A
comic book created by
Matt Wagner, published at first by Comico
and later by
Dark Horse Comics.
The story is divided in several substories, each ranging from three to
twelve issues and each illustrated by a different artist.
First, there is the story about Hunter Rose, a celebrated
writer and fencer who becomes a sort of totally ruthless gentleman
gangster and dies at the hands of his archenemy, the werewolf
Argent. Wagner himself illustrated these issues and apparently
dislikes them so much that he has sworn never to reprint them.
Rose took to wearing a very special mask, black with two exaggerated
white eyes drawn on, and wielding a staff with a forked blade at the
end. These items are later picked up and used by Christine Spar
when her son is abducted by the vampire Tujiro. Christine is
victorious and also has a run-in with Argent, whom she kills. This
part of the story runs for twelve issues and is illustrated by Arnold & Jacob Pander and Jay Geldhof.
Christines lover Brian Li Sung is the next person to become Grendel, it is now hinted
that Grendel is more than a mask; maybe some kind of demon. However,
Brian is a wimp and dies after only three issues (drawn by Bernie
Mireault).
Then Wagner himself draws the next four issues, which are two stories
about Hunter Rose told retroactively by Wiggins, the police officer who
killed Brian.
The next four episodes (art by Ron Turner) take place during the
course of 400 years and
show how the grendel figure developes into a social phenomenon. A
nuclear war breaks out, but not devastate the planet. In the
aftermath, and gang of young punks adopt Grendel as their totem.
The next person to become Grendel is Eppy Thatcher, a
half-deranged loner who turns his hatred onto Vatican Ouest, the
new catholic church that rules most of what remains of America. He is
joined in the fight by Orion Assante an aristocrat from an
excommunicated family. It turns out that the pope is in reality the
old enemy, Tujiro, who is killed by Eppy during an epic fight. This
story runs for ten issues, drawn by John K. Snyder, Jay
Geldhof and Bernie Mireault.
The last story (seven issues drawn by Tim Sale) tells the tale of Orion
and how he, using cunning and
military power, unites first America, then the rest of the world,
under one rule. Only too late does he realize that he too has become
Grendel.
In my opinion this is one great comic, especially the last two
stories. Wagner was critized for his less than
flattering portrayal of
the
catholic church, so I recommend reading it with an
open mind.