Product Description: In the centuries since the mask of Grendel was last seen, humanity's survived a third World War, the fall of Western Civilization, and the rise of an all-powerful church state. But when the depraved Pope Innocent XLII begins construction of a new church tower hiding a powerful and deadly secret, two men will 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! Grendel: God and the Devil masterfully interweaves sanity with madness, churches with corporations, and good with evil in one of the most stunning and prophetic stories of modern comics. One of Wagner's riskiest and most compelling works, this massive volume will thrill every Grendel fan, and dazzle anyone searching for a great story told in a whole new way.
A great story finall collected after all these years As a longtime fan of Matt Wagner and especially the Grendel series, it was great to finally get this one. Overall, the product is very nice. The story is just as fabulous as it was the first time around. I have only three small complaints. I personally preferred the original colors from the Comico series, most especially the incredible insets that were placed on the back covers. Alas! These were not reprinted. Also, while the new colors were skillfullly rendered, some of the original impact has been lost as a result of the recoloring. The new book uses a modern computer process for the colors, and the colorist chose to match colors to objects as realistically as possible. This is a sharp contrast to the art style which is a bit cartoony and highly exaggerated. The original colors, rather than resprsenting the colors of actual objects as they would appear in the real world, were selected to enhance the exaggerations of the artwork itself. While new readers will miss nothing of the wonder that was and is Grendel, I would still love to see a hardcover edition rendered as closely as possible to the original. My final complaint is that there are tiny artifacts of digitization present throughout the entire book. I would really prefer to see Dark Horse use a scanning or printing process with a higher resolution to smoothen these tiny flaws. All in all, God and the Devil is a solid book with a solid story that will entertain and disturb the reader for decades to come. This is also the beginning of the larger Grendel universe of the Grendel Khan. While Orion -- oops! Almost spoiled the next volume...
Missing the covers... This is far and away my favorite Grendel arc. The art and story are superior. Everything Matt Wagner was reaching for in the series comes to a head here. The only thing I was sad to see missing from this reprint were the original comico covers.
God and the Devil This long-awaited trade paperback (it collects Grendel #23-33, or Grendel: God and the Devil #0-10) is a sequel of sorts to the Grendel: Devil's Legacy storyline (the Christine Spar Grendel). However, the story here is much more epic. This story takes place in the wake of a third World War, the fall of Western civilization, and the rise of a powerful church state. It actually features two Grendels - Eppy Thatcher, a mentally unstable drug addict, and Orion Assante, a wealthy aristocrat. Eppy and Orion each attack the corrupt church and its sinister, calculating pope, but their methods are vastly different. A wild card presents itself in Pellon Cross, a rogue C.O.P. who serves only his own interests. Featuring great artwork by John K. Snyder III, Jay Geldhof, and Tim Sale (chapter 0) and new digital coloring by Jeromy Cox (Mage: The Hero Defined), this may be the best story arc in Matt Wagner's centuries-spanning Grendel saga. Highly recommended. I only wish there had been a hardcover edition.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
