BRZRKR: City of Darkness – Keanu Reeves Brings ‘Heroic Bloodshed’ to 1994 Hong Kong

If you thought Keanu Reeves was done redefining action, think again. The man who gave us Neo and John Wick has been quietly building a massive comic book empire, and his unstoppable immortal warrior, B, is officially back.

We’re talking about BRZRKR, the runaway hit from Boom! Studios that sold over half a million copies and blew a hole right through the comic industry back in 2021. Now, B is trading in his modern black-ops missions for a one-way ticket to 1990s Hong Kong in the brand new one-shot, BRZRKR: City of Darkness.

And trust me, if you’re a fan of high-octane cinema, this one’s going to hit all the right notes.

Welcome to 1994 Hong Kong

Here’s the setup: The year is 1994. The historic handover from the UK to China is looming, and the streets of Hong Kong are an absolute powder keg. We’re dropping right into the middle of a brutal triad gang war where the bullets are flying and the blood is flowing.

Enter B. Our guy has a centuries-long wrong to right, and according to Boom! Studios, he’s got about ten thousand bullets to get the job done. B steps into the life of a young Triad member, and as you can probably guess, absolute chaos ensues.

A Love Letter to John Woo

What makes City of Darkness so incredibly cool is how deeply it leans into its influences. If the setup sounds like a classic ’90s action flick, that’s fully intentional. The entire book is essentially a love letter to the “heroic bloodshed” genre pioneered by legendary Hong Kong director John Woo.

Think about the DNA here. John Woo’s masterpieces like Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow heavily influenced The Matrix. The Matrix established Keanu as a god-tier action star, which eventually paved the way for the Gun-Fu brilliance of John Wick. Bringing B into a stylized, dual-wielding, dove-flying John Woo environment isn’t just a fun concept—it’s the perfect full-circle moment for Keanu’s career.

The Creative Heavyweights

To pull off a vibe this specific, you need the right team. While Reeves co-created the universe with Matt Kindt, City of Darkness brings in some fresh blood.

Writing the issue is Mike Costa, whose resume spans everything from the Lucifer TV series to G.I. JOE: Cobra. But the real secret weapon here might be the artist, Kenny Wong. Wong actually comes from the world of stunt work. Having an artist who intimately understands the physical choreography of a stunt sequence drawing a John Woo-inspired comic? Yeah, the action panels are going to be absolutely visceral.

When Does It Drop?

BRZRKR has already expanded into a novel (The Book of Elsewhere with China Miéville) and has a feature film in the works, but the comics are still the beating heart of this universe.

BRZRKR: City of Darkness #1 hits shelves on November 18 via Boom! Studios. Tell your local comic shop to pull a copy, because if this is anything like the original run, it’s going to vanish off the racks fast.