On Matt Wagner’s ‘Grendel’ (a translation) (03)

On Matt Wagner’s ‘Grendel’ (a translation) (03)

 

First Chapter

The Gospel According to Grendel (III)

 

        The end of 1983 and the beginning of 1984 saw the birth of a new black & white collection which only lasted for three numbers. Under the generic title of «Grendel» it told the fight –and it’s tragic turn out– between ‘Hunter Rose’ and ‘Argent, The Wolf’; at the same time, it told both characters’ origin.

The first installment shows us the meeting of ‘Grendel’ and ‘Argent’ on a tiled roof, ready for what it seems their final fight. Nevertheless, instead of fighting they start talking to each other. First, ‘Hunter Rose’ unmasks himself and tells ‘The Wolf’ how he became ‘Grendel’.

The second chapter’s starting point shows us ‘Argent’ telling his origin to his foe; then there is a long flashback, which displays an event that had happened four years ago, and that will deeply mark the story development. It deals with ‘Barry Palumbo’´s death: a businessman who –apparently– was trying to mislead both ‘Argent’ and ‘Grendel’.

 

 

 

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On Matt Wagner’s ‘Grendel’ (a translation) (02)

 

First Chapter

The Gospel According to Grendel (II)

 

        The author’s initial idea was to reverse, in a part, the traditional characters association for adventure stories. The starting point was: what happens when the bad boy turns out to be handsome and smart, and the good boy is monstrous and brutal?

We find the source of inspiration, and the name for the character, in «Beowulf». The poem, anonymous and about 3.000 verses long, tells about the confrontation between ‘Beowulf’ –son of a Scandinavian king– and ‘Grendel’, a monster. 

It’s one of the eldest Anglo-Saxon legends, and it’s thought to have been written between the 8^th and the 10^th century. However, it doesn’t have much of an influence on Matt Wagner’s creation, leaving apart the character’s name. It does give the monster’s appearance to the supposed law upholder, not to ‘Grendel’.

 

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On Matt Wagner’s ‘Grendel’ (a translation) (01)

This is my translation of the original text written in Spanish by Norman Fernández for a catalog published in 2001. I was asked by Matt Wagner to translate that essay to English. 25 years have passed by since I wrote this version. As far as I know, my text hasn’t been published so I have decided to blog it.

Thank you for your attention, kind reader!

 

First Chapter

The Gospel According to Grendel (I)

 

     Trying to find out how did Grendel’s concept break out isn’t an easy task.

The character’s first story was written and drawn by Matt Wagner in 1982, and it was published on a magazine called Comico Primer, which was printed by Comico Comics. 

The story showed the adventures of a man dressed in black who was trying to murder –without any special reason– the Chairman of the Local Council, Everett Christie, and who even dared to call the police before committing his crime, in order to boast about the murder he was about to make. 

 

 

Hunter Rose, apparently a millionaire and capricious writer, was the man behind the mask and that murder. His crime would propitiate his fighting against his nemesis, Argent, The Wolf.

        This ten-page narration, which appeared on Comico Primer # 2, is not only the introduction of the character, but also Matt’s first comic work ever published. Nowadays it is a collector’s item, being its price fifty times the one that appeared originally on its cover.

 

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