Grendel: God and the Devil

Written by Matt Wagner
Art by John K. Snyder III, Jay Geldhof, Bernie Mireault, and Tim Sale

I really don't understand why it took me so long to start filling in the gaps in my collection of Matt Wagner's incredible Grendel series.  I first started reading the comics when Dark Horse published the War Child mini-series back in the early 90s, and I was blown away, but I've never made a concerted effort to read the entire saga in its proper order.  I recently read the Devils Reign trade, and it spurred me to get a few of the other Dark Horse reprints, if I could find them.

God and the Devil is the story of future Grendel Khan Orion Assante, and his quest to limit the power of Pope Innocent XLII and his minions at Vatican Ouest, which as become a central power in the year 2530, when this series is set.

The Pope is a hideous creature (with a secret that comes as a bit of surprise, if you aren't reading these trades out of order like I am) who has begun to bleed the country dry, and who has control of almost every company that helps to keep order and run things.  He runs an Inquisition that has most people terrified, and has an incredible degree of control of the media.  He is building a gigantic tower, with a goal that is incredibly comic-book bad guy, but which also fits the logic of the story.

The spirit of the Grendel has possessed one man - Eppy Thatcher, a poor genius, who begins to make a series of insane and brilliant attacks on the church, especially as it gears up for its large Easter celebrations.  Thatcher's actions get in the way of Assante's more organized and legal attack, and it's not long before things start to get very chaotic.  Add to this the agenda of Pellon Cross, the Commissioner of COP, a police force for hire, and things get really crazy.

Wagner is a terrific writer, able to juggle numerous plot threads masterfully, and with a lot of density.  The art for most of this book is by John K. Snyder III, who I've always admired.  It's not as wild as his art can often be, but I think that's because of the influence of inkers Jay Geldhof and Bernie Mireault.  Tim Sale draws the introductory chapter.

This is a very enjoyable read, which asks some important questions about the power given to the media and organized religion in our society.  It's also a very exciting comic towards the end, with a big cinematic finish.  I really wish that Wagner would return to the later days of his Grendel epic, instead of only giving us short stories that feature Hunter Rose from time to time.

Grendel: Devil's Reign

Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Tim Sale

I never read the Comico run of Grendel while it was being published.  My first exposure to the character was in the first Dark Horse series, Grendel: War Child, which features an android Grendel who is tasked with keeping Jupiter Assante, the child of the great Grendel-Khan, safe from a number of different threats.  I loved the series.  It was beautifully drawn (by Pat McEown - where is he now?), and was set in an interesting world.

It spurred me on to pick up some of the back issues of the series, but I somehow never read the story of Orion Assante, the Grendel-Khan, who united the world under his military leadership.  At least, until now.

This trade, which collects the last seven issues of the Comico title (later reprinted under its current name by Dark Horse), splits each chapter into two parts.  The first part is written as a chronicle of the ascension of Orion I, in a tight eight-panel grid, of which many panels are simply prose.  This part of the book follows Orion from being the leader of a small paramilitary force being used to track down and destroy victims of a vampire plague through the machinations that make him the leader of the entire world.  This part of the book is a study in realpolitik as it is applied to a future society, and it's both very interesting and a little exhaustive.

The other part of the book follows the story of the vampires, who have been imprisoned in the VEGAS sector of Calmerica.  For a while, the vampires are allowed to run their casino for normal people, but as they start to disappear, the Grendel-Khan imposes more and more restrictions on them.  These scenes are drawn in a more traditional comics style.

Tim Sale uses the two sections of the book to great effect, drawing both tiny little panels full of people in the first section, and creepy subterranean dwellings in the second.  Reading this book reminds me of how much I like Sale's art, and how pleased I would be to see him return to drawing comics.

I think it's strange that, whenever Matt Wagner returns to Grendel, he always tells us more stories of the character's earliest incarnation, Hunter Rose.  What happened in that series later on was so much more interesting, and I would rather see him mine some of his later ideas, or, even better, continue the story with all new material.

The Amazon #3

Written by Steven T. Seagle
Art by Tim Sale

I'm grateful that Dark Horse decided to reprint this series. I've enjoyed reading it quite a bit, and it has made me realize a couple of things:

1. It's shocking how little things have changed in twenty years with respect to the deforestation of the Amazon, and the problems that the encroachment of civilization has caused for indigenous people there. This book is no less topical today than it was twenty years ago.

2. We need more 'mainstream' comics that are experimental and original, like this book is. Seagle plays around a lot with different methods of storytelling, and tries something I haven't seen imitated much since, with the three different levels of narrative: the action in the panel, the writer's journal, and the writer's finished article all telling the story from three different perspectives simultaneously. It's a great technique. At the same time, Sale is pushing the envelope some with his intriguing panel designs.

This is a beautiful comic, and it tells a great story. I can see how it helped bring both creator to prominence, and while I still like the work Seagle is producing, this book helps remind us of the great things that Tim Sale can do when he's not chained to Jeph Loeb.

The Amazon #2

Written by Steven T. Seagle
Art by Tim Sale
I'm very pleased that Dark Horse has decided to re-print this series, as I missed it completely the first time around, and am enjoying it a great deal. Lately it seems like a lot of attention is being paid to some of the more endearing, yet off-beat projects of the late 80s and early 90s, what with Dark Horse publishing this and Beanworld, Image's Ted McKeever Collection, and the gargantuan Zot! trade I'm working my way through. It's really good to see that quality comics don't disappear.

This series continues to intrigue, with its creative approach to narrative. The reporter protagonist narrates the story both through is journal, which contains his unedited thoughts, and through the article that he eventually writes after the action the comic shows, which is much more edited, polished, and selective in its telling. To add to that, this issue has the Amazon (the character, not the region or river) narrate his story, and it weaves from his own words, into and out of the journal and magazine article formats. It's jarring and really interesting. I can't think of another comic that does this in quite this way. Adding to it, I like how the narrative crosses over panels seemingly randomly, not at sentence breaks. It really makes this an interesting read.

Sale's artwork is fantastic in this book. In the text-piece at the back, he discusses his shifting use of vertical and horizontal panels, and how this series was a starting point for both creators, thereby allowing them to break a pile of comic book rules they weren't aware of.

I really can't say enough about how good this comic is.

The Amazon #1

Written by Steven T. Seagle
Art by Tim Sale

When this series first came out, I wasn't the slightest bit aware of Comico comics - it was a couple of years before I discovered Grendel, and so I was a little surprised when Dark Horse decided to re-print it. At the same time, it only took me about three pages before I realized why this book deserved a new audience.

Seagle and Sale tell a story of a reporter traveling up the Amazon to an American mining site, in search of a missing American worker who disappeared into the jungle around the same time the mining company started being the victim of acts of sabotage and eco-terrorism.

The story is told in a way that is unique even now - the reporter narrates through both his notebook and the article that is written after the fact. It's interesting to get both the immediate reaction to events, and the more polished version, benefitting from hindsight.

Sale's artwork looks great in this book. His panels are tall and narrow in places, leaving lots of room for the open Brazilian sky, and the colours by Dave Stewart are beautiful.

There is also an interview in the back of the book, wherein Seagle and Sale discuss the fact that comics don't appear to have the ability to affect the readers' consciousness. I'm not sure I agree - much of my awareness of the environmental movement came from reading Paul Chadwick's Concrete series in the early 90s, although that is one of the few examples I can think of....

Regardless, I'm glad that Dark Horse has brought this comic back, and I look forward to the rest of this series. My recommendation is that this issue be read with this week's Ex Machina Special - they compliment each other nicely.