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Grendel #10
Grendel: Black, White, and Red
Grendel. A name synonymous with crime and violence. Hunter Rose. A name familiar with wealth and privilege. Two identities, one Devil. Acclaimed Grendel creator Matt Wagner crafts a series of tales that spotlights those the Devil has influenced and intimidated, a grim grimoire of punishment and revenge illustrated in stark black, white, and blood-red that brings together a virtual who's who of talented artists, including John Paul Leon, Tim Sale (Batman: The Long Halloween), Duncan Fegredo (Kevin Smith's Jay & Silent Bob), D'Israeli, Ho Che Anderson, C. Scott Morse, Bernie Mireault, Paul Chadwick (Concrete), Tim Bradstreet, David Mack, Guy Davis (Sandman Mystery Theatre), the Pander Brothers, Stan Shaw (Sunglasses After Dark), Jay Geldhof, Teddy Kristiansen, Jason Pearson, Mike Allred, Woodrow Phoenix, Troy Nixey, and Chris Sprouse.
Also includes long out-of-print 'Devil's Vagary', illustrated by Dean Motter.
Also includes long out-of-print 'Devil's Vagary', illustrated by Dean Motter.
200 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2000
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88 people want to read
About the author
Matt Wagner
967 books231 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 21, 2020
A bunch of vignettes featuring the original Grendel, Hunter Rose, drawn by mostly indie artists of the day. The stories by David Mack and Mike Allred stand out as some of the best. I like how the color scheme is limited to black, white and red.
May 30, 2023
Love that these 8-12 page stories usually have a nice lasting impact on me after reading them.
This is basically just expanding Hunter Rose's story plus the lore and other characters around them. Just a great way to go about giving context to certain scenes while also getting different points of views on different events. If anything this makes me think of how much a piece of shit Hunter really was, but in the best possible way.
A 4 out of 5.
This is basically just expanding Hunter Rose's story plus the lore and other characters around them. Just a great way to go about giving context to certain scenes while also getting different points of views on different events. If anything this makes me think of how much a piece of shit Hunter really was, but in the best possible way.
A 4 out of 5.
November 25, 2021
I think Grendel only works as a comic book. If I had to read a novel about him and his antics, I'd throw the book out the window. But in comic book format, told with nothing but artwork and snippets of text, his story and his world become somewhat intriguing, even though Grendel himself is a despicable s.o.b.
They switch artists every chapter, so the art changes drastically, which is a bit jarring, but also keeps things from getting boring. Some of the stories are better (plot-wise) than others. Some are told in very creative, almost experimental ways. The black, white, and red coloring gives the whole book a noir feel that works so well with this world and its characters.
They switch artists every chapter, so the art changes drastically, which is a bit jarring, but also keeps things from getting boring. Some of the stories are better (plot-wise) than others. Some are told in very creative, almost experimental ways. The black, white, and red coloring gives the whole book a noir feel that works so well with this world and its characters.
May 11, 2020
I've been a fan of Grendel since the character's second appearance. This book is very creative in its stretching of the medium, with a variety of art and storytelling techniques. The overall quality bounces around a bit, depending on how each artist strikes the reader. A few of the stories are a bit gory for me.
September 2, 2023
Short vignettes filling in the life of Hunter Rose, illustrated by a variety of indie artists. A small few of these stories are dispensable, some the exact opposite, but many of them live or die on the strength of the artist, which Wagner seems to adapt to in terms of tone and content. The very few prose segments are execrably poetic and impossible to take seriously, however.
April 5, 2022
Entro en esta historia a la mitad, y aunque la idea del asesino casi sobrenatural se ha tratado en muchas ocasiones, la calidad del dibujo en blanco y negro y el tratamiento de historias cortas muy bien trabajadas consigue evitar los clichés.
February 8, 2016
Though Grendel had lurked in my comics-reading periphery for years, it was only with this book that I finally made the plunge. In this case, it was almost entirely due to the remarkable cast of artists assembled within these pages.
The quick-and-dirty on Grendel: originally the crimelord alter-ego of authour Hunter Rose, the masked killer with the electro-fork has been claimed by seemingly endless other inhabitants. Rose was killed a long time ago, but before he died he'd amassed a huge criminal empire, killed a lot of people, gained an arch-enemy in the mysterious wolfish-man Argent and adopted a young girl (orphaned by one of his own murders) named Stacey Palumbo (who later birthed Christine Spar, another incarnation of Grendel). Though there have been so many alter-egos within the black suit, this volume is chiefly concerned with those around Hunter Rose.
The stories here originally appeared in a four-issue mini-series, and they serve as an excellent showcase for Wagner and his oldest character. He takes advantage of different artists' strengths and puts them to good use, from the minimalist death-of-a-crimelord 'Devil's Toll' with John Paul Leon to the intricate home-life imagery of Paul Chadwick's 'Devil's Garden.' Wagner works in a clear collaboration with each artist, and the effects are largely attractive although the writing suffers from his usual weaknesses. Though these are dark stories (mostly), it is a pleasure to see such a talented stable of artists under the command of a mediocre writer covering previously unseen aspects of his 'greatest' creation.
I just can not get on board for Grendel. Wagner's writing is too often groan-worthy and I just can't engage with what is essentially a criminal Batman. But visually, Wagner's always had a penchant for good design and his collaborators here pick that up and run with it. For that alone, this book came into my life, and for that alone it will stay.
The quick-and-dirty on Grendel: originally the crimelord alter-ego of authour Hunter Rose, the masked killer with the electro-fork has been claimed by seemingly endless other inhabitants. Rose was killed a long time ago, but before he died he'd amassed a huge criminal empire, killed a lot of people, gained an arch-enemy in the mysterious wolfish-man Argent and adopted a young girl (orphaned by one of his own murders) named Stacey Palumbo (who later birthed Christine Spar, another incarnation of Grendel). Though there have been so many alter-egos within the black suit, this volume is chiefly concerned with those around Hunter Rose.
The stories here originally appeared in a four-issue mini-series, and they serve as an excellent showcase for Wagner and his oldest character. He takes advantage of different artists' strengths and puts them to good use, from the minimalist death-of-a-crimelord 'Devil's Toll' with John Paul Leon to the intricate home-life imagery of Paul Chadwick's 'Devil's Garden.' Wagner works in a clear collaboration with each artist, and the effects are largely attractive although the writing suffers from his usual weaknesses. Though these are dark stories (mostly), it is a pleasure to see such a talented stable of artists under the command of a mediocre writer covering previously unseen aspects of his 'greatest' creation.
I just can not get on board for Grendel. Wagner's writing is too often groan-worthy and I just can't engage with what is essentially a criminal Batman. But visually, Wagner's always had a penchant for good design and his collaborators here pick that up and run with it. For that alone, this book came into my life, and for that alone it will stay.
November 8, 2012
A little less than 30 years ago, Wagner published his first stories featuring Hunter Rose, a young socialite who was secretly a criminal mastermind and fearsome costumed assassin known as Grendel.
In the initial series, Rose died at the hands of Argent, a werewolf fighting on the side of the law. Wagner has continued to produce Grendel, however, mostly by depicting future versions of the character, who comes, over the centuries, to be recognized as the incarnation of sheer evil.
Other episodes revisit Rose's stint as the first to wear the mask.
This book gathers interconnected stories that retell Rose's life and death, all written by Wagner and illustrated by various artists in black-and-white with occasional blood-red accents.
Grendel fans may best appreciate this alternative view of the story that started it all, but the collection affords new readers opportunity to experience the Hunter Rose saga in a single volume, rendered by an enjoyable diversity of talented illustrators
In the initial series, Rose died at the hands of Argent, a werewolf fighting on the side of the law. Wagner has continued to produce Grendel, however, mostly by depicting future versions of the character, who comes, over the centuries, to be recognized as the incarnation of sheer evil.
Other episodes revisit Rose's stint as the first to wear the mask.
This book gathers interconnected stories that retell Rose's life and death, all written by Wagner and illustrated by various artists in black-and-white with occasional blood-red accents.
Grendel fans may best appreciate this alternative view of the story that started it all, but the collection affords new readers opportunity to experience the Hunter Rose saga in a single volume, rendered by an enjoyable diversity of talented illustrators
March 29, 2013
I liked it, though I'll be honest and say that once or twice I had no clue what was going on. This isn't so much an actual story as it is the collection of several stories, all told by different artists, so that's the highlight of the book. The types of arts are so diverse and wonderful that after I finished reading I just got back to some pages, just to stare at all of that prettiness in the three best colors there are in terms of art.
The stories were also well told, and I especially liked the outcome of some of them, the snark and wit and violence. Pretty good, though, like I said before, at times confusing.
The stories were also well told, and I especially liked the outcome of some of them, the snark and wit and violence. Pretty good, though, like I said before, at times confusing.
November 28, 2013
These shorts start off pretty interesting, and there are some great shorts throughout. "Devil's Requiem", with its focus on Jocasta is strong; while "Devil's in the Punctuation" is great for its look at Hunter's work. Both "Devil's Garden" and "Devil's Cage" are great for their ominous looks at Stacy. However, once you get past the more revealing stories about Hunter and Stacy's youths, the stories get a bit plodding, especially those that just show Grendel at work.
July 4, 2012
A fun book, bot for some reason I find the writing really adolescent. Love comics in general but maybe I'm becoming a snob. The art however is really fun to see since there are so many styles from so many different artists. I think I enjoyed the book much more when I was more interested in formal play.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews