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Grendel #5
Grendel: God and the Devil
When the depraved Pope Innocent XLII begins construction of a new church tower hiding a powerful and deadly secret, two men rise against the church's corruption. One is Orion Assante, a man determined to expose the Pope for who he really is. The other is a mysterious figure wearing the all-too-familiar face of Grendel.
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 20, 2008
About the author
Matt Wagner
966 books234 followersMatt 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.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 13, 2015
Matt Wagner è un genio. Vivat Grendel! GABBA! GABBA! HEY!
February 27, 2023
After the density of the 'Incubation Years' (issues 20–23), where blocks of narrative text vie with soundbite dialogue to portray a society in decline, Grendel assumes a mythic state, partly due to seeming survivor Wiggins succumbing to his own devil, and we jump to a post-apocalyptic future, a Catholic Church rampant, instigating its new Inquisition, prompting its age-old enemy the Devil to rise against it—in two forms, one singular and dedicated, the other frantic and chaotic; both patient, both directed.
Wagner is on sure ground here, confidently telling the densest of stories in pure comic book experimentation, matched on every page by Snyder and Geldhof, a striking pair in the art department, aided—perhaps even boosted—by the occasional guest inking of Mireault.
Wagner is on sure ground here, confidently telling the densest of stories in pure comic book experimentation, matched on every page by Snyder and Geldhof, a striking pair in the art department, aided—perhaps even boosted—by the occasional guest inking of Mireault.
April 2, 2018
One day, I really need to sit down and read the Grendel stories in sequence. These trades have hopped all around, so I've heard plenty about Orion Assante already, but it was very strange to finally meet the character. I enjoyed this - clever use of religion and the Grendel persona, lots of shifting allegiances, interesting political discussion. It's very dense and heavy, and the word balloons aren't placed very well, which makes the story flow awkwardly, but Wagner's still doing interesting stuff and Snyder's expressive, slightly abstract art works very well.
October 2, 2019
My favorite arc of the Grendel Cycle. This one seems to have the most transparent themes of the series in place. It might be the least experimental (other than War Child)
January 30, 2017
I first read this story when I was in high school. It holds up better than I expected, and while there are some hilariously over-the-top elements to this story-- Pope Innocent XLII's secret identity, for example-- it is an interesting example of dystopian science fiction delving into religious issues. On the religious front, I wish so many of the corrupt Catholic figures were less cliched, from the pedophilic priest to the sado-masochistic Grand Inquisitrix that leads Innocent's new Inquisition.
The story is interesting for it ties to earlier Grendel stories, and for its blend of dark humor, science fiction, and horror. It's also interesting in that the incarnation of Grendel this story deals with is not the protagonist. Eppy Thatcher is more of an interesting sidebar, a wild card that neither of the big players in the story can predict. The conflict between Innocent and his adversary, Orion Assante, is the core story. Looking at it as a reader, Orion's narration is a bit dry and removed from the story, diluting the epic nature of the conflict. He doesn't talk about his story like he's remembering a time when all of human history hung in the balance, but more like an old man remembering an important moment in his own life. Maybe that says a lot about Orion as a character. I'm not quite sure. He's honestly a bit of a vacuum as a hero, not as interesting as any of the things going on around him.
There is also a lot piled into this story. Multiple conflicts make the story unpredictable, but also difficult to follow at times. The constant barrage of animal imagery is interesting, but because it is constant it sort of runs together and loses any intrinsic meaning. And the entire story with the Deva Princes seems largely pointless, serving only to prove that the Church is a malevolent force to be reckoned with.
Even so, there's a lot of good here. Innocent and his ally, Pellon Cross, are interesting characters, as is Eppy Thatcher. While I remember the book as being difficult to follow and read, the print quality in this collection is much better than in the individual issues, and that makes a huge difference. Finally, there is an interesting philosophical problem at this book's heart-- how a Church that claims to represent God is very much based on Earth, and can become as corrupt and violent as any other institution.
In summary, this isn't Wagner's best work, but it's still a worthwhile read. I give it three stars, and it probably gets at least four stars if you're a fan of the Grendel series.
The story is interesting for it ties to earlier Grendel stories, and for its blend of dark humor, science fiction, and horror. It's also interesting in that the incarnation of Grendel this story deals with is not the protagonist. Eppy Thatcher is more of an interesting sidebar, a wild card that neither of the big players in the story can predict. The conflict between Innocent and his adversary, Orion Assante, is the core story. Looking at it as a reader, Orion's narration is a bit dry and removed from the story, diluting the epic nature of the conflict. He doesn't talk about his story like he's remembering a time when all of human history hung in the balance, but more like an old man remembering an important moment in his own life. Maybe that says a lot about Orion as a character. I'm not quite sure. He's honestly a bit of a vacuum as a hero, not as interesting as any of the things going on around him.
There is also a lot piled into this story. Multiple conflicts make the story unpredictable, but also difficult to follow at times. The constant barrage of animal imagery is interesting, but because it is constant it sort of runs together and loses any intrinsic meaning. And the entire story with the Deva Princes seems largely pointless, serving only to prove that the Church is a malevolent force to be reckoned with.
Even so, there's a lot of good here. Innocent and his ally, Pellon Cross, are interesting characters, as is Eppy Thatcher. While I remember the book as being difficult to follow and read, the print quality in this collection is much better than in the individual issues, and that makes a huge difference. Finally, there is an interesting philosophical problem at this book's heart-- how a Church that claims to represent God is very much based on Earth, and can become as corrupt and violent as any other institution.
In summary, this isn't Wagner's best work, but it's still a worthwhile read. I give it three stars, and it probably gets at least four stars if you're a fan of the Grendel series.
December 14, 2020
It's taking him forever to collect the entire GRENDEL opus, and this is one of the largest missing pieces of Matt Wagner's excellent series. Coming into Grendel as a newbie with WAR CHILD, I've always been intrigued on how Wagner grew the myth of Grendel from the original Hunter Rose through Christine Spar and into the vast Grendel Khanate founded by Orion Assante in WAR CHILD. GOD & THE DEVIL was presumably to have cleared up some of that story.
While the story definitely delivers at the meta level that Wagner is famous for in his Grendel stories, I think it suffers from a couple different shortcomings. The first is the wildly differing art styles in this volume, none of which are particularly good. GOD & THE DEVIL reprints a portion of the old GRENDEL Comico series where indie artists like John K. Snyder III and Jay Gheldof were just getting their chops. The art in this volume goes from ambiguous to downright ugly.
Secondly, I was struck by the lack of explanation on how Grendel as a myth seemed to have risen in the background of this narrative. All of a sudden, Eppy Thatcher is suddenly THERE, dressing up as Grendel and attacking the artifices of the Pope and the Church. There are artistic cues hidden throughout that indicate that Grendel has become a pop culture icon, synonymous with "evil" in the mass media that tranquilizes the war weary population depicted in GOD & THE DEVIL. Maybe this is cleared up in the next volume, THE DEVIL'S REIGN, which bridges the final gap between Wagner's Comico series and WAR CHILD.
Wagner claims that one of these days, he's going to have the entire GRENDEL ouvre collected. He better get on the stick... time's a-wastin'...
While the story definitely delivers at the meta level that Wagner is famous for in his Grendel stories, I think it suffers from a couple different shortcomings. The first is the wildly differing art styles in this volume, none of which are particularly good. GOD & THE DEVIL reprints a portion of the old GRENDEL Comico series where indie artists like John K. Snyder III and Jay Gheldof were just getting their chops. The art in this volume goes from ambiguous to downright ugly.
Secondly, I was struck by the lack of explanation on how Grendel as a myth seemed to have risen in the background of this narrative. All of a sudden, Eppy Thatcher is suddenly THERE, dressing up as Grendel and attacking the artifices of the Pope and the Church. There are artistic cues hidden throughout that indicate that Grendel has become a pop culture icon, synonymous with "evil" in the mass media that tranquilizes the war weary population depicted in GOD & THE DEVIL. Maybe this is cleared up in the next volume, THE DEVIL'S REIGN, which bridges the final gap between Wagner's Comico series and WAR CHILD.
Wagner claims that one of these days, he's going to have the entire GRENDEL ouvre collected. He better get on the stick... time's a-wastin'...
February 9, 2015
God & The Devil (24-33). Initially, the most interesting aspect of "God & The Devil" is how it so totally remakes the world. We're now clearly on our way to a post-apocalyptic society far from our own. It's quite a change from the super-hero focused stories of the original Grendel, and yet it's quite interesting to see the shade of Grendel continue into it.
However, the story continues to excel even beyond its intriguing genesis because it's truly epic. We get three different protagonists telling a deep and wide-ranging story with global repercussions. It's terrifically done, thanks in large part to Wagner's innovative storytelling techniques, which interweave the narratives. I constantly wanted to know more about all three characters' stories, but still loved the issues focused on each of them.
I also found the finale terrific, particularly for its open questions about what comes next. Overall, one of the best Grendel stories to date for its scope, daring, and storytelling [8/10].
However, the story continues to excel even beyond its intriguing genesis because it's truly epic. We get three different protagonists telling a deep and wide-ranging story with global repercussions. It's terrifically done, thanks in large part to Wagner's innovative storytelling techniques, which interweave the narratives. I constantly wanted to know more about all three characters' stories, but still loved the issues focused on each of them.
I also found the finale terrific, particularly for its open questions about what comes next. Overall, one of the best Grendel stories to date for its scope, daring, and storytelling [8/10].
July 7, 2013
It's a bit funny to me as this book is mainly a prequel, a making of a Grendel if you will.
Sure, there's the Eppy Thatcher Grendel in there, but throughout the book I couldn't help but feel as though poor Eppy was mostly in there as comic relief.
The main story revolves around Assante and his progress towards becoming the new "version" of Grendel. It's a very good story and does take the reader on a fascinating ride, but like I said, it felt more of a prequel to the next installment.
Still any Matt Wagner produced Grendel story is a good Grendel story, and this is a good Grendel story that makes me want to dig out my old collection and read what comes next.
I had originally read this when it came out oh so many years ago as floppy comics, printed on cheap newsprint paper with low-quality colors. It was fun re-reading it on nice glossy paper with the colors re-done to more modern standards.
Sure, there's the Eppy Thatcher Grendel in there, but throughout the book I couldn't help but feel as though poor Eppy was mostly in there as comic relief.
The main story revolves around Assante and his progress towards becoming the new "version" of Grendel. It's a very good story and does take the reader on a fascinating ride, but like I said, it felt more of a prequel to the next installment.
Still any Matt Wagner produced Grendel story is a good Grendel story, and this is a good Grendel story that makes me want to dig out my old collection and read what comes next.
I had originally read this when it came out oh so many years ago as floppy comics, printed on cheap newsprint paper with low-quality colors. It was fun re-reading it on nice glossy paper with the colors re-done to more modern standards.
September 25, 2012
It took me a while to read this but I was impressed. Seamlessly integrating two main plots with a series of subplots. At once apocalyptic, post-apocalyptic, and visionary, because you know it's very possible that once the corporates finds out it'll sell better with religion, we're fucked.
May 14, 2010
Not really all that good.
Currently Reading
November 2, 2010fantastic art. awesome themes.
August 21, 2011
interesting mix of future vision - characters
August 6, 2012
I love Eppy Thatcher and the bizarre spin this series takes...you got your prayin' hand
December 22, 2012
My personal favorite arc of my favorite comic series. Adding it to my goodreads as its omission is glaring.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews