A successful novelist by day, Hunter Rose becomes the unstoppable assassin Grendel by night, the leader of a vast criminal empire opposed by the mysterious wolf Argent. Containing the black-and-white interiors and full-color covers of Primer #2 and Grendel #1-3 originally published by Comico, this handsome hardcover volume is an essential piece of comics history, presenting the earliest work of Matt Wagner, the legendary creator behind such acclaimed projects as Mage, Sandman Mystery Theatre and Batman: The Monster Men among many others.

When Wagner first serialized Devil by the Deed as a backup in his critically acclaimed title Mage, its innovative storytelling techniques, philosophical undertones, and charismatic anti-hero ignited a devoted following. Introducing Hunter Rose as the brilliant, twisted assassin Grendel, it gave birth to what would become a centuries-spanning epic exploring the roots and consequences of violence. This influential tale has been collected only twice in the past twenty years, quickly selling out each time. Now, for the first time in hardcover, Dark Horse presents the book that brought one of the most popular alternative comics characters to life and marked the auspicious arrival of one of the greatest visionaries of modern comics!

The first twelve issues, written and colored by Wagner and drawn by Arnold and Jacob Pander, were set in the near future and told the story of Stacy Palumbo's daughter, Christine Spar. When her son, Anson, was kidnapped by a vampire Kabuki dancer called Tujiro XIV, Christine took on the identity of Grendel in her quest to rescue and/or avenge him. As she became more and more consumed by the Grendel identity her actions became more and more violent, and attracted the attention of the police, in particular Captain Wiggins, a chic, flamboyant New York detective with a cybernetic eye that also functioned as a lie detector. Wiggins enlisted the aid of Grendel's old arch-enemy Argent. Eventually Christine and Argent fought, to both of their deaths. A collected edition was published by Comico in 1988. Dark Horse re-published Devil's Legacy, recolored by Jeromy Cox, as a 12-issue miniseries in 2000 and a collected edition in 2002.

The spirit of Grendel seethes in the mind of everyone it encounters. A touch of death, of fear, of anger infects all, gripping at the soul, and wreaking havoc on the lives of those in its path. In this now-classic chapter of the Grendel saga, we return to Brian Li Sung, a once-successful Broadway stage manager who became Grendel after losing the love of his life-the granddaughter of the original Grendel, Hunter Rose. Now down and out, living in the slums of Brooklyn, Li Sung struggles as an off-off-off-Broadway stage manager by day; by night, he stews in the hatred and violence that is Grendel, and becomes a cold-blooded killer. When old friends can't help him, and the city can no longer cope with this scourge of destruction, it's up to one desperate cop to stop the murderous rampage, or die trying.

When the depraved Pope Innocent XLII begins construction of a new church tower hiding a powerful and deadly secret, two men rise against the church's corruption. One is Orion Assante, a man determined to expose the Pope for who he really is. The other is a mysterious figure wearing the all-too-familiar face of Grendel.

The award-winning team of Grendel creator Matt Wagner and artist Tim Sale deliver one of the most ambitious epic in comics, in this groundbreaking synthesis of politics, war religion, and the devil. The year is 2530, and the corrupt Church, Vatican Ouest, has fallen, spreading upheaval across North America, along with an infestation of vampires. In this new world, Ex-COP leader Pellon Cross is still at large, devil-possessed Eppy Thatcher is missing, and Orion Assante is on an ambitious quest to restore order to the continent and gain legitimate power. But will Orion attain his goals before threats from overseas change the rules in this game for power?

Most often, the master painter's hand of Grendel-creator Matt Wagner graces only book covers, but here, with the uncensored account of Grendel-Prime's quest to contact the spirit of the original Grendel, Hunter Rose, Wagner brings his astonishing brushwork to an entire volume's worth of storytelling! In seven chapters, all written and lusciously painted by Wagner, the deadly cyborg Grendel-Prime pursues the past with singular purpose, even while the decadent and decaying world he has forsaken hunts him for reasons of its own. With each chapter a twisted relation to the children's rhyme, "Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian chief," this tightly crafted work is an essential piece of the Grendel canon, and a tie-in to Wagner's popular Batman/Grendel series.

Dark Horse is proud to present this second Grendel anthology. Each story is a vignette of the devious misdeeds of Hunter Rose, the first incarnation of Grendel. The Grendel tales are illustrated in stark black, white, and blood red by some of the top talents in comics, including Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother), Michael Avon Oeming (Powers), Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan), Kelley Jones (Sandman), Andi Watson (Geisha), Dan Brereton (The Nocturnals), Phil Noto (Birds of Prey), Zander Cannon (Top Ten), Andy Kuhn (Firebreather), Ashley Wood (popbot), Jim Mahfood (Grrl Scouts), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), Tom Fowler (Caper), Mike Huddleston (Harley Quinn), Cliff Chiang (Detective Comics), John K. Snyder ( God and the Devil), Michael Zulli (Creatures of the Night), and Phil Hester & Ande Parks (Green Arrow), and more, including a seldom seen Grendel story drawn by Matt Wagner himself! Rivals to Grendel's mob employer, the Ciccone family, never expected to deal with the Devil himself!

Joining the highly successful Grendel Archives and Grendel: Devil by the Deed as part of Dark Horse's new library of Grendel hardcovers, Grendel: Devil Child features superstar artist Tim Sale as he teams with colorist Teddy Kristiansen and Grendel editor-turned-writer Diana Schutz to tell the story of Stacy Palumbo, adopted daughter of Hunter Rose, and the tragic role she played in passing his legacy onto her daughter Christine Spar—the legacy of Grendel! The ugly world has no shelter for frightened Stacy, a single link in a chain of evil that extends to the limits of time. Whether a victim of the Devil or minion of his will, this unhappy journey through her life will not reveal. Only one thing is certain, she must confront the darkness, for there is no escaping its reach—not for any of us.

In a broken and ravaged future whose denizens are intent only on survival, the name of Grendel evokes both horror and awe. A one-time military elite, the ranks of Grendel warriors have now disintegrated into leaderless anarchy. But a savior exists, and one lone Grendel seeks the key to restoring the empire—and she won't take no for an answer. Writer Greg Rucka (Keeper, Finder, Smoker, Shooting at Midnight) tells this compelling story of one woman's search for salvation. With over eighty striking pen-and-ink illustrations by Grendel creator Matt Wagner, Grendel: Past Prime is fast-paced, hard-edged adventure laced with thematic depth and visual firepower.

For years, the life of the original Grendel, Hunter Rose, has been accessible only through his private journal, but there is a secret too terrible for even its pages, and a section of the journal is missing. Behold the Devil follows Rose through this lost period early in his criminal career, as he is under scrutiny not only by the police and media, but also by the prying eyes of an unseen - possibly supernatural pursuer. Unusually shaken and paranoid, the criminal mastermind is forced to take steps that redefine the evil of the entity known as Grendel!

The stories that inspired the Netflix show! This dynamic masterpiece is ready to celebrate its fortieth anniversary with second editions of the complete Grendel saga! Grendel Omnibus Volume 1 begins the entire epic series and chronicles the complete Hunter Rose storyline. This collection features millionaire Hunter Rose and his alter ego, the criminal mastermind Grendel! This collection features the very first Hunter Rose story, a complete Hunter Rose adventure by Matt Wagner, and vignettes and short stories from that key Grendel era by contributing storytellers Tim Sale, Guy Davis, Stan Sakai, Mike Allred, Darick Robertson, Michael Avon Oeming, Jill Thompson, the Pander Brothers, Duncan Fegredo, and many more! This collection reprints Grendel: Devil by the Deed; the short story collections Grendel: Black, White, & Red and Grendel: Red, White, & Black, and Grendel: Behold the Devil.