Mark V :: Matt Wagner || Grendel

Grendel: Devil by the Deed Master’s Edition, pgs. 42-43 (2023)

Artist: Matt Wagner (All)

19 Comments - 990 Views - 23 Likes

Grendel: Devil by the Deed Master’s Edition, pgs. 42-43 (2023) Comic Art

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Additional Images:

Published page w/ Brennan Wagner colors

Mini-Argent

Artwork Details

Title:	Grendel: Devil by the Deed Master’s Edition, pgs. 42-43 (2023)
Artist:	Matt Wagner (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Double Page Splash
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	990
Likes on CAF:	23 24
Favorited on CAF:	1
Comments:	19
Added to Site:	12/19/2023
Comic Art Archive:

Description

22 x 17 DPS drawn by Matt Wagner for his Grendel: Devil by the Deed Master’s Edition published in 2023 by Dark Horse Comics.

This was slated to be my first CAF post of 2024 but why wait? I don’t know if this is a one-and-done Grendel or Wagner piece for me but, if it is, I couldn’t be happier. I was always more of a Grendel guy than a Mage guy anyway and this piece fits perfectly with my approach of collecting work by talented writer/artists who primarily work on their own characters and stories.

This DPS was one of the ones I set my sights on when I first saw it on Wagner’s CAF claim sale earlier in the year. It features an iconic Hunter Rose pose but also conveys visually where we are in the story of Hunter: Argent has withdrawn to the shadows and Hunter Rose/Grendel is ascendant as author and crime lord.

This piece also reflects so much of what I appreciate about Wagner’s art with respect to Grendel. Wagner has consistently used his Grendel stories as a showcase for his art ever since the 80s. Seek out his riff on Harvey Kurtzman in issues #16-18 of Grendel, for example.

The new “Master’s Edition” of Devil by the Deed is no exception when it comes to choosing the right approach for the sweep and scale of the Hunter Rose story. Fans of double-page spreads and splashes with iconic poses, in particular, will be richly rewarded by reading Wagner’s do-over of his original Devil by the Deed story, published as a graphic novel by Comico in 1987.

Like that original GN, the story of Hunter Rose’s origin, rise, and fall is told through illustrated prose (see secondary image). But Wagner has also improved greatly as an artist and writer in the nearly 40 years since that early version of the Hunter story and in his new version he allows the story to breathe—pulling in threads, characters, and scenes from Hunter Rose stories he has written and/or drawn in the intervening years.

So even though most of this story consists of single and double-page spreads, Wagner is better I feel at using the extra space on the page than he was earlier in his career…and he was no slouch then. As design-heavy as the original DbtD was, this version is even more so!

Check out Wagner’s new version of Devil by the Deed. It makes for an excellent intro to the Grendel mythos. Thanks for Jim Warden and Matt for the opportunity to add this piece to my collection. According to Jim, it’s one of Matt’s favorite pieces from the book. Couldn’t agree more.

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About the Owner

	Mark V Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	March 2021
Last Login:	September 2025
Website:	https://instagram.com/markvcomicsandart
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Premium Member Q&A Mark's Want List Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Comments on this Artwork

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David Kwock
Member Since 2012

1 - Posted on 12/19/2023

Wow! I have not read any Grendel books but after seeing a dps like this it makes me wonder why it hasnt sprung up on my radar sooner. This is such a beautiful piece. Congrats on acquiring such an awesome page!

Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 12/19/2023

I don't know if you like this one enough for it to be your "one and done" Grendel piece, but it is, I certainly would understand. It's an absolute beauty!

Rick W
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 12/19/2023

Nicely composed!

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 12/20/2023

Well designed engaging masterwork by Wagner! A montage of scenes with the spear guiding the flow of our attention across the collage of scenes that have the retro deco feel of high class 80's indie art.

F M
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 12/20/2023

Superb

George H
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 12/20/2023

Fantastic page design that almost feels like a movie poster!

Tyler T
Member Since 2020

1 - Posted on 12/20/2023

Wow, this is stunning! It's sincerely impressive in scope and feel.

Doug L
Member Since 2019

1 - Posted on 12/20/2023

Excellent piece! Congratulations on your first acquisition of 2024! (P.S., am more of a Mage story person but love the Grendel art).

Michael Sullivan
Member Since 2021

1 - Posted on 12/20/2023

Well done.

That is a prime example of so many things, an easy one-and done if you so choose.

Congrats.

Felix Lu
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 12/21/2023

Spectacular piece!

Paperchaser 1968
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 12/27/2023

...now that is something!!

Comic Art Channel
Member Since 2018

1 - Posted on 12/27/2023

Amazing Grendel piece! Can't imagine getting anything that surpasses this.

Bill J
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 12/27/2023

Yowza! What a breathtaking Grendel DPS by Matt Wagner! This is one of the most beautifully composed and elegantly inked spreads I've ever seen. I love the whole art deco-style drawing here. Love the multiple images, from the silhouetted figure on the ledge in the upper left to the elegantly dressed man standing in the flames to the image of Grendel looming over the stately mansion. The whole DPS is a Matt Wagner tour-de-force!

John C
Member Since 2014

1 - Posted on 12/27/2023

Blackbird singing in the dead of night

John J
Member Since 2020

1 - Posted on 12/28/2023

Gorgeous

K Gearon
Member Since 2011

1 - Posted on 1/3/2024

Outstanding composition mixed with pure illustration. Edge to edge Wagner absolutely killed this. Congrats!

Suat Tong Ng
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 1/4/2024

The original Devil by the Deed was a spectacular contrast with the large amount of negative space in Mage. This is a kind of return to form for Wagner; a kind of return to the those early glory days of innovation.

Mike (aka Off White) White
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 9/1/2024

A great double page splash from Matt!

Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 10/15/2024

You know, even though it already bears the banner of "Master's Edition", I'm still not sure it accurately captures the majesty of the piece! You're absolutely right about the new 'Devil By The Deed' containing showstopper after showstopper - it's an onslaught as unrelenting as one of Hunter Rose's bear traps of a scheme - and this one may be the crown jewel. Wagner's design sense has never been sharper, filling out the image without cluttering it; allowing plenty of room for the text without shortchanging the images here at all. Grendel is menacing and looms over all; Hunter burns with (and in) an inferno-like cistern of greed and evil; Argent patiently waits and watches over all... but my favorite has to be the mansion, absolutely gorgeous, with no detail spared. Sensational spread, Mark - ENORMOUS congrats; a treasure!

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