All of us at Goggler love comics. You know comics, 24 pages of visual storytelling, usually with a superhero in tights beating up some bad guy, who might or might not be in tights. The last decade has seen an explosion of comic book characters that have transitioned from the printed page to the screen (both big and small), in no small part due to the explosion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which in itself was a response to Fox’s superhero movies, which was a response to DC’s comic book movies, a response to Marvel’s Hulk TV series and Adam West’s Batman series. What we’re saying is that Marvel and DC have been in a war for our eyeballs (and our wallets) from day one and we at Goggler are here for it.
In this all new weekly column, however, we’d like to introduce you to the wider world of comics. To give you an inroad into more than just Marvel and DC. If you’re new to comics, “Welcome!” You’ll probably find some stuff here that isn’t about superheroes saving the world/time/dimension. If you already have boxes and boxes of comics (or a Comixology account that’s filled to the brim) then stick around, maybe you’ll see something you like.
On this week’s edition of The Goggler Pull List we’re looking at Image Comics’ Invincible, the Keanu Reeves helmed BRZRKR, and Chip Zdarsky’s Stillwater. You can read this list from beginning to end, or click the links to jump to each of the titles below.
Invincible (Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley)
I’m not going to tell you anything more than what it says on the tin. To do so would be to rob you of the pure joy that comes with reading this series one issue at a time.
“Mark Grayson is a normal teenager, except for the fact that his father, Nolan, is Omni-Man, the most powerful superhero on the planet. Shortly after his seventeenth birthday, Mark begins to develop powers of his own and takes on the mantle of Invincible!”
Now, don’t let the simple premise of Invincible fool you. This comic is everything. A superhero origin story. A coming-of-age teen drama. A family saga. A sci-fi epic. Over 15 years and 144 issues, Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker, and Ryan Ottley borrowed, subverted, satirized, and reimagined the tropes of the genre to create an incredibly layered and self-aware superhero comic. What’s more, they did so without ever sneering at the genre, or holding it in contempt.
The reason we’re recommending Invincible isn’t just because there’s a show out on Amazon Prime Video (well, it’s part of the reason, SEO optimization and all), but because it’s the perfect series for both comic fans and new readers. Seasoned readers will love all of the inside jokes and meta-commentary. But the book also starts at the ground level of superhero lore, giving the uninitiated a fantastic foundation by which to get started on their comic book journey.
We love the Invincible animated series on Amazon Prime Video and urge you to check it out. That said, you should also read these comics. Despite sharing some similar narrative beats, they are nevertheless a completely different experience. There is, after all, only so much you can do in an eight episode season.
BRZRKR ( Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt, and Ron Garney)
BRZRKR opens in the most meta, self aware way. Our (as yet) unnamed hero, let’s just call him Berserker for now, is sitting on a city bench, waiting for his ride, much like the sad Keanu meme we all know from several years ago. Why do I say its meta and self aware? Because along with Matt Kindt, Keanu Reeves is one of the writers of BRZRKR, a new comic series by BOOM! Studios.
With only the first issue being out, we don’t have much to go on. Berserker seems to be working as muscle for a shadow military organisation and in this first issue we see him “deal” with the president of a South American nation and he is very good at his job. Why? We don’t know yet. But what we do see in this first issue is that BRZRKR promises to be very violent and very graphic.
Berserker punches right THROUGH people. There is blood everywhere. The violence is almost pornographic. THERE IS. SO MUCH. BLOOD.
The latter half of the first issue reveals Berserker’s drive. His need. And that is where things got a little more interesting. Is Berzerker a god? An immortal? We don’t know yet but the final pages of this issue left me with my mouth ajar.
We don’t quite know the rules of the BRZRKR world yet. Is Berserker like The Old Guard, and merely immortal to a point? Or is he more like Wolverine, constantly regenerating? There are a lot of questions left to be answered and although the end of this first issue has left me curious, I will need to see more before I’m truly invested.
That said, it is off to a great start, which makes it a highly recommended read.
The first two issues of BRZRKR are out now.
Oh, BRZRKR is also going to be a live action film and anime series on Netflix.
Stillwater (Chip Zdarsky, Ramon K. Perez, and Mike Spicer)
Chip Zdarsky’s current turn writing Daredevil has been a revelation. I had never really followed the adventures of Murdoch and company too closely but when I saw that Marvel released an Issue #1 that was written by Zdarsky, I got on board and never looked back.
But this isn’t about Daredevil. In September of 2020, Image Comics released Stillwater, a comic by Zdarsky, with art by Ramon Perez and Mike Spicer that asks a simple question: What if you and your whole town could not die? Stillwater follows the story of Daniel, a big city graphic designer who is summoned to a mysterious small town to find out that his family has secrets. Without giving too much away, Daniel finds out that the town of Stillwater is stuck in time. Literally. Crossing into the town’s borders means you can’t age, or die, or get hurt.
Chip Zdarsky does some excellent storytelling in Stillwater. Instead of focusing on the woo-woo nature of the town, he instead frames it from Daniel’s point of view, as he learns about the town’s history, the nature of its secrets, and its politics. How do you stop the outside world from finding out about your town’s literal fountain of youth in the age of mobile phones, and Google Maps, and satellites? How do you scare or punish a population when the threat of death or harm no longer holds weight?
From the overbearing judge and his lackey lawmen, to the rebel group pushing for freedom, Chip Zdarsky could have taken the easy route and made it a supernatural story, but he instead makes it a human story, set in a supernatural setting, with a warped outlook on mortality and humanity.
Stillwater is currently six issues into its run, so it’s not too late to get in on it.
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