GRENDEL | Comico, 1986

Steven and Chris obsess over issues one through seven of the quintessential ‘80s comic book, Comico’s GRENDEL (1986), featuring perhaps the greatest indie comics character of all time; they cover roughly the first half of the “Devil’s Legacy” story arc and reckon with the lasting resonance of Matt Wagner’s extraordinary exploration of evil.
RE: GRENDEL:
“…a brave and possibly even reckless experiment that has succeeded admirably."
- Alan Moore (WATCHMEN)
SHOW NOTES:
00:00 - Theme song
00:32 - Intro to GRENDEL. Move over, Batman! The Dark Knight ain’t the only violent vigilante in town! Cue a valiant attempt to summarize the fascinatingly unique, complex concept of GRENDEL
03:12 - “DEVIL’S LEGACY” …Christine Spar dons the mask of the fiend. SHE is GRENDEL!
20:39 - The amazing Pander Brothers! ...and the inking of their highly stylized work - touching on ‘80s fashion art, Aeon Flux, and Patrick Nagel. The Pander Bros = style AND substance, plus “They draw some of the best hands in comics!”
29:10 - The eye-popping sales of the first issue of GRENDEL - 68,000 copies!
30:54 - How to pronounce “Comico”
37:22 - DC Comics’ amazing BLUE DEVIL by Paris Cullins, Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn
38:42 - The cleverly titled TEMPUS FUGITIVE by Ken Steacy; NOW Comics, ASTRO BOY, SPEED RACER
40:17 - THE SACRED & THE PROFANE by Dean Motter & Ken Steacy
41:14 - The bizarre & mostly unnoticed WAR BEARS from Dark Horse Comics by Margaret Atwood (!) & Ken Steacy
42:38 - Our conjecture re: why Matt Wagner brought in other artists on GRENDEL and why modern comics artists are no longer able to do long-ass runs on a series
48:15 - The looser, more gestural art of Hayden Sherman and Ashley Wood - drawing awesome comics with styles built for speed
50:57 - The super dense verbiage of Matt Wagner’s writing in this run of GRENDEL
55:06 - “THE DEVIL’S LAIR,” the GRENDEL letter column - Diana Schutz responds to a critical letter about Matt’s “wordy” approach, defending his “intentionally complex” writing choices
1:01:15 - GRENDEL: WARCHILD, Grendel Prime, the exquisite art of Simon Bisley
1:04:33 - Great unfinished stories in comic books - THE AERIALIST, TYRANT, BIG NUMBERS
1:08:51 - Edvin Biukovic & Darko Macan, the brilliant Croatian artist/writer team that created GRENDEL TALES: DEVILS AND DEATHS
1:12:33 - The progressive, multicultural, racial dynamics in this run of GRENDEL
1:13:33 - “…There’s so much greatness in the idea of GRENDEL…”
1:37:57 - The similarities between the mask designs for GRENDEL and SPAWN
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[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

🎙 SHOW NOTES
Steven and Chris obsess over issues one through seven of Comico’s ongoing GRENDEL series (1986), the “Devil’s Legacy” story arc, pondering the lasting resonance of Matt Wagner’s extraordinary exploration of evil.
⏱ TIMESTAMPS
00:32 - Intro to GRENDEL. Move over, Batman! The Dark Knight isn’t the only violent vigilante in town! Cue a valiant attempt to summarize the fascinatingly unique, complex concept of GRENDEL
03:12 - “DEVIL’S LEGACY” …Christine Spar dons the mask of the fiend - SHE is GRENDEL!
20:39 - The amazing Pander Brothers! ...and the inking of their highly stylized work - touching on '80s fashion art, Aeon Flux, and Patrick Nagel. The Pander Bros = style AND substance, plus “They draw some of the best hands in comics!”
29:10 - The eye-popping sales figures of the first issue of GRENDEL - 68,000 copies!
30:54 - How to pronounce “Comico”
37:22 - DC Comics’ amazing BLUE DEVIL by Paris Cullins, Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn
38:42 - The cleverly titled TEMPUS FUGITIVE by Ken Steacy; NOW Comics, ASTRO BOY, SPEED RACER
40:17 - THE SACRED & THE PROFANE by Dean Motter & Ken Steacy
41:14 - The bizarre and mostly unnoticed WAR BEARS from Dark Horse Comics by Margaret Atwood (!) & Ken Steacy
42:38 - Our conjecture re: why Matt Wagner brought in other artists on GRENDEL and why modern comics artists are no longer able to do long-ass runs on a series
48:15 - The looser, more gestural art of Hayden Sherman and Ashley Wood - drawing awesome comics with styles built for speed
50:57 - The super dense verbiage of Matt Wagner’s writing in this run of GRENDEL
55:06 - “THE DEVIL’S LAIR,” the GRENDEL letter column - Diana Schutz responds to a critical letter about Matt’s “wordy” approach, defending Wagner’s “intentionally complex” writing choices
1:01:15 - GRENDEL: WARCHILD, Grendel Prime, and the exquisite art of Simon Bisley
1:04:33 - Great unfinished stories in comic books - THE AERIALIST, TYRANT, BIG NUMBERS
1:08:51 - Edvin Biukovic and Darko Macan, the brilliant Croatian artist/writer team that created GRENDEL TALES: DEVILS AND DEATHS
1:12:33 - The progressive, multicultural, racial dynamics in this run of GRENDEL
1:13:33 - “There’s so much greatness in the idea of GRENDEL” - discussing the ambitious extrapolation of the GRENDEL concept in future storylines
1:37:57 - The similarities between the mask designs for GRENDEL and SPAWN
COMICS ROT YOUR BRAIN! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few notable exceptions) in a weekly podcast format. Screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) & Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.

[@tony-mora]

The first 40 issues are probably some of the best comics I've ever read. I picked up my first issue at a Thrifty's drugstore when at age 14 and I was blown away. Great work.

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

We appreciate you listening!
Wagner’s work was awesome at the time, and its enduring power is a testament to that.
I know Thifty’s! I’m surprised it was sold there! I would have loved to have discovered it sooner. Thankfully, there’s more Grendel on the way! - Chris

[@kasrasadrehashemi174]

I love this but I want to see about hunter rose first but Christina spar is great too. Now do the rest .also tv show is canceled

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

Thanks, glad you loved the show! And yes, we will definitely be doing future episodes on the other characters who have worn Grendel's mask! - Chris

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

💬 TELL US
In this episode, we propose that GRENDEL just might be the single greatest indie comics series of all time.
❓Agree or disagree?

[@theafronaut4131]

0:05 Grendel is one of many great series, if you're looking for something of a relief from it, check out The Maze Agency!

[@ComicsRotYourBrain]

@@theafronaut4131 Hey, I’m sorry, but I just noticed this comment from a couple weeks ago - and I loved THE MAZE AGENCY! Such a fun book. I was a huge fan of the self-contained single issue mystery stories it specialized in, plus it was the first place I saw the incredible artwork of Adam Hughes! We’ll definitely consider spotlighting it in a future episode… Thanks!
- Steven