Scan barcode
shadowagentzero's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
indyman's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Originally published at my blog
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).
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).
lui_the_third's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thischarmingamy's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
pastel_princess's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tawfek's review
2.0
First of all thanks to Steve Skroce and Mattson Tomlin and Rebekah Isaacs for this ARC.
This review feels weird for me, because not only is it the first ARC review i am thanking someone i am giving one star, but it's also the first review i am going to say some really mean stuff about the publisher of the Graphic Novel.
Boom studios are milking Keanu Reeves worse than what humans do to cows, Unless of course it's his request that his name be listed as a writer in a book he wrote not a single word of, in which case that would be really arrogant and an asshole thing to do.
I do know how big his name is, and that just putting his name first, gives all the writers and artists here more spotlight, people sell their souls for more Money, But i honestly think it's pretty disrespectful.
You could have listed him as creator, you could have said Keanu Reeves presents, you could have said from the mind of Keanu Reeves, and so on like so many way better way prominent comic writers before him, But no, He is listed first name on the cover, which probably forces librarians here on goodreads to put him first name on the book even though he wrote not a single word of this.
And btw i knew this reading the Graphic novel, because the credit page gives credit where credit is due, So this initial rant doesn't effect my rating for the stories in this volume.
Review for BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness #1 1/5 stars
Nothing is faster than reading modern comics, old comics drag on, but modern comics feel like they are paying by the word and they are still cheap and don't want to pay the writer too much, not saying that this is really what's happening anyway.
So finally i am here reading BRZRKR which is funny i was never going to buy this to read it, i have no faith in actors becoming writers and making something worth while, but people encourage them to do that regardless.
While Keanu Reeves didn't write this, it's his character, it's his world, it's his brand of action.
A character that's in desperate need for an actual personality.
Action scene that are in desperate need of fight dynamics, not just a man cutting everything with no push back, splatter the entire screen with blood so that the readers don't realize just how superficial this is in fact.
I liked the story of Atlantis the king the cult.
I liked the art of how the protagonist looks, how the non action scenes look it's a good artist just lacking fight scene imagination to direct the scene and make it interesting, i also liked how Cuthulhu looked even though there should be enough material to support drawing it.
Believe it or not even after all this review i don't feel sorry to have read this, it was a good idea but bad production.
Review for BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1 4/5 stars
This was actually way way better than poetry of madness that i had to go back and give poetry of madness 1 star lol
For some reason both tales feel devoid of originality, i don't know why i am getting this feeling, but i read a few Conan stories, maybe because they give the same feeling?
Anyway the worst thing in this story was Keanu Reeves John Wick acting, MC is still in need of a personality, and he is never going to get it, it seems!
This story though was dramatic, the twist wasn't insane or anything, but it made the story more dramatic.
The art was really good here also way better than poetry of madness even though i liked the art not the direction of the art over there, there was actual action scenes, the fights conveyed what really happened, even though the story wasn't full on mayhem like Poetry of Madness.
Issue is where does it stop? because both stories pretty much have the same premise, Old civilizations destroyed by the immortal because he crossed paths with them, and they were assholes to him, you can make tons of these stories, Bring out your Ubar, Sodom and Gomorrah and so on, and put this guy smack dab in the middle of destruction.
Even though following friends reviews at the time, the ratings were higher for early BRZRKR and lower for the following volumes, i think maybe i want to give it a chance to see how Keanu is any better than these writers.
Overall rating 2.5/5 stars i was planning on rounding this up to 3, but after being pissed off on the entire Keanu Reeves being falsely credited on goodreads and the cover, i won't be doing that anymore.
This review feels weird for me, because not only is it the first ARC review i am thanking someone i am giving one star, but it's also the first review i am going to say some really mean stuff about the publisher of the Graphic Novel.
Boom studios are milking Keanu Reeves worse than what humans do to cows, Unless of course it's his request that his name be listed as a writer in a book he wrote not a single word of, in which case that would be really arrogant and an asshole thing to do.
I do know how big his name is, and that just putting his name first, gives all the writers and artists here more spotlight, people sell their souls for more Money, But i honestly think it's pretty disrespectful.
You could have listed him as creator, you could have said Keanu Reeves presents, you could have said from the mind of Keanu Reeves, and so on like so many way better way prominent comic writers before him, But no, He is listed first name on the cover, which probably forces librarians here on goodreads to put him first name on the book even though he wrote not a single word of this.
And btw i knew this reading the Graphic novel, because the credit page gives credit where credit is due, So this initial rant doesn't effect my rating for the stories in this volume.
Review for BRZRKR: Poetry of Madness #1 1/5 stars
Some wounds will never heal, Despite all the pain and suffering that he has endured, He still does not cry...
Nothing is faster than reading modern comics, old comics drag on, but modern comics feel like they are paying by the word and they are still cheap and don't want to pay the writer too much, not saying that this is really what's happening anyway.
So finally i am here reading BRZRKR which is funny i was never going to buy this to read it, i have no faith in actors becoming writers and making something worth while, but people encourage them to do that regardless.
While Keanu Reeves didn't write this, it's his character, it's his world, it's his brand of action.
A character that's in desperate need for an actual personality.
Action scene that are in desperate need of fight dynamics, not just a man cutting everything with no push back, splatter the entire screen with blood so that the readers don't realize just how superficial this is in fact.
I liked the story of Atlantis the king the cult.
I liked the art of how the protagonist looks, how the non action scenes look it's a good artist just lacking fight scene imagination to direct the scene and make it interesting, i also liked how Cuthulhu looked even though there should be enough material to support drawing it.
Believe it or not even after all this review i don't feel sorry to have read this, it was a good idea but bad production.
Review for BRZRKR: Fallen Empire #1 4/5 stars
This was actually way way better than poetry of madness that i had to go back and give poetry of madness 1 star lol
For some reason both tales feel devoid of originality, i don't know why i am getting this feeling, but i read a few Conan stories, maybe because they give the same feeling?
Anyway the worst thing in this story was Keanu Reeves John Wick acting, MC is still in need of a personality, and he is never going to get it, it seems!
This story though was dramatic, the twist wasn't insane or anything, but it made the story more dramatic.
The art was really good here also way better than poetry of madness even though i liked the art not the direction of the art over there, there was actual action scenes, the fights conveyed what really happened, even though the story wasn't full on mayhem like Poetry of Madness.
Issue is where does it stop? because both stories pretty much have the same premise, Old civilizations destroyed by the immortal because he crossed paths with them, and they were assholes to him, you can make tons of these stories, Bring out your Ubar, Sodom and Gomorrah and so on, and put this guy smack dab in the middle of destruction.
Even though following friends reviews at the time, the ratings were higher for early BRZRKR and lower for the following volumes, i think maybe i want to give it a chance to see how Keanu is any better than these writers.
Overall rating 2.5/5 stars i was planning on rounding this up to 3, but after being pissed off on the entire Keanu Reeves being falsely credited on goodreads and the cover, i won't be doing that anymore.
orlesianmask's review
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for review purposes.
As a prequel to the original BRZRKR series, Bloodlines compiles two stories of B's life through the ages. My rating is a 3.5 star out of five.
The first story, Poetry of Madness, was the stronger of the two. B is acting as a bodyguard to the once child, now adult, king of Atlantis. The King listens to some bad advice and conducts a ritual that raises something evil. I was drawn into the plot of this one and thought the art of the big bad was so cool. This one gets 4/5 for me.
The second story, Dead Empire, was weaker in my opinion. B is in a vaguely Middle Eastern location where different civilizations are at war. B of course can intervene to wipe out entire armies at a time, but refuses to do so for the ruler who imprisons him. He then escapes with help from the ruler's wife and must travel to satisfy his bloodlust. I thought this was too similar to the first story, with a less interesting payoff at the end and gratuitous nudity to boot. This one only gets a 3/5 from me.
Both of these stories combined appear to be set up for the announced movie; establishing a weakness to the main character when it comes to protecting/believing both women and children. If you were a fan of the original series and wanted to see more art of a Keanu Reeves character ripping people to shreds like I did, it is worth picking up. If you haven't read the original series, I would recommend that first and only diving into this if you are along for the ride.
As a prequel to the original BRZRKR series, Bloodlines compiles two stories of B's life through the ages. My rating is a 3.5 star out of five.
The first story, Poetry of Madness, was the stronger of the two. B is acting as a bodyguard to the once child, now adult, king of Atlantis. The King listens to some bad advice and conducts a ritual that raises something evil. I was drawn into the plot of this one and thought the art of the big bad was so cool. This one gets 4/5 for me.
The second story, Dead Empire, was weaker in my opinion. B is in a vaguely Middle Eastern location where different civilizations are at war. B of course can intervene to wipe out entire armies at a time, but refuses to do so for the ruler who imprisons him. He then escapes with help from the ruler's wife and must travel to satisfy his bloodlust. I thought this was too similar to the first story, with a less interesting payoff at the end and gratuitous nudity to boot. This one only gets a 3/5 from me.
Both of these stories combined appear to be set up for the announced movie; establishing a weakness to the main character when it comes to protecting/believing both women and children. If you were a fan of the original series and wanted to see more art of a Keanu Reeves character ripping people to shreds like I did, it is worth picking up. If you haven't read the original series, I would recommend that first and only diving into this if you are along for the ride.
windfire_sky's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75