BATMAN GRENDEL

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BATMAN GRENDEL

June 5th 2010 23:42

Category: Graphic Novels/Comics

Publisher: DC Comics/Dark Horse Books
Production Team: Matt Wagner – story/art, Joe Matt – colour (Ch 1&2), Ken Bruzenak – lettering (Ch 1&2), Gregory Wright – colour (Ch 3&4) & Sean Konot – lettering (Ch 3&4)
Cost: $AU 26.95/$US 19.95

A while back I came across a book in my local library that was called 500 Graphic Novels You Must Read or something in that vein, being interested and wondering if there was any potential candidates for reading in there; I borrowed it and gave its contents a perusal. And there did some to be quite a few works that caught my attention and which once I had finished flicking through the pages I did some surfing to track down these works. Now initially when I concentrated on Grendel this particular graphic novel, not mentioned in the previous work, came up – being a Batman fan I thought that looks interesting and dispatched an order for it post haste along with a few other things that were in 500 Graphic Novels.

According to Wikipedia, that fount of all wisdom, Batman Grendel is the first work in which the dark knight appears against an antagonist not created by a major comic label. Grendel is very much an independent creation, created by Matt Wagner and originally appearing under the independent Comico label. Certainly an interesting fact for all the trainspotters out there, another interesting factoid is that this was the first time that Matt Wagner himself had anything to do with a character outside of his own creation. So one could say it was a groundbreaking piece of work in a multitude of ways, fortunately the fusion of all the disparate elements all come together to produce a work that is frankly an excellent example of the storytellers art, Matt Wagner may have never had anything to do with Batman prior to this work but he nails the Dark Knight perfectly in my opinion. But I’m getting ahead of things…

Collecting together four separate issues into a single volume for the first time; Batman Grendel tells of the encounter between Gotham City’s caped crusader and the man that is regarded by some as the embodiment of evil, a veritable prince of darkness given mortal form one could say. It concludes with an encounter between Batman and another Grendel, a being of carnage and destruction from the distant future who has somehow been drawn to Gotham City for what at first seems like unfathomable reasons. Confusing isn’t it, fortunately though once you pick up this volume and start reading the story unfolds clearly, concisely and dramatically – there is no such thing as a loose end or breakdown in consistency in this work. It is tight, taut drama that puts you in mind of a roller coaster ride as it goes though highs and lows of action.
The other wonderful feature of this work is that it brings it back to street level; this isn’t about the fate of the universe, multiverse, omniverse, entirety of existence kind of stuff. It isn’t a story about some dead god returning to life, a cabal of ultra powerful entities, an alien invasion armada, its Batman facing off against Grendel in those mean streets of Gotham City. And to my way of thinking that is what any Batman story, be it the Dark Knight in his own comic or in a collaborative effort such as this, should be focused on. Those dirty grimy and sometime rain slicked mean streets with the Dark Knight attempting to thwart some malevolent scoundrel from perpetrating a dastardly deed on the people who live, work and breathe in the precincts of Gotham City.
Having said that then just exactly what causes the confrontation between the embodiment of evil and the Dark Knight, what brings them into an inevitable collision course? In the first part of the graphic novel it seems that it is boredom and the desire to be challenged that provokes this epic battle. Hunter Rose, famous novel and the man behind the mask of Grendel, infamous assassin and crime lord finds that their no longer the challenge in his activities that there once was, at least in his home of New York City. However through an agent Hunter Rose hears of a deal going down in Gotham City that might bring him into conflict with that city’s protector, a conflict that he finds will ease the ennui he is currently undergoing.
Looking at Hunter Rose he is the antithesis of Batman, in more ways than one. For Rose his alternate identity Grendel is the alternate identity, the guise he wears to conceal the fact that he is a highly skilled assassin and crime lord as well as being a bestselling novelist. He is also an indication of what Batman could have become, a man who employed his talents and wealth for self aggrandisement rather than the betterment of his fellow man. Rose/Grendel is to some degree a selfish and slightly vain individual although he does have a few redeeming features, but I emphasise the word few. He makes an excellent antagonist for the Dark Knight in more ways than one as he is an individual who moves within the very same circles that Batman does, as both Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne.
The other Grendel that appears within the pages of this graphic novel is a marked contrast to Hunter Rose and the Dark Knight, in fact there are similarities between this Grendel and the Terminator made iconic by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie of the same name. This ‘new’ Grendel is a cyborg like the Terminator and he has appeared suddenly from the far future, a future filled with bleakness and tribulation, to pursue what seems to be an agenda of carnage and chaos but in fact has a slightly more mystical bent. Grendel Prime as this entity is called may not be the suave sophisticate that Hunter Rose was but he displays the same degree of calculating cold ruthlessness that Rose had backed up with a load more firepower as it were. Still regardless of how juiced up he is; Grendel Prime is just not ready for Batman or his cohort Robin the Boy Wonder. This work was a real treat to read, so much so that I was raving about to some friends down at my local, I just had to share the wonder as it were. If you are fan of the Dark Knight, Grendel or both then this is worth taking the effort to track down.

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