Dead girlfriends and more than enough gore to share? Say hello to Berserker … then run for your life.
Berserker #1
Publisher: Top Cow
Writer: Rick Loverd
Artist: Jeremy Haun
Covers: Dale Keown and Jeremy Haun
Summary: A brutal new series produced by Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia and DiVide Pictures!
The lives of Aaron and Farris, two young and completely different men, are turned upside down when they discover an animalistic and uncontrollable rage living inside them. Meanwhile, two mysterious organizations seek them out for their newfound strength and power for their own purposes. But what good is strength and power when you can’t tell friend from foe?
From Friday Night Lights screenwriter Rick Loverd and artist Jeremy Haun (Chuck, Leading Man) comes a raw, bloody series in the spirit of Wanted! Featuring variant covers by series artist Jeremy Haun and Dale Keown (The Darkness/Pitt).
Review: The preview issue of Berserker left me anticipating the blood-drenched premiere, but what I finally read left me as brain dead as one of the book’s violent and superhuman characters.
Berserker #1 spotlights Aaron and Farris, whose fates are connected by their unsuspecting and soon-to-be distraught girlfriends and a tattooed stalker tracking their movements. Oh, and their sudden onset of intense rages that lead to splintered bones, dismemberment, and convenient post-Hulk-out memory loss. Talk about temper. While Aaron’s outburst forces him off the wrestling team, Farris Jorn’s time bomb situation snags the attention of Rowena Dauven, a woman who exhibits the same kind of rampages—only she can control her unusual strength. She reaches out to Farris and offers to help him, but before he accepts … well, just take a wild guess.
This issue conceals more than it unleashes, ironically enough; even though I like the concept, the organization was all over the place as much as the blood. I find it difficult to believe that no one noticed the tattooed man; not to mention he simply dropped off the pages, making his whole presence ignored and basically pointless. Rick Loverd will have to provide more than blood-splattered dialogue to hook me on Berserker.
The comic should appeal to all the gore fans out there, though, because the blood practically soaks through the pages. But splashes of blood don’t make a comic worth its price, and there’s always the chance that the anger-triggered scenes could become ridiculous. “Did you eat the last slice of cake?! I’ll slice you!”
Look for Berserker #1 in your local comic shop starting tomorrow. Pick your variant wisely, collectors.
June 24th, 2009 at 4:38 am
Great review and I appreciate the honesty. Not every comic is for every fan.
June 24th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Thanks! ^__^
Yeah, although I do hope it gets better. I was really looking forward to this comic, so it sucks to be disappointed.