Grendel

Grendel is a dark, legacy identity passed through multiple hosts across centuries, beginning with Hunter Rose — a brilliant, ruthless crime lord who adopted the masked persona to dominate New York's underworld while living a double life as a celebrated author.

Matt Wagner's Grendel is one of independent comics' most compelling creations, born in 1985 and carrying the dark, ambitious spirit of the Bronze Age into decades of boundary-pushing storytelling at Dark Horse. Spanning an impressive 38 years of publication, this is a character with genuine staying power — the kind that earns key-issue recognition and keeps extraordinary company, sharing pages with the likes of Hunter Rose, Argent, Hellboy, and even Batman. From Grendel: Devil by the Deed to the crossover spectacle of Batman / Grendel: Devil's Riddle, the character has proven endlessly versatile across some genuinely landmark comics real estate. If you're a collector with a taste for creator-driven work that helped define what independent comics could be, Grendel belongs on your radar.