‘BRZRKR: Bloodlines Vol. 1’ created by Keanu Reeves with story by Steve Skroce and Mattson Tomlin is a graphic novel that looks into the brutal past of the immortal warrior B., aka Berzerker.

This book consists of two stories. The first, Poetry of Madness, has B as the defender of Atlantis, fighting all single handedly who would try to destroy the city, both outside and inside. In Fallen Empire, a former kingdom destroyed by BRZRKR yields a sole female survivor who tells a different story of him than he recollects, but is she to be trusted?

It’s a highly visceral set of stories featuring a protagonist who revels in ending his foes in the most gory way possible. The stories are solid as is the art.

Really enjoyed this graphic novel. Two stories, involving the history of B. Enjoyed both stories, the characters, the pacing, and the artwork. Can't wait to read more in this world. #BRZRKRBloodlines #NetGalley

I liked the art style and the story as well and I appreciate Netgalley giving me the chance to read a work created by Keanu.

That being said I did not expect it to be so much blood and gore. When I was reading the story I was enjoying it but unfortunately the amount of gore in the art was personally just too much for me. I also didn’t like how the art style changed on the gore pages.

Was this installment in the BRZRKR series necessary? Not really.
Was it what I hope it would be? Not exactly.
Is it a bad read? No, actually.

Let's start with the positive aspects.
- I did like the 2 stories presented in this volume. The origin story of BRZKR is very intriguing and this “anecdotes” help to understand the character a little more, but shyly. It doesn't really add any new layer of depth.
- What never lacks to impress is the art. It's incredible!

On the other hand, and as I've already mentioned, my biggest issue with Bloodlines and with the whole series is the aftertaste. The plot usually happens to be very promising, but the delivery always falls short.

All in all, there was a lot of potential to do something that the other 3 volumes couldn't do: dive deeper into the character, but somehow it couldn't do more than scratch the surface.

🔞 Trigger Warning: Death, Gore, and Nudity.
🔴 Some readers may find the description of this review disturbing.

It's been years since I read a graphic novel, and choosing BRZRKR: Bloodlines was a worthy decision. I mean, how can you say NO to something that is created by none other than Keanu Reeves in and as a face of the merciless demigod who feeds on his rage, baths in blood and the pile of the dead bodies he leaves behind wherever he goes!

He isn't the carrier of the death, but DEATH himself.

There are two stories in this book: Poetry of Madness and Fallen Empire. In the first story, our Demigod Unute is the king's guard, serving king Azaes since Azaes was a kid. As long aas the Kings guard stood by his king, his kingdom was undefeated. In the very beginning, there's an intense battle where Unute fights alone against the whole marching army to protect the kingdom. The gore and the portrayed action is so disturbing and detailed when the king's guard massacred the hundreds of them alone. With his regeneration and healing abilities, he and the kingdom cannot be defeated.

After all, Death never dies!

Compared to the first one—even with its adrenaline filled action— I loved the Fallen Empire story the most. It was a proper drama that included deception, betrayal, character arcs, and unforgiving wrath of a warrior who has a monster within him that comes out now and then to quench the thirst, he had for killing.

Compared to the first story, the second story had less action, but it was more gripping and kept me invested and glued to the book. Imagine an Invincible force—our Demigod protagonist— going against the standing kingdoms and making them history by turning them into ruins with no survivors left alive.

It's highly recommended by me because Keanu Reeves as a creator/writer, Steve Skroce, Mattson Tomlin and the team literally nailed the execution with this graphic novel. Whatever the rating scale I would rate it the fullest.

Overall, if you are looking for a fun and enjoyable start to a series featuring an immortal being who loves carnage, then this just might be what you are looking for. With no shortage of blood, gore, action, drama, and a decent amount of “steamy” stuff throughout, ‘BRZRKR: Bloodlines’ (Volume #1) pulls no punches in delivering the aforementioned elements. The plot aspect could have been done better in my opinion, but nonetheless, this was a pretty good enough read altogether.

Rating: – 7/10 (A fun read).

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend and I can’t wait to buy a copy for myself 🙂

Rating 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This just really didn't end up being for me which is totally ok! The story didn't land like I wanted it to, but I thought the artwork was good. I'd definitely give another book in the series a shot.

Thank you Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

0.5 Star.
WOW!! That was just the worst comics I've ever read in my life! My eyes are hurting me right now.

I recieved an ARC of BRZRKR Bloodlines from Netgalley.
To start this adventure off right I read the original 3 Graphic Novel run first. This series is incredibly brutal in the best way. Very graphic, very raw, and through all of that so much heart comes through in the story. The character is Conanesque with heart and a lot of detention. The stories were well told and plotted out. I love that it was broken into two seperate stories, and while I liked the second one more the first one still has a lot to give.

There is also a novel coming out set in this same world that i have been kindly given an ARC to and I am looking forward to that as well! I want to know so much more of this world and I hope we get more volumes of Bloodline soon.

I had a tough time putting this graphic novel down. Both stories were a bit intense, but took me on an amazing adventure. We see this character has been through much, and it has changed them over the years. Along the way they have made some hard decisions, ones that came with dire consequences. As this graphic novel came to a close, it was clear these adventures have only just begun.

This book contains two stories of B.'s past that show that violence has always been his bread and butter, even when he had carved himself a home or thought he'd found love. They're deeply emotional and show that there are worse monsters out there than B.
I'm only giving this one 3.5 stars even though I love the stories and think the writing is excellent, but it's so incredibly and unnecessarily bloody. I get that it's all about how dangerous B. is, but is it absolutely necessary to see guts, brains, and body parts on almost every single page?
The art is good and there are amazing images that made me go back to enjoy them after finishing the story. The faces are a bit wonky at times and the female characters are hard to separate at moments, but it kind of works for the story.
I honestly think the stories could have been told just as effectively without all the gore, but that's a personal preference.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for the read!

A short two-shotter from B's past: (1) fighting Cthullu in Atlantis and (2) destroying a kingdom, as told by its sole survivor. Fans of BRZRKR should enjoy it but it lacked some of the underlying pathos of the other works, making me wonder if Reeves had less of a hand in the writing.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

As a huge fan of Keanu Reeves amd the BRZRKR series, I was excited to delve into this new issue. I enjoyed the characters and the story. The pacing and the plot twists was epic and intriguing.

The art style was a bit different from the other issue I'd read but it was incredibly done and you could immerse yourself into the world and follow the journey of the characters.

I have heard of this series and have been meaning to read. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to see what it is all about. It was fun, violent, campy, gory, and a bit out there! Surprised to see some Lovecraftian influences. I got exactly what I expected to get from this ARC.

Finally an American comic worth picking up. As a lifelong comic fan pickings have been slim lately, but the team that worked on BRZRKR has brought something not seen in American comics for a long time. Raw emotions and a heartfelt story . This story reads more in the vein of a manga, the closest I can come to it is Berserk. Violently beautiful, the artwork sticks out at first, but as I was reading it felt like I was 14 again reading early issues on McFarland's Spawn run. Now time to find all the issues of this title for my collection.

Art style is good, but compared to the original graphic novel, these two one shot stories are kind of meh. I can understand giving a sort of insight into the characters past, but didn't think the stories were that interesting or engaging.

Certainly not at all written by Keanuweenie, this proves to be two extended one-shots about a quite yawnsome, invincible warrior, who feeds off the blood, energy and glory of defeating all-comers who want to invade Atlantis and steal her gold. He also protects the King, and has done for decades, but in the first story the King is in with the wrong crowd, who – oh crap, it's a Cthulhu story. Well, I clearly ought to have known, I guess, after all, this is going to be a huge Nutflux thing, according to the blurb. I don't give a single hoot about that, as I'm here for this book and this book alone, and the first story is not great – the woman narrating having more of the feel of one of those scene-setting Free Comic Book Day volumes, as opposed to the feel of something written for our enjoyment.

The second piece is set in more of an Arabian desert, as another King gets hold of our man and thinks he and his blood-rage are tameable, and an asset to be stored away until needed. It's not an idea shared by the Queen, who nicks him and scarpers with him, proving that this bloke is clearly a very Conan-styled warrior, able to crop up in all sorts of environments and with all sorts of fit women, before doing some hack and slash for different reasons and moving on. This is the better piece, for having a bit more oomph in the narrative voice, even if the alleged twist is as predictable as a hand wafting among the barley being a dead man's.

None of this is dreadful, but nothing here ever smacked of pulling me in to the main series, and I doubt many serious fans of that could hand-on-heart swear that any of this was close to essential. Conan books are generally 'you've read one, you've read them all', and as I say this has much DNA in common.

I guess this wasn't what I was expecting....I really enjoyed the original BRZRKR series. This one is a "spin off" of the series set in the same world with known characters but written and drawn by various people. It was terrible, it wasn't great.

This is a must read for fans of Keanu reeves. His character takes on larger than life battles. The story is told with vivid and rich illustrations that elevate the story.