Batman/Grendel
June 23, 2008 | Trades
Batman/Grendel
Matt Wagner
Dark Horse Books/DC Comics
$19.95 US (Paperback)
*** ½ (out of five)
One is really good and one is kind of rough.
No, we’re not talking about Batman and Grendel. More specifically, we’re talking about the two Batman/Grendel miniseries by Matt Wagner finally collected in one volume recently by Dark Horse Books and DC Comics.
The first four-issue mini, circa 1993, brings Bruce Wayne as the Dark Knight into conflict with the original Grendel, Hunter Rose in a wonderfully conceived and executed tale of contradictions and similarities. The second mini, released in 1996, tied into both the first crossover, as well as events in Wagner’s ongoing Grendel series and featured the menacing, Terminator-esque Grendel-Prime battling Batman in more of a straight action-adventure series.
In reflecting on these series 15 and 12 years later, the original holds up as a very special work, showing Wagner at his creative best as both a writer and artist, while the second just doesn’t seem to rekindle the same magic.
Either way, it’s still great to have these adventures back in print for anyone to read.
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