Grendel Omnibus Volume 2: Legacy
- Downloads：9765
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-12-09 06:52:47
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Matt Wagner
- ISBN：1506732313
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Stories that inspired the Netflix show！
Four essential chapters in the massive Grendel story saga by Matt Wagner and collaborators Diana Schutz， Tim Sale， Arnold & Jacob Pander， and Bernie Mireault are collected， in chronological order and in a standard comics-size format for the first time！
Stacy Palumbo's fate is detailed in Devil Child， the chain of evil continues as Christine Spar takes up the next Grendel mantle in Devil's Legacy， and the nature of the Grendel entity begins to reveal itself in The Devil Inside。 Finally， Wagner returns as both writer and artist for a pair of Devil Tales that look back on the career of Hunter Rose， each illustrated in a different experimental style。
Celebrate the fortieth anniversary of this dynamic comics masterpiece！
Four essential chapters in the massive Grendel story saga by Matt Wagner and collaborators Diana Schutz， Tim Sale， Arnold & Jacob Pander， and Bernie Mireault are collected， in chronological order and in a standard comics-size format for the first time！
Stacy Palumbo's fate is detailed in Devil Child， the chain of evil continues as Christine Spar takes up the next Grendel mantle in Devil's Legacy， and the nature of the Grendel entity begins to reveal itself in The Devil Inside。 Finally， Wagner returns as both writer and artist for a pair of Devil Tales that look back on the career of Hunter Rose， each illustrated in a different experimental style。
Celebrate the fortieth anniversary of this dynamic comics masterpiece！
Reviews
andrew y
，
After the first volume of Grendel I was all “this is truly like no other story and I’m here for it” so then I pre ordered this new edition of volume two at the ol comic book shop and then it arrived and then I read it and I did not like it at all even a little bit。 Ok just a little bit， for the second story。 But only that。
Joshua Williams
，
There are a few cool ideas here but the art was horrible and overall it just disappointed
Robert Gotschall
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 First half is dope。 Second is ok。 The art use of panelling is fantastic but the story is meandering and a slog。 Christine should have been used more than she was。 Easily my second favorite incarnation。
Wombo Combo
，
I'm giving up on this about 200 pages in。 I thought that the first omnibus was okay。 Not awful， but not great， but it had some cool ideas and I wanted to see how it progressed。 The first two issues of this were excellent， but then everything after that has been kind of a pain to read。 It is simultaneously overwritten and lacking in depth， making for a pretty boring read， which I think is what this just comes down to。 It should be more enjoyable than it is。 I'm giving up on this about 200 pages in。 I thought that the first omnibus was okay。 Not awful， but not great， but it had some cool ideas and I wanted to see how it progressed。 The first two issues of this were excellent， but then everything after that has been kind of a pain to read。 It is simultaneously overwritten and lacking in depth， making for a pretty boring read， which I think is what this just comes down to。 It should be more enjoyable than it is。 。。。more
Mary Wyman
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This one was a bit harder to read， if only because it had its monotonous moments during Ms。 Spar's time as Grendel while hunting vampire Ibuki。The Polk story was my favorite， wish Polk and Grendel had a non-bloody interaction。 The Tommy Nuncio story a cool backstory of the before and after of the famous Argent ball fall。 Li Sung was a sad tale to read， but not unbelievable or bad cliche。 It made sense and/or can be relatable。Overall， this is definitely a Grendel volume you must not skip （much le This one was a bit harder to read， if only because it had its monotonous moments during Ms。 Spar's time as Grendel while hunting vampire Ibuki。The Polk story was my favorite， wish Polk and Grendel had a non-bloody interaction。 The Tommy Nuncio story a cool backstory of the before and after of the famous Argent ball fall。 Li Sung was a sad tale to read， but not unbelievable or bad cliche。 It made sense and/or can be relatable。Overall， this is definitely a Grendel volume you must not skip （much less any of the volumes， to get the very whole story）。Enjoy :） 。。。more
Gabriel Llagostera
，
El tomo empieza con la mejor historia que he leído hasta ahora del personaje: nos cuenta el terrible destino de la hija adoptiva de Grendel; el guión es impresionante y el dibujo de Tim Sale le da el toque necesario para que redondee la excelencia。 De ahí para adelante es todo cuesta abajo。 La siguiente historia es la más larga del tomo， y si bien el guión no es del todo malo， el espantoso dibujo le saca todo interés; muy cartoon para lo que pide la historia， pero además con exageraciones anatóm El tomo empieza con la mejor historia que he leído hasta ahora del personaje: nos cuenta el terrible destino de la hija adoptiva de Grendel; el guión es impresionante y el dibujo de Tim Sale le da el toque necesario para que redondee la excelencia。 De ahí para adelante es todo cuesta abajo。 La siguiente historia es la más larga del tomo， y si bien el guión no es del todo malo， el espantoso dibujo le saca todo interés; muy cartoon para lo que pide la historia， pero además con exageraciones anatómicas y problemas de coherencia entre viñetas。 Después de eso viene alguna historia corta más que se deja leer， pero no llega ni cerca a lo mostrado al principio。 Incluso con una disposición de página que me resultó molesta para seguir lo que se quería contar。En definitiva， recomiendo su lectura solo para los que quedaron cebados con el tomo anterior; a los que no les convenció， sigan con otra cosa。 。。。more
Clint
，
My third reading of， at least。 This comic has lost some of its luster over the decades。
Camilo Guerra
，
Ah， empezamos con una maravillosa historia de la hija de Grendel， con un monton de traumas emocionales， locura， violación， dibujado magistralmente por Tim Sale， y se acaba esa hostoria y se va todo a la $#%&/（）=， ya que aparece el equipo artistico de Arnold y Jacob Pander y Bernie Mireault， lo cual ， es terrible， un arte hecho con los pies， te da cosa verlo， eso me daño toda la historia， que de por si， no es lo mejor que dio Matt Wagner。
Sierra Dean
，
Read for TLP
Art
，
I would say about a 3。5。 I liked the extended first story， but the follow-ups left me a little cold。
Patrick
，
Not much of a fan of the Pander Brothers art， but that said， the rest was phenomenal。
Adelaide Metzger
，
I originally gave the first Grendel omnibus， Hunter Rose， a 2-ish star rating。 This surprised me when I went back to read my pros and cons list review because I remember loving that book and have come to adore Hunter as a character and really treasure that omnibus as a piece of art。But then I remembered how disturbed I was by the amount of graphic sexual content and that had a lot to do with my original final rating。 I still find that content disturbing， but comparing this second omnibus to the I originally gave the first Grendel omnibus， Hunter Rose， a 2-ish star rating。 This surprised me when I went back to read my pros and cons list review because I remember loving that book and have come to adore Hunter as a character and really treasure that omnibus as a piece of art。But then I remembered how disturbed I was by the amount of graphic sexual content and that had a lot to do with my original final rating。 I still find that content disturbing， but comparing this second omnibus to the first really makes me appreciate the first more。The first thing I noticed was the dramatic difference in the art style。 The first omnibus had more than 7 different artists including Matt Wagner himself as it spanned through the life of Hunter Rose as Grendel up until his death。 This second omnibus sees only two or three different art styles as it spans issues mainly related to Hunter’s granddaughter， Chris， who is compelled to take up the mantle of Grendel after her son goes missing。 While I was blown away with the eye candy of the first omnibus I wasn’t impressed with the slightly cartoony art of this second omnibus that reminded me of Batman Beyond。Wagner wrote this collection of issues as well， so the noir-esque voice of both Chris and her insane mother （in just the first two issues） remains pretty much the same as with Hunter。 I think my main problem with having trouble connecting with Chris is just the dramatic difference of her world。 Much like how Batman Beyond was so different in aesthetic and setting compared to Batman: The Animated Series， Grendel: Legacy’s futuristic setting just makes it FEEL so much more different than the origin volume。 Chris vs。 Hunter。 It was just amazing to see the difference in WHY Chris became Grendel compared to why Hunter decided to create the persona。 Hunter was an eccentric， rich child who was too smart for everyone else and was tortured by the spontaneous loss of his first and only love。 As Grendel he ran the underground crime of the city playing kingpin and killed out of necessity to keep his organization running smoothly， but also out of indulgence。Chris， on the other hand， puts on the mask when the police do nearly nothing to help find her abducted son。 So she takes matters into her own hands and goes after the cannibalistic creeps who took her kid。 When she realizes that her son is most likely dead， her motivations go from the need to rescue， to revenge。 Of course her hate and anger quickly spiral into chaos as the persona of Grendel takes over， but she has a good reason to become Grendel in the first place。 A very good， and real-world， relatable reason。 This omnibus also shows the briefly lived Grendel after Chris， but it didn’t leave as much of an impression。 He just went crazy from sadness and started killing random people。Although Grendel: Legacy hit some thought-provoking ideas， it didn’t evoke the powerful emotions that the Hunter Rose omnibus did for me。 3 solid stars。 Now I shall go back and up my rating for the first omnibus。 。。。more
John
，
Shoulder pads and psychosis。
Casey Taylor
，
Tim Sale and Matt Wagner draw some ok pictures。 The other folks， not so much。 And when the pictures are that bad， who cares about the story？
Quentin Wallace
，
I didn't find this volume nearly as strong as the first。 This on focuses mostly on Christine Spar， the child of Stacy Palumbo who was Grendel's adopted daughter。 The two best series， Devil's Child and Devil's Legacy are pretty solid， especially Devil's Child。 Devil's Legacy takes up most of the volume and while I enjoyed it， I thought it dragged some and could have been shorter and more powerful。 The other stories in this volume brought things down for me as they were very dense and presented in I didn't find this volume nearly as strong as the first。 This on focuses mostly on Christine Spar， the child of Stacy Palumbo who was Grendel's adopted daughter。 The two best series， Devil's Child and Devil's Legacy are pretty solid， especially Devil's Child。 Devil's Legacy takes up most of the volume and while I enjoyed it， I thought it dragged some and could have been shorter and more powerful。 The other stories in this volume brought things down for me as they were very dense and presented in an experimental style which I just don't have the patience to sift through so I skimmed some of the latter stories in this collection。Still a good read but not up to the high bar set by volume one。 Moving on to Volume Three， and very curious to see where things go from here。 。。。more
Steve
，
Four stories of Grendel: Devil Child， Devil's Legacy， The Devil Inside， and Devil Tales。 Grendel has become more of an evil spirt， infecting the lives of those who inherit even a portion of Hunter Rose's legacy， and these stories are a mixed bag。 Devil Child is the disturbing tale of Stacy Palumbo， Rose's adopted daughter ruined by Grendel and Argents battles and her tragic life leading to the birth of Christine Spar。 Devil's Legacy is Spar's story， and my original introduction to the character。 Four stories of Grendel: Devil Child， Devil's Legacy， The Devil Inside， and Devil Tales。 Grendel has become more of an evil spirt， infecting the lives of those who inherit even a portion of Hunter Rose's legacy， and these stories are a mixed bag。 Devil Child is the disturbing tale of Stacy Palumbo， Rose's adopted daughter ruined by Grendel and Argents battles and her tragic life leading to the birth of Christine Spar。 Devil's Legacy is Spar's story， and my original introduction to the character。 When her child is kidnapped she take on the identity of Grendel and descending into darker and darker places until the end with erratic art resembling a Patrick Nagel print in a Max Headrom Future。 The Devil Inside is a good concept， Grendel driving Spar's lover into madness， but the art and layout drag this story down。 Finally， Devil Tales， stories told by Wiggins， the cop who helped bring down Grendel's 2 & 3， about hunter Rose， written and drawn by Wagner that make this volume end on a high note。 。。。more
Shawn Manning
，
I absolutely loved the first omnibus and was looking forward to the next volume。 Regrettably， I was disappointed。 The segments illustrated by Wagner & Tim Sale were good， but the Cristine Spar plotline was way too long and poorly illustrated。 While I will give the next volume， I am not optimistic 。
Nigel
，
In the Grendel Cycle， the spirit of Grendel is the spirit of violence， passing down through generations， spoiling and corrupting everything around it。 In the case of Stacy Palumbo。 Grendel's adopted daughter， there is no escape from horror and trauma in her life after Grendel， and the opening story in this collection is profoundly horrible， graphic and disturbing， featuring rape and abuse and severe mental breakdown。 it's a stark， brutal nasty story， far from the sleek， smooth， sinister and sedu In the Grendel Cycle， the spirit of Grendel is the spirit of violence， passing down through generations， spoiling and corrupting everything around it。 In the case of Stacy Palumbo。 Grendel's adopted daughter， there is no escape from horror and trauma in her life after Grendel， and the opening story in this collection is profoundly horrible， graphic and disturbing， featuring rape and abuse and severe mental breakdown。 it's a stark， brutal nasty story， far from the sleek， smooth， sinister and seductive design of Devil By The Deed， utterly stripping the entire concept of Grendel of any hint or shred of romanticisation。 With that nasty bitter taste in the reader's mind， it's onwards chronologically though backwards in print order to Devil's Legacy， and Christine Spar， Stacy's daughter， who goes from chronicling to embracing the Grendel legacy in her efforts to first recover and then avenge the son stolen from her by a monstrous vampire。 Despite her good intentions， Grendel takes over her life and the lives of those around her， drawing the fatal attention of Hunter Rose's nemesis， Argent。The Devil Inside is a bleak tale of urban alienation and obsession， as Christine's lover descends into a hellish world of hostility and sleaze， battling with tangled， jagged emotions he tries to channel into a misguided and self-destructive effort at revenge。 Devil Tales revisits the heyday of Hunter Rose once more， albeit from the point of view of characters almost too minor to be noticed by him。 A cop stumbles on a tangled and complex family conspiracy in a claustrophobic noirish tale of tiny panels and small print that reads like a classic piece of detective fiction。 The story of Tommy Nuncio， a stoolie who hears something he shouldn't - or does he？ And ends up in a state of almost existential terror and dread， is another kind of classic crime fiction， as the walls slowly close in around a hapless small-fry caught up in something way bigger than him。 。。。more
Michael
，
This volume follows in the wake of Hunter Rose's death and how the Grendel legacy carries on in the immediate aftermath。 Schutz and Sale's "Devil' Child" is a masterpiece of despair。 Wagner carries on the legacy directly in "Devil's Legacy，" which has some clunky dialogue and inconsistent Pander Bros。 artwork （sometimes quite striking compositions， sometimes rushed drawings or unclear storytelling） but a tragic story of loss and a spiral into pain and resentment。 The madness continues in Brian L This volume follows in the wake of Hunter Rose's death and how the Grendel legacy carries on in the immediate aftermath。 Schutz and Sale's "Devil' Child" is a masterpiece of despair。 Wagner carries on the legacy directly in "Devil's Legacy，" which has some clunky dialogue and inconsistent Pander Bros。 artwork （sometimes quite striking compositions， sometimes rushed drawings or unclear storytelling） but a tragic story of loss and a spiral into pain and resentment。 The madness continues in Brian Li Sung's chaotic three-part narrative， with claustrophobic Bernie Mireault artwork that works wonders for the story but may not be to everyone's taste。 Wagner wraps this up with two somewhat experimental pieces， as a cop from the "Legacy" and Li Sung arcs， now older and retired， recounts some Rose-era tales from the perspective of pawns in Rose's world。 They're dense， detailed narratives， sometimes a little leaden in their pacing （particularly the first one）， but fascinating in their own way。In short， this one's uneven in execution， largely the work of young cartoonists finding their voices （let's not forget that MOST of the Hunter Rose material was actually written and drawn long after most of the stories in this book）， but there's a lot of depth and some really interesting creative risks。 It may be the least satisfying Grendel book， but it's still a vital one。 。。。more
Frédéric
，
Hunter Rose is dead and now we follow his so-called "heirs"。Reading this 2nd volume， I saw my interest dropping a little。 First， we focus on the tragic （and I do mean tragic） fate of Stacy Palumbo， Grendel's adopted daughter。 This one's grim and dark and shows the terrible truth of the "legacy"。 Tim Sale's on the drawing board， so you get value for moneyNext in line is Christine Spar， Stacy's daughter。 I remember reading it in 2000 and not caring much about it。 That was mainly due to the terribl Hunter Rose is dead and now we follow his so-called "heirs"。Reading this 2nd volume， I saw my interest dropping a little。 First， we focus on the tragic （and I do mean tragic） fate of Stacy Palumbo， Grendel's adopted daughter。 This one's grim and dark and shows the terrible truth of the "legacy"。 Tim Sale's on the drawing board， so you get value for moneyNext in line is Christine Spar， Stacy's daughter。 I remember reading it in 2000 and not caring much about it。 That was mainly due to the terrible art of the Pander Bros， whose ugly 80's style was already outdated at the time and still doesn't come as a great vintage 15 years later。 I could forgive the total absence of storytelling， the weird hairdos （totally 80's when the action is supposed to take place some 30/40 years later） and characters as charismatic as kitchen sinks， but I just can't stand the fact that the guys just overlooked the simple concept of proportions。 I mean， when you draw somebody's shoulders as wide as he is tall， you really should look for another job。 Story wasn't as bad as I remembered though， even if I wasn't too keen on the vampire stuff。 Spar looks more like a mean cold bitch than a grieving mother at first （but that may explain why she acts as Grendel so easily） before giving way to some humanity towards the end。 Then comes Li-Sung， Spar's ex-lover who starts to loose it and to embrace Grendel's spirit， though you just don't really see why。。。 Kinda boring to read （scripted notes all over）， as madmen's ramblings usually are。 Not very convincing， aggravated by Bernie Mireault's poor job of it。 Last but not least， two Matt Wagner's stories， going back to Hunter Rose's era。 These are well written， with an astute storytelling。 A much better conclusion。 。。。more
C。 Varn
，
Wagner's Grendel during the Christine Spar and Li Sung phases， both set in the future as imagined from the 1980s as well as the Grendel Tales， featuring Lt。 Wiggins recounting Hunter Rose stories from the point of view of other characters， and a later story about Stacy's fate。 This cycle begins to explore the way mask becomes aggression itself， and the demonic power of the revenge animates its use。 The Spar and Sung cycles are more conventionally told， and some of the noir elements of both Wagne Wagner's Grendel during the Christine Spar and Li Sung phases， both set in the future as imagined from the 1980s as well as the Grendel Tales， featuring Lt。 Wiggins recounting Hunter Rose stories from the point of view of other characters， and a later story about Stacy's fate。 This cycle begins to explore the way mask becomes aggression itself， and the demonic power of the revenge animates its use。 The Spar and Sung cycles are more conventionally told， and some of the noir elements of both Wagner's early and later revisions of Hunter Rose is lost。 That said， the story telling is strong after one adjusts to the eternal 1980s future as the backdrop。 Admittedly， the conclusion to the Spar cycle seems rushed and the Sung cycle seems a little forced， but both set up some elements of the Grendel to come。 The Stacy story at the beginning is mostly heart-breaking but does fill in the gaps between Hunter Rose and Spar。 This is very good， but not as good as Wagner's Hunter Rose arcs given the more traditional comic book narrative employed in the main two arcs， and while the two other cycles are interesting and return to form， they are somewhat tangential to the larger story of Grendel。 。。。more
Robert
，
An interesting continuation of the Grendel mythos in giant omnibus form。 Unlike the first volumes， these stories read a bit more as a product of their time， both in art style and narrative。 While I preferred the saga of Hunter Rose in the first volume， the adventures of Christine Spar provide an interesting counterpoint to the evil of Rose。 The Devil Tales at the end are less essential， ending this omnibus with something of a whimper。
J。
，
Here's the problem with this book: it's a few good stories surrounding a crappy one。 But I can be a little more specific:The first story， Devil Child is great--it deals with Stacy Palumbo's life after the death of the first Grendel。 It's about violence and psyche， hence it's a pretty serious piece， and it's beautifully illustrated by Tim Sale。 4/5。The second story， Devil's Legacy is completely befuddling。 Here we have Stacy's daughter Christine becoming the second Grendel， but the events of Here's the problem with this book: it's a few good stories surrounding a crappy one。 But I can be a little more specific:The first story， Devil Child is great--it deals with Stacy Palumbo's life after the death of the first Grendel。 It's about violence and psyche， hence it's a pretty serious piece， and it's beautifully illustrated by Tim Sale。 4/5。The second story， Devil's Legacy is completely befuddling。 Here we have Stacy's daughter Christine becoming the second Grendel， but the events of the story are just too perplexing to explain。 Here's a summary of confusing plot points: （view spoiler）[ （1） The whole thing kicks off when Christine's son is abducted and murdered。 But Christine appears to completely skip any and all grieving and jump directly to revenge killing。 In fact， despite the （way too much！） voice over throughout the book， it never really seems like she's all that bothered about the son's death， other than as an impetus to put on a mask and run around vigilante-style。 Her son's death serves no emotional purpose at all--it's entirely to jump start the plot。 So Stacy is a character it's impossible to empathize with， since she's apparently a psychopath。 （2） There's a vampire （or something？） in this story， and I don't know why it's necessary or what the fact that the villain is a vampire contributes to the story。 （3） She never does even get the guy who murdered her child！ At the end of chapter 8/12， there's a big face-off。 The book says "The End。" The villain gets away。 The book continues for four more chapters， during which Stacy immediately turns her attention to Argent and forgets the guy who MURDERED HER CHILD。 I'm not sure why。 （4） This story is waaaaaay to freaking long。 I can summarize ALL the events that happen in about a page and， as I mentioned， there is no emotional work here， so why does it take so long to get to the finale？ （hide spoiler）] The art is also just silly and awkward。 1/5。 The Devil Inside is the next piece， and follows the third Grendel。 This story is really well-paced。 It's a story about madness （or possibly something darker？） The art contributes to the telling beautifully。 In fact， the use of diary pages works really， really well here。 And the whole thing comes to a nice， strange conclusion。 This story， also， seems deep。 4/5。Finally， there are a couple of Wagner-drawn tales set during the original Grendel's life。 They're both pretty experimental art-wise and pretty standard story-wise。 They don't contribute anything to the overall story， but they're alright anyway。 3/5。So other than that really long debacle in the middle， which unfortunately takes up 60% of the book， it's pretty good。 。。。more
Bryan
，
The Christine Spar storyline is not my favorite Grendel story。 I've also never liked the Pander Bros。 artwork。 But I'm a huge Bernie Mireault fan， and Matt Wagner's stylistic tribute to Harvey Kurtzman in the final story is almost worth the price of admission alone。 The Christine Spar storyline is not my favorite Grendel story。 I've also never liked the Pander Bros。 artwork。 But I'm a huge Bernie Mireault fan， and Matt Wagner's stylistic tribute to Harvey Kurtzman in the final story is almost worth the price of admission alone。 。。。more
Stolt-man
，
I think this book is better than Volume 1。 I realize that I'm in the minority， but I consider The Christine Spar arc to be the definitive Grendel story。 I think this book is better than Volume 1。 I realize that I'm in the minority， but I consider The Christine Spar arc to be the definitive Grendel story。 。。。more
Baal Of
，
I didn't like this volume as much as the previous one， for reasons I will get into。 However， the beginning story is quite good， and deserves four stars。 It is a grim， nasty， brutal story about the breakdown and exploitation of Grendel's （Hunter Rose） adopted daughter。 The artwork is beautifully done with lots of dark shadowing and a restricted color palette。 The story contains scenes of rape which would be a trigger warning for some people， but it is not glorified， nor is the perpetrator portray I didn't like this volume as much as the previous one， for reasons I will get into。 However， the beginning story is quite good， and deserves four stars。 It is a grim， nasty， brutal story about the breakdown and exploitation of Grendel's （Hunter Rose） adopted daughter。 The artwork is beautifully done with lots of dark shadowing and a restricted color palette。 The story contains scenes of rape which would be a trigger warning for some people， but it is not glorified， nor is the perpetrator portrayed in a sympathetic manager。The second story which takes up the bulk of the book is the problem here。 The artwork is done in an overly colorful and sloppy style， intentionally I assume， that I just don't like。 Many of the characters wear jackets that must have half-meter shoulder pads， making them look like hulking monstrosities in a good portion of the panels。 In one panel for example， on page 185， Christine Spars's shoulders are literally 3 times as wide as her waist。 （in the real sense of the word "literally"， not the new bullshit meaning of figuratively）。 The characters' faces are regular distorted in weird ways that just make the art ugly， not as a reflection of the ugliness of the events around them， but just ugly as if the artist sucked。 The exaggerated 80's style hair was oppressive as well。 The storyline wasn't good enough to overcome the art。 Christine Spar， Hunter Rose's grand daughter takes on the mantle of Grendel， becoming the second in line。 She is motivated by the disappearance of her son。 The story could have been good， but I found it frustrating。 I hated Spar's little catch phrase at the end of her narrative entries， "More Later。"The third story about the next person to attempt to become Grendel， centered around Spar's ex-lover。 It was boring， tedious to read through all the hand-written note pages。 It was ambitious， but stumbled and failed to engage me。The fourth story was more interesting， despite its minor use of Grendel。 The stylistic use of tiny panels actually worked fairly well， and its detective style narrative fit。 The second part with the long panels， was even better， and the story from the point of view of an informant， being used all along by Grendel was actually interesting。 His fear actually came across well， and his descent into bizarre behaviors seemed plausible。 。。。more
Shannon Appelcline
，
Devil Child。 What a horrible story！ Bitter， angry， and totally unpleasant。 I was shocked when I saw it wasn't written and drawn by Wagner， because it all feels perfect and fits right into the narrative [8/10]。Devil’s Legacy。 This isn’t as strong of a piece of writing as “Devil Child”， but it’s nonetheless a great continuation of the story from “Devil By The Deed”。 For the first time ever， we see a new Grendel， and we can really feel for her reasons for picking up the mask。 The result is a strong Devil Child。 What a horrible story！ Bitter， angry， and totally unpleasant。 I was shocked when I saw it wasn't written and drawn by Wagner， because it all feels perfect and fits right into the narrative [8/10]。Devil’s Legacy。 This isn’t as strong of a piece of writing as “Devil Child”， but it’s nonetheless a great continuation of the story from “Devil By The Deed”。 For the first time ever， we see a new Grendel， and we can really feel for her reasons for picking up the mask。 The result is a strongly emotional story full of great characters [8/10]。The Devil Inside。 This is an interesting comic because on the one hand it suggests a descent into madness and on the other it posits the fact that Grendel could be some sort of demonic idea。 However， it’s also almost unreadable with its teeny notebook pages， its constant dull-life dialogue， and its Grendel thoughts [5/10]。Devil Tracks。 Another very experimental story， but this one is much more readable （though dense！）。 It’s an interesting mystery comic， even if the use of Grendel is extremely minor [7+/10]。Devil Eyes。 This is a good story that has again been marred by the experimental nature of the comic's design， which is unfortunately too much like The Devil Inside。 [5/10]Overall， the Christine Spar story is the heart of this volume and well-worth reading。 After that the quality varies a lot due to too much experimentation。 。。。more
James T
，
Enjoyable。。。but nearly as good as volume one （Hunter Rose）。 Volume 2 covers （sort of） the fallout from the 1st volume。Brian Li Sung one was a little harder to follow but I understand （I think） what Wagner was getting at。
Jeffrey
，
Grendel is a series of experiments in comic storytelling， and like all experiments， some fail and some succeed。 Sometimes the writing/art is subtle and brilliant; other times， it is in-your-face and annoying or just dull。 The subject matter in the second volume simply isn't as compelling as in the "Hunter Rose" arc， but it's still worth a read for Grendel fans since the chronological collection of stories helps to fill in a lot of continuity gaps。 Just don't pick this up as your first Grendel bo Grendel is a series of experiments in comic storytelling， and like all experiments， some fail and some succeed。 Sometimes the writing/art is subtle and brilliant; other times， it is in-your-face and annoying or just dull。 The subject matter in the second volume simply isn't as compelling as in the "Hunter Rose" arc， but it's still worth a read for Grendel fans since the chronological collection of stories helps to fill in a lot of continuity gaps。 Just don't pick this up as your first Grendel book and wonder what the heck is going on。。。 。。。more
Jasmiina F
，