Step into the world of Grendel as we chat with Matt Wagner, the creative genius behind the saga, and Brennan Wagner, the visionary colorist who brings its pages to life. Get ready for insights, surprises, and a peek behind the curtain of the latest installment, “Grendel: Devil’s Crucible Defiance.”
GVN: Matt, what inspired you to take the Grendel saga in a new direction with Devil’s Crucible: Defiance?
Matt: Well, the different direction actually began with the previous series, DEVIL’S ODYSSEY. It had been over a decade since I’d last worked on the ongoing adventures of Grendel Prime and I felt I needed to shake things up a bit. We’d spent many narrative years—both real-time and story-time—in the world of the Grendel Khan and the various Grendel clans. GRENDEL has always been a book dedicated to changing up its own definitions and catching the reader off-guard, and so I thought it was time to instigate a new phase in the ongoing saga. DEVIL’S ODYSSEY removed us from the scenario by sending Prime into outer space on a quest directive issued by the last Grendel Khan, a journey to find a possible new home for humanity among the endless cosmos. As with so many other aspects of the stories in GRENDEL…that mission didn’t work out. And Grendel Prime found himself forcefully sent back to Earth by a civilization whose level of technology absolutely dwarfed the stilted weapons and gear of our war-torn home planet. At the end of ODYSSEY, we saw Prime return to the surface of the Earth after some 500 years had elapsed, due to the relativity of space travel…only to discover a very visual indication that things are definitely not the same as when he left.
GVN: Brennan, how did you approach coloring the world of Devil’s Crucible to reflect its new, hostile atmosphere?
Brennan: Our previous Grendel installment saw Prime go on a space odyssey that was kaleidoscopic in color, so I really tried to go the opposite here, and ground things on Earth with a dusty, but also overgrown feeling. I was channeling Mad Max with blood and ivy.
Matt, can you give us any hints about the major surprises you have in store for readers in this storyline?
Matt: Well, I’m afraid I’ve gotta be a little cagey in regards to this question…but there are some definite surprises in store that will both delight and dismay longtime readers. Suffice it to say, based on what we saw on the final page of DEVIL’S ODYSSEY, the Earth itself looks to be in fairly poor shape and the social structure has apparently suffered a radical change. The rank of “Grendel”, which had once been this futuristic world’s powerful and dominating military elite is now seemingly forbidden…under pain of death! As ordained by a mysterious cabal known only as the Necro-Lords. As I said, that part of our new narrative was already revealed. What Grendel Prime discovers as he traverses this unfamiliar world will be the exciting core of our story.
Brennan, could you tell us about your collaboration process with Matt in bringing the visuals of Devil’s Crucible to life?
Brennan: At this point, I have colored so much of his work that it’s really quite intuitive. We speak a very similar visual narrative language. Aside from specific color notes for continuity, I just read the script and do what comes so naturally nowadays. When I turn in pages, I usually get a big “thumb’s up” in response.
Matt, how does Grendel Prime navigate the challenges of hiding his identity in the hostile environment of Earth in Devil’s Crucible?
Matt: As I said…Grendels are now taboo in the devastated world in which Prime now finds himself. He sets about a slow steady reconnaissance in order to find out all that has occurred in his absence and what are the current state of affairs. In doing so, he has to disguise himself in order to not draw too much attention and find himself involved in conflict after conflict. Prime is a huge and striking figure but he does manage to downplay his appearance in order to continue on his way unimpeded. Mainly by covering the markings that had once been the hallmarks of his highest honor…the eyes of Grendel that adorn his face plate. But…will that ultimately be enough to truly veil his warrior’s nature?
Brennan, what specific artistic choices did you make to convey the shift in power dynamics and the emergence of the Necro Lords in Devil’s Crucible?
Brennan: You’ll notice that the Necro Lords exist in a world of dark and pale blue/silver tones. Their tech usually emanates an orangey-red light. The human resistance and stragglers are going to have a rustier, unkept look about their dwellings and tools showing how they now survive off borrowed machinery from a begone era.
Matt, what do you hope readers will take away from this new arc in the Grendel saga?
Matt: As I said, Grendel has always been a standard bearer for experimental story-telling in all regards, whether through its narrative structures, its bold and alternating art styles or its eagerness to embrace change within a story’s parameters. I’ve always maintained that its my job as a story-teller to take my readers somewhere that they didn’t expect. Sometimes they might like where these new directions lead them…but they’ll hopefully never find themselves bored by the journey. As I said earlier, we’ve got some significant surprises in store for GRENDEL readers this time around…and I can’t wait to hear the reactions!
Brennan, were there any particular challenges or exciting moments in coloring the main cover and variant cover for the first issue of Devil’s Crucible?
Brennan: Well… the biggest challenge and also the biggest excitement for me was getting to not only color the main cover but then to get to draw and paint the variant cover all on my own. As a colorist, I rarely get to show off my drawing/painting chops, but I got em!
Matt, can you elaborate on the significance of the title “Devil’s Crucible” and its implications for the Grendel universe?
Matt: A “crucible”—as defined for our purposes—is a situation or severe trial in which various elements interact and forged into something new. DEVIL’S CRUCIBLE definitely lives up to this interpretation as it presents a narrative that’s utterly changed from the world as readers and Grendel Prime once knew it. But it also changes this new world in significant faction as well…in ways that will linger and resonate throughout the Grendelverse for centuries to come…if humanity and the Earth manage to last that long.
Brennan, how does the color palette of Devil’s Crucible differ from previous arcs in the Grendel saga, and what effect does it have on the storytelling?
Brennan: Like I mentioned above, our previous Grendel Prime installment was in space, across a handful of planets that featured a variety of palettes, moods, environments, etc. And the last Grendel book I colored was the Master’s Edition of Devil by the Deed, which featured the classic Hunter Rose black, white, and red spectrum. Crucible offers me the chance to get gritty with it. Almost a western, which helps to establish the atmosphere of this post-POST-apocalyptic story.
Get ready to be captivated, surprised, and utterly enthralled as “Grendel: Devil’s Crucible Defiance” unfolds—a gripping new chapter in the epic saga of Grendel.
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