A review by adelaidemetzger_robotprophet
Hunter Rose by Matt Wagner

4.0

Pros:
--The art in each issue is so freaking beautiful! I could eat up that art ALL day.
--Even though Grendel is one of a kind (character as well as story), it does hold a faint essence of Batman along with a taste of V for Vendetta--but I only say that because Grendel/Hunter Rose is deadly but still sophisticated like V. But it really is impossible to compare.
--Some of the stories in here I just ADORED! Really beautiful pieces of visual craft and story that deserve to be on display in glass cases.

Cons:
--Despite me loving the art and some of the stories, most of them overall sickened me. I’ve mentioned before in reviews like Watchmen that I’m not a fan of explicit sexual material (yes, it’s a shock that a 23-year-old adult is disturbed by adult material). To a rough ratio, every 3 out of 5 stories had some had some visual or descriptive account of oral, anal, or just regular sex. You know, you don’t have to “show” everything to make it effective to the plot (which some of it wasn’t even)--or are you just trying to remind the audience that this is a dark, gritty, world, pumped full of realism? I’m sure I’ll get over it, but let’s just say those impure images will stay in my head for a while.

Matt Wagner constructs pieces of literary and visual art with Devil by the Deed, Sympathy from the Devil, The Devil’s Week, and The Devil’s Due and the hosts of other artists are talented variants that bring the story of Grendel to life in the colors of black, white, and red.

Though I disagree with exposure of explicit content, this first omnibus is a treasure in the history of comics and literature. I just have extremely mixed feelings when I say I’m proud to have it on my shelf.