This press release reveals that exciting news that after a long pause Matt Wagner is revisiting Grendel, a masterful example of what sequential art can do when married to a thoughtful, well-constructed story.
Grendel is one of those characters that industry stars always seem to mention when asked about influential work. From its start with Devil by the Deed, Wagner has explored the anti-hero archetype with the character of Hunter Rose, a novelist by day and a criminal mastermind by night. The stories—generally gritty and noirish—explore the nature of aggression and violence, while featuring Wagner’s stellar artwork which has a very Art Deco sensibility in background details and the layout. The series proper starts with Grendel: Devil’s Legacy, and continues on through the as-yet-unreleased collection of Grendel: Devil’s Regin. Moving from the present to the far future, the series drew interest from DC (who published not one, but two Batman-Grendel crossovers) and Wagner’s colleagues in the field such as Greg Rucka, Tim Sale (perhaps becoming best known for his "paintings" which are being featured on Heroes), Paul Chadwick and more who collaborated with him on the Grendel: Black, White, & Red
anthology.
Wagner has lately been turning heads with his work for DC, such as Trinity which features the first meetings of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, and some further work with the iconic Dark Knight in Batman and the Monster Men, and Batman and the Mad Monk.
A recent interview with Wagner provides some more details of what he’s been up to, and what’s forthcoming from him in 2007 not only with Grendel, but some of his other work like Mage: The Hero Discovered.