Whoa - Keanu Reeves Is Now Writing Comic Books

Jul 18, 2020 by apost team

Keanu Reeves has played roles in action movies, dramas, and comedies, and spends a lot of his free time funding cancer research. Sometimes referred to as a cultural icon, the 55-year-old actor, musician and director is known for being a shy introvert despite his fame, as well as a genuinely nice person to be around. On July 17th, an announcement made by BOOM! Studios revealed that Reeves is soon also going to be a published comic book writer.

The announcement was made via Twitter and included a link to the exclusive USA Today report. Part of the reveal was the front cover of the first issue of the upcoming series. As can be seen, the series' hero will take his looks directly from the comic's author, resembling Reeves a great deal. As USA Today reports, the series is supposed to run for 12 issues at first, appearing monthly and starting on October 7. Co-writer is Matt Kindt and Alessandro Vitti is engaged as the artist.

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BRZKR, as the series is titled, will tell the story about an immortal warrior with a bloody, violent past who takes on dangerous jobs for the U.S. government in exchange for help figuring out his past. As revealed in the USA Today article, Reeves and BOOM! Studios have been planning this comic for more than a year now. The actor originally met with representatives of the studio to talk about producing material for live-action vehicles, but somehow ended up telling them about his idea for an action comic as well. He told them about his idea:

“[T]his character who was born 80,000 years ago, half man, his father's a war god. It's a little fantasy in reality. [...] I had this image in my head of a guy fighting through the ages because of his father's compulsion to violence” but with the pathos of a man “trapped and trying to figure it out.”

Voices from BOOM! Studios have nothing but good things to say about working with Reeves. As editor-in-chief Matt Gagnon put it:

“Spend five minutes with Keanu and it becomes clear very quickly why he’s earned all the success he has. Exceptional creative instincts, deep reservoirs of wisdom on story, the ability to consistently tap into the raw emotion of a moment, relentless commitment to quality and the task at hand – it’s all this and much more that make Keanu an inspiring force.”

His co-writer Kindt, who has worked for DC Comics and Marvel before, also has nothing but kind words for the actor-turned-author:

Reeves brings creativity to “the action and the backstory of the characters," Kindt says, "and he's been open to me inserting my fascination for history, conspiracies and espionage into the mix along with a fragmented narrative structure.”

It actually isn't such a big surprise that Reeves is a good writer. The movie star has in fact already released two books with his longtime girlfriend, Alexandra Grant. The first, published in 2012, is titled "Ode to Happiness" and features drawings made by Grant and text and poems written by Reeves. The second book, called "Shadows", followed in 2016, once again featuring drawings from Grant and text from Reeves. Both books received positive reviews.

Are you looking forward to the comic? What do you think of this branching out by Keanu Reeves? We would like to hear your and your friends thoughts about this!