Grendel has emerged in comics mythos as one of the stalwarts of heroes outside of the Big Two, but for a growing number of readers the character has become a hard nut to crack. When you count up the variety of series, miniseries and one-shots that exist, the Grendel story spans hundreds of years and also numerous characters carrying the name.
When first launched in 1983, Matt Wagner’s Grendel was the story of a young boy prodigy with a penchant for writing novels who moonlighted as a crime kingpin. Or maybe crime kingpin was his days and the novelist was his aside – who knows? The character, calling himself Hunter Rose, was a villain carrying his own series decades before Mark Millar’s Nemesis or Mark Waid & Barry Kitson’s Empire. Wagner told Rose’s story and the mantle of the Grendel as it passed down through generations, even at one point being a solar-powered cyborg.
Looking at the tower of Grendel comics out there, it’s hard to gain a foothold… but iFanboy here’s to help. We’ve picked out five collections that will give you the best understanding of the title (and the best stories) to get you into the world of Grendel.
Grendel: Devil By The Deed: Although not the first Grendel story, it was the Wagner’s re-visitation of the early years of Hunter Rose that brought the sprawling series into focus. Mixing comic art with illustrated fiction, it’s the story of Hunter Rose growing up and becoming the crime boss/assassin known as Grendel. Battling against a supernatural Native-American man-wolf who’s out to put a stop to his crime spree, Grendel is cast as a villain with some redeeming qualities.
Batman/Grendel: How can a crossover like this reap something worthy of a top 5 list of Grendel? Because it’s that good. Created in the early 1990s by Wagner himself, this unique crossover is a great gateway drug for people who know Batman but don’t know Grendel. In the story, Hunter Rose comes to Gotham with a high-profile heist on his mind – and gunning for a showdown with the fabled Dark Knight.
Grendel: Red, White & Black: Although Wagner is the primary contributor to the Grendel mythos, he wasn’t above enlisting others – both writers and artists – to help him tell the story. This anthology-style work traverses decades and styles with expert work by everyone from Cliff Chiang , David Mack, Mike Allred, Chris Sprouse, Duncan Fegredo and even Stan Sakai. Truly an expert work that shows how diverse and thriving the Grendel concept can be.
Grendel: Devil’s Legacy: Years after Rose’s death, his granddaughter Christine Spar takes up the family mantle when her son is kidnapped by a vampire Kabuki dancer. Say that with me, “vampire Kabuki dancer.” It shows Spar sliding into the Grendel guise a little to easy, losing herself in the violence and aggression that the anonymity and the power the Grendel persona provides. In this volume, Wagner enlists the Pander Brothers for art, who eschew his noir-style for a looser manga-inspired linework that is a big change-up for someone just getting into Grendel. But it’s worth it.
Grendel: Behold the Devil: Consider this Grendel: Year One. This later work by Wagner dove into the early days of Hunter Rose as he’s forced to deal with a detective and journalist digging into his past to find out who he is. This is the last major Grendel arc published to date, and shows Wagner (and Grendel) at the height of their form.
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Nice, I just bought “Behold the Devil” storyline on digital format in the Dark Horse website a couple of days ago…haven’t been in a hurry to read it but now you done it.
Grendel is awesome! Behold the Devil was great, i wish Wagner would do more!
I also really like the Batman/Grendel Prime showdown, which I believe is collected in the same volume as the Batman/Hunter Rose mini.
Which is the mini-series where Grendel is a cyborg? I think I read that one and really liked it, but I cannot remember the name.
Grendel: War Child
I had the pleasure of eating with Matt Wagner at the San Diego comic con back in 1995. My friends and I were posted up at one of the tables eating some nanchos and hotdogs when Matt walked by with his own nanchos and hot dog. We were all like, “Dude, Matt Wagner! Come sit with us.” and he did. Such a cool guy. I had a copy of Batman/Grendel which he singed. Man, that was an awesome lunch.
Later that day at the Con I was strolling by the Image booth when I saw Rob Liefeld standing by trying to look like a rockstar. I had a copy of X-Force #1 I wanted him to sign so I walked up and asked, “Hey Rob, do you think you can sign this?” He looked at me and smirked, “No, I’m not signing right right now. But here is a Image Comics dog-tag.”
Gee thanks Rob.
Grendel: War Child was the cyborg one, and the first series to bring me into Matt Wagner’s killer creation. I can’t believe Chris Arrant left this off the list! (And its Devil Quest sequel is amazing as well) Far superior to the Christine Spar story (which I liked as well, but c’mon. No comparison.)
Maybe the Spar story was picked to show how the identity of the Grendel first passes from Rose to someone else . . ?
It was one of the first ‘adult’ comics I got into and I loved the whole epic tale. Whilst I like the Hunter Rose story a lot, I liked the terminator-esque Grendel Prime the most. War Child is a absolute treasure to own.
Sweet, thanks for this. I’ve been interested in Grendel, but never got around to it.
Thanks for drawing up this list. As a long-time Matt Wagner fan, I’ve dipped my toes into the world of Grendel now and again, enjoying what I’ve read, but sometimes feeling lost in the details. I’ll need to look up some of these arcs to read or, in some cases, reread (it’s been awhile for some of them).
War Child I remember reading when it came out, but it’s hazy in my mind. As I said, some of these stories need to be revisited . . .
Baman/Grendel is one of my al time favorite comic stories. I would add grendel: War child to this list for the ultimate Grendel prime story, but really, this list is great. Grendel is actually what got me back into comics in the 90s (along with harlan ellison;s dream Corridor) and the character holds a special place in my heart. Such a great, great series.
Awesome list! Grendel: Devil by the Deed was the first OGN I ever bought and it blew my 12-year-old mind. I was interested in it after reading a few issues of the Grendel series. I still remember the nervous feeling of buying Grendel at the local drug store and the fear of the lady behind the register calling me out on buying a mature reader book.
As good as the post-Brian Li Sung Grendel stories are, I still prefer the Hunter Rose and Christine Spar stories.
When I was a teenager I randomly got the trade of Grendel: Four Devils, One Hell. I read it over and over and over and had know idea that it was part of a larger series for years. Highly recommend it.
Grendel: War Child got me in… and I never wanted to get out.
The best of my Grendel experiences?
Reading War Child twice in one week…
The amazing Devils and Deaths stories by Darko Macan and the late, great Edvin Biukovic …
Reading Four Devils, One Hell and being mesmerized by the intricate story, to reveal the MacGuffin, with a strange hole in it, and wondering “where did that come from?” …
… and to have that question answered YEARS later in Batman/Grendel II #2! AWESOME!
I would very much suggest Grendel Archives (http://www.amazon.com/Grendel-Archive-Matt-Wagner/dp/1593077297/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319400903&sr=8-1) as the perfect starting point. It’s the first 4 (I think) Grendel stories, and after years of being confused but desperately wanting to read Grendel books, it cleared all the fog away.
All the others listed are great, but Archives I think is the best place to get a grip on exactly what and who Grendel is.
*BATMAN / GRENDEL* seduced me as a young’in, it was my first real introduction to Hunter Rose who came off suaver than catsh-t and yet Batman also came off awesomely as well. To this day, whenever I am stabbed, I instinctively keep my calm whilst asking for styptic gel to coagulate the wound a la Batman in *BATMAN / GRENDEL.* And I will never forget Hunter’s face as he allows himself to be unmasked, and he sticks his tongue out!
Love,
BionicDave