by that time. She indeed did get her peace though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boom! Studios for the review copy.

To be honest, I have not read any of the previous issues or volumes of the <i>BRZRKR</i> series, but I have heard mostly positive reviews. When I saw this was available for review I wasted no time requesting a copy since I have a been a fan of prior works from Steve Skroce, Mattson Tomlin, and Rebekah Isaacs. The results are...varied.

Understanding <i>BRZRKR: Bloodlines</i> is an origin story of sorts for Unute (a character created by and resembling Keanu Reeves), I had hoped this would serve as a good introduction to the character. I am not sure I did myself a disservice by not having read prior <i>BRZRKR</i> stories or there just isn't much enough depth to the character to mine anything else.

Both stories in this collection are, at face value, masked as love stories. The first story, <i>Poetry of Madness</i>, is a visual treat that does not shy away from the extreme, but unfortunately visually is where it ends. Steve Skroce's art style (not dissimilar to Geoff Darrow, Frank Quitely, and Moebius) is a perfect fit for a story leaning into the violent, bloody, morbid, and mythological, but I don't believe the story stands along side the standard of the art. An immortal warrior in love with his city, serving his king, and protecting his people should be ripe with story possibilities, but Skroce decided to forego character depth and heart for some decapitations and spreads of Cthulu.

The second story by Mattson Tomlin and Rebekah Isaacs, <i>Fallen Empire</i>, is equally stunning to look at, but, just like the previous tale, lacks an emotional core. We follow Unute on a journey as he is captured, enslaved, freed, loved, and manipulated. It is hard to care for a character (plagued? blessed?) with immortality and a photographic memory when those are the keys to every answer to every problem he faces. While not as heavy in the gore department as the first story, Isaacs manages to marry the beauty and the violence seamlessly. It is a shame the visuals are stunning, but not enough to carry the emotional weight needed to sell Unute's predicament.

I do not attribute the fault of these paper-thin plots to the writers, I just don't believe there is much to mine from the character or story. I can recommend this book on the visuals alone, and wonder if I will think differently of these stories once I eventually read the main <i>BRZRKR</i> title, but for now I would say this is a borrow or library rental.

Unfortunately, this is high on my list of follow-ups/sequels/prequels/returns that should never have been done.

BRZRKR is an excellent mash-up of ultra violent action comic and philosophical discussions on life, death, love, and many things in between. One of the best pieces of visual media I consumed in 2024.

My first return to this world, the book of elsewhere, did a fine job of meshing BRZRKR with China Mieville's particular brand of weird. It didn't work for everyone, but it worked for me.

BRZRKR: Bloodlines, on the other hand, is simply ultra violent action comic with none of the philosophizing heart of the original or the weird of elsewhere. And, in the first issue of the two collected here, Cthulhu and Atlantis thrown in for good measure.

I am left simply asking myself "Why?".

Thanks to BOOM! Studios and NetGalley for the eArc.

Further exploration of the incredible world of Keanu Reeve’s BRZRKR! In this deeper dive into the world of creator Keanu Reeves’ mind-bending world of B., the immortal warrior with a abiding lust for carnage , we see tale of B.ks exploits throughout history (as he sees it). In the first of two tales, we see B. fighting a band of rabid cultists in Atlantis and a tangling with a certain tentacled god. In the second, we read a tale of honor, betrayal, and even romance of a sort. The format of these tales allows authors such as Steve Skroce and Matt Tomlin in this volume to run amok throughout history, weaving in the stories of our favorite immortal merc. I loved every single moment of it. The stories are well written and the art is amazing. I can’t recommend this more for lovers of adventure, wild combat (gory as heck), warped history.