Scan barcode
A review by gungnir
Batman/Grendel by Matt Wagner
4.0
There are only three true long-form comic book stories about Hunter Rose, not counting Devil By the Deed, which is essentially a summary of an epic saga that doesn't exist in fully developed form. Of those three, his encounter with Batman is the first, and perhaps the most stylistically ambitious. It's also the first real Matt Wagner Batman story, and it demonstrates right out the gate that this is a man born to write and draw Batman comics.
The sequel pits Batman against Grendel Prime, who I find less interesting as a character, but this gives Batman a peak at the nightmarish future of the Grendel timeline, where the world is reshaped by nuclear war, vampire popes, and finally Devil-worshipping samurai cultists, and that has some juice. It also has Wagner depicting a more mature, superheroic version of Batman; the first story feels like it could be a direct sequel to Batman: Year One, and the second feels like a Batman who could be part of the Justice League, hanging out with Martian Manhunter and fighting alien invasions.
The sequel pits Batman against Grendel Prime, who I find less interesting as a character, but this gives Batman a peak at the nightmarish future of the Grendel timeline, where the world is reshaped by nuclear war, vampire popes, and finally Devil-worshipping samurai cultists, and that has some juice. It also has Wagner depicting a more mature, superheroic version of Batman; the first story feels like it could be a direct sequel to Batman: Year One, and the second feels like a Batman who could be part of the Justice League, hanging out with Martian Manhunter and fighting alien invasions.