- Title: Grendel: Devil Quest
- Comic Vine: link
- Writer: Matt Wagner
- Artist: Matt Wagner
Grendel: Devil Quest is a curiosity, the less interesting alternative view of Grendel Prime’s travel through time searching for the original Grendel, Hunter Rose. Told through the perspectives of other characters in the future world first established in previous works such as Grendel: God and the Devil, Grendel: Devil’s Reign, and Grendel: War Child.
Those unfamiliar with the convoluted history of the futuristic versions of Grendel in the 26th Century may want to take a pass, or at least do some research before jumping into Grendel: Devil Quest.
The story’s main function is to show what is happening in the future after Jupiter’s coronation as the new Grendel-Khan. Most of the story revolves around the unsuccessful search by various factions for the missing cyborg Grendel Prime, who only makes the shortest of appearances here before vanishing in a time travel experiment before reappearing on final page (those wanting to know what happened should pick up Batman/Grendel).
Hunter Rose, the original Grendel, has always been an interesting character to me. Grendel Prime’s search for Hunter raises some interesting possibilities, but sadly that’s not what this tale is about (though the machine used by Grendel, and what it runs on, is pretty cool). The tale is more about the dysfunctional future than Grendel’s quest, and does little more than fill in gaps from other, better, Grendel stories.
The surreal look of the book, much like the story itself, will probably make you pause and wonder how many drugs Wagner was taking while penning these issues. Released in a new hardcover by Dark Horse Comics this tale is much more geared to hardcore Grendel fans than casual readers.