Best of 2023 :: Published/Unpublished Double Page Splash or Spread

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

Owner: Mark V
Artist: Matt Wagner (All)

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Additional Images:

Published page w/ Brennan Wagner colors

Mini-Argent

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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
Views:	991
Likes on CAF:	23 24
Favorited on CAF:	1
Added to Site:	12/19/2023

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 It features an iconic Hunter Rose pose but also conveys visually where we are in the story of Hunter: Argent has withdrawn to the shadows and Hunter Rose/Grendel is ascendant as author and crime lord.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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