#arnold pander

GirlFIEND in Paris: A Bloodthirsty Bedtime Story HC (2022)

Originally published by Comico and later by Dark Horse, Matt Wagner's Grendel is a creator-owned series that's evolved over the years from costumed adventure to political drama to postapocalyptic action. Most of the stories are now collected in a series of massive Omnibus volumes, which have been reissued in the past couple of years with new covers.

Vol. 1 includes most of the original Hunter Rose saga, about the original Grendel character, a dapper but ruthless and sadistic costumed criminal mastermind battling a werewolf-like antihero called Argent. The Omnibus includes the "Devil by the Deed" storyline originally serialized in Wagner's MAGE series in 1985 (recolored in grayscale and red rather than full color), plus several other sets of stories about Hunter Rose. It's not quite comprehensive: It omits the early, abortive Comico issues Wagner retooled as "Devil by the Deed" (which were reprinted in the 2007 GRENDEL ARCHIVES, and which Wagner considers apocryphal), and crossovers between Hunter Rose and Batman (from 1994) and The Shadow (from 2014). Probably the most peculiar omission is that it excludes the 1989 SILVERBACK miniseries by William Messner-Loebs and John Peck, which presents the origin of Argent; I don't know if Wagner has disowned that series or if the assets needed to reprint it are no longer available.

Vol. 2 covers the first 20 issues of the Comico GRENDEL series, and take place about 40 years after Hunter Rose's death, in a near-future world where Hunter's biographer Christine Spar, daughter of Hunter's adoptive daughter Stacy Palumbo, becomes Grendel. The volume actually begins with a later series called "Devil Child," by Wagner's long-time editor (and sister-in-law) Diana Schutz and Tim Sale (originally published as a miniseries in the late 1990s), which deals with Stacy's fate; it is creatively accomplished but extremely bleak (and needs CWs for sexual assault and spousal abuse). The ongoing series, drawn first by the Pander Bros. in a somewhat dated but generally appealing anime-inspired style, later by Bernie Mireault, is a tragic saga of rage and revenge, somewhat more fantastical than the Hunter Rose stories. The Christine Spar story is probably the most compelling and emotionally engaging section of the whole Grendel saga, although the followup, tracing the subsequent fate of her boyfriend Brian, is again very bleak.

Vol. 3 covers the remainder of the Comico series, which ended with issue #40 due to Comico's bankruptcy. This moves the timeline forward hundreds of years, first with a set of experimental (if somewhat annoying) transitional issues, and then with an engrossing but rather frosty saga of political machinations and civil war, as an ambitious businessman called Orion Assante leads an insurrection against the power of a future Catholic Church and a plague of vampirism, with the dubious aid of a mentally unstable man named Eppie Thatcher, who assumes the Grendel role and may or may not be demonically possessed. The transitional issues at the beginning are rough going stylistically, but the main story is interesting and elaborately plotted science fiction, marred chiefly by the deliberate emotional distancing of the main character (CWs apply for incest, along with a lot of sometimes icky violence), whose death decades later brings the arc to a close.

Vol. 4 includes the GRENDEL: WAR CHILD miniseries, originally intended as issues #41–50 of the Comico series, which introduce the cyborg warrior Grendel Prime and deal with the fallout following Orion Assante's death. This is a fairly conventional episodic sci-fi adventure, probably at least partly inspired by LONE WOLF & CUB, with the Terminator-like Prime traveling through the apocalyptic wastes with Orion's son and heir Jupiter. It's most interesting for how it addresses the various ramifications of the previous storyline, although the almost dismissive way Wagner dispenses with that story's survivors is off-putting. This is followed by PAST PRIME, by Wagner and Greg Rucka, which is a rather too purple illustrated prose novel about a later adventure of Grendel Prime and Susan Veraghen, one of the characters from WAR CHILD. This is followed by DEVIL'S QUEST, originally serialized elsewhere, which is actually the prelude to the second Batman-Grendel crossover in 1996. Wagner apparently hasn't yet negotiated the rights to reprint those crossovers again (they were last collected in 2008), which makes DEVIL'S QUEST puzzling if you haven't read the story it sets up. However, QUEST does boast some of the best and most experimental artwork of Wagner's career.

Vols. 5 and 6, not pictured, reprint the GRENDEL TALES series, which were Wagner's attempt to open up his concept to other writer/artist teams, resulting in a series of stories originally published as miniseries by Dark Horse between 1992 and 1998. Unfortunately, all are set in the world of Grendel Prime, full of cliched postapocalyptic horrors and boring warrior-clan bullshit with none of the political scheming and character conflicts that made the Orion saga interesting; there's some nice art, but the endless parade of threadbare concepts, throwaway characters, and nearly inevitable grim denouements becomes wearing quickly. Of the more than 800 pages of material, the only installments worth a look are FOUR DEVILS, ONE HELL (more for its stylish Teddy Kristiansen art than its typically pompous James Robinson script) and HOMECOMING (by Pat McEowon and Dave Cooper), a downbeat story in which Susan Veraghen goes on a bloody, leather-clad rampage to avenge the death of her former girlfriend.

I very much hope Wagner will work something out with DC to reissue the Batman/Grendel crossovers of the '90s. The first, with Batman and Hunter Rose, is by far the best, with an elaborately constructed secondary plot enlivening the shaggy dog story of the main confrontation, enhanced by extremely intricate artwork. The second, with Batman and Robin encountering a time-traveling Grendel Prime, is not as artistically adventuresome, and is basically a TERMINATOR story with Batman, although it's worth a look to see what the DEVIL'S QUEST story was all about.

Vintage Comic - Grendel #01

Pencils: Arnold Pander And Jacob Pander

Inks: Jay Geldhof

Colors: Matt Wagner

GRENDL DEVIL'S LEGACY no.1 • cover art • Matt Wagner [Mar 2000]

Dark Horse Comics is proud to bring you Devil's Legacy, the critically acclaimed, long out-of-print Grendel series first published in 1986, now digitally remastered and carefully recolored by Jeromy Cox for your reading enjoyment. Written by Matt Wagner (Mage), featuring pencils by Arnold and Jacob Pander (Triple X), and inks by Jay Geldhof, Grendel: Devil's Legacy focuses on Christine Spar, daughter of Stacy Palumbo and spiritual heir of Hunter Rose, who struggles to save her son and her sanity in this serial of criminal intrigue and creepy Kabuki vampires.

Creators • Writer: Matt Wagner Penciller: Arnold Pander & Jacob Pander Inker: Jay Geldhof Colorist: Jeromy Cox Letterer: Steve Haynie Editor: Diana Schutz Designer: Cary Grazzini Cover Artist: Matt Wagner

Genre: Action/Adventure, Horror, Science-Fiction

GirlFIEND in Paris: A Bloodthirsty Bedtime Story HC (November 2, 2022)

writer, artist, letters and cover artist: The Pander Brothers [Jacob Pander and Arnold Pander] | publishing company: Dark Horse Books [Dark Horse Comics]

synopsis: The fugitive romance continues between Karina, a day-walking vampire, and Nick, a nocturnal mortal. Living out their storybook fantasy in Paris by day and hunting down criminals by night to feed Karina’s hunger, Nick’s moral line continues to be pushed to the limit. When Karina discovers her latest prey holds a dark criminal secret, it will put their immortal love-pact to the test when they attempt to rescue an innocent girl from a deadly underworld plot.

“The Room”

Triple X #6 (May 1995)

Arnold and Jacob Pander