Grendel Cycle

Grendel

by Matt Wagner

Grand. Operatic. Powerful. Matt Wagner's Grendel, a mainstay in the comics arena for over ten years, has always been a touchstone of eclecticism and excitement. Unfortunately, many of the original stories have been long out of print and are conspicuously absent from the back issue bins—therefore in response to readers' demands Matt Wagner has compiled this Grendel history book.

Grendel Cycle begins with an all-new eight page primer written and fully painted by Matt Wagner giving new readers a lavish introduction to the Grendel mythos while refreshing the memories of those who have been there all along.

Special features include a map of the Grendel world, a timeline of events, and a cover gallery showcasing the artwork from the first 50 issues. This book is a must for every Grendel fan.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Matt Wagner is an American comic book writer and artist. In addition to his creator-owned series' Mage and Grendel, he has also worked on comics featuring The Demon and Batman as well as such titles as Sandman Mystery Theatre and Trinity, a DC Comics limited series featuring Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Grendel Cycle is the perfect reference for new Grendel readers. In addition to an all-new painted "Grendel A-Z" story by creator Matt Wagner, the Grendel Cycle provides a recap of every Grendel story from Devil by the Deed all the way through War Child. Each Grendel chapter is given a prose summary surrounded by artwork from the related issues, and is accompanied by new artwork by Matt Wagner, Tim Sale and others.

With so many different stories, the Grendel saga is not an easy one for new readers. I started with the Batman/Grendel crossover and went on to read War Child, which are two wildly different stories. The Grendel Cycle allows readers to get a better idea of how the Grendel saga plays out. It is a must-have for new readers, and makes a nice addition to the long-time fan's bookshelf as well.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although some parts were difficult to read (red script text over multicolored backgrounds).

The art is very nice, oftimes having the original artists return to illustrate their "part".

Overall, a good re-cap of the Grendel's history.

Mainly for the hardcore fans that have already read the original series and want to have a refresher.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent primer and recap of Grendel and it's mythology.

In some ways, the Grendel philosophy is something I'd like to emulate.

Their dogmas is personal excellence over personal gain.

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

Far too text dense (unbalance in terms of text to image ratio) Grendel Cycle (GC) was, in the most part, a dry retelling of a lot of interesting sounding stories. It sounds like there are some misguided environmental statements made in GC, and perhaps the Grendel series as a whole. I will probably try to read more Grendel, despite this book.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Matt Wagner I ever read. Start here.

[Gabriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this series was awesome when I was fourteen.

[Love of Hopeless Causes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this very much, though I knew very little about Grendel. Might be a good starting point.