Keanu Reeves spoke with TODAY this morning to introduce his debut as a comic book author with BRZRKR, published by Boom Studios. Reeves has been working on the project since 2017, starting with an image of “a character in the middle of a battle” who Reeves describes as “berzerkering.” Reeves introduced their “super team” consisting of writer Matt Kindt (Folklords, Bang!), illustrator Ron Garney (Wolverine, Captain America), colorist Bill Crabtree (BRPD), and letterer Clem Robbins (Hellboy).
The first four issues of BRZRKR are now collected in an anthology and tell “the origin story of this character who was born 80,000 years ago” and is “cursed with an impulse to violence.” BRZRKR is a “half-human, half-god” who “doesn’t want to kill but is compelled to.”
Reeves called BRZRKR “a story for all times but also our times.” In addition to epic battles, it explores everyday questions like, “how do people react to him?” and “how is he used?” The wide sweep and scope allow BRZRKR to reimagine classic events. “We have fun going through epochs and ages of human history.”
Netflix recently announced an anime series and a live-action film based on the BRZRKR with Reeves producing and starring. Reeves is excited to tell “different versions of the story in anime or live action” through Netflix. More information on the comic is available on its official website.