BRZRKR #5

BRZRKR #5

BOOM! Studios 2021

Written by Keanu Reeves & Matt Kindt

Illustrated by Ron Garney

Coloured by Bill Crabtree

Lettered by Clem Robins

What shocking new discovery will bring B. one step closer to understanding his origins?

As B. and Diana's bond continues to grow, B. opens up about a recurring trauma from his past. Will this new revelation jeopardize B. and Keever's latest mission? Or is it all part of a plan by Caldwell to trigger more memories?

With each issue the Doc is digging herself into a deeper and deeper hole that there is no escaping from. When Unute finds out the truth every single person in this lab and who works for it is going to be slaughtered like lambs by wolves. I’m actually really looking forward to that as the characterisation of the Doc keeps painting her more and more in such a bad light. By the opposite side of the coin for the first time we really get to sympathise and empathise with Unute in such a strong and powerful way and all the while he’s being much too trusting of the situation and he knows, he knows on some level that she’s not on the up and up only he really doesn’t want to admit to himself as he’s finally in a place where his unique skill set can be utilised without causing him grief.

I’m in love with the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exquisitely. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter as this really does a magnificent job bringing their ever evolving personalities to the forefront. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story the more we are drawn in and the more engaged and invested we become.

I am enjoying how this is being structured and how we see the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. These layers open up some great avenues to be explored and some that won’t be but they all do the same thing and that adds this great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. The way everything works together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how we see it move the story forward is impeccably achieved.

I think that the interiors here are utterly spectacular. The linework that we see is strong, clean and crisp and how with the varying weights and techniques create this amazing attention to detail we see throughout the book. How we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably strong eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a phenomenal eye for how colour works and how to maximise its effects.

​

The past, the present and the future for Unute are all pretty much the same thing just set in different eras. Love is not denied to him but watching someone age and die while you stay forever young and unable to procreate soon takes its toll on you. Though with someone so long lived I’m surprised there’s never been a man in his life as well. You'd think he’d find love where he finds it and gender wouldn’t be an issue to someone this long lived, especially upon realising that procreation is out the window. This is just phenomenally written with intense characterisation that’s all wrapped up in these astonishingly well rendered interiors and all it does is make us want oh so much more.