Writing & Art: Matt Wagner
Colors: Brennan Wagner
Letterer: Steve Dutro
Publisher: Dark Horse
Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 7, 2024
Review by: Samriddh Chaudhary
Introduction:
The Anti-Grendel are in hot pursuit of Grendel Prime as Prime learns the history that caused the old world order to fall. Prime and his accomplices must make their way to the current headquarters of the Grendel religion. Matt Wagner explores a new direction for the Grendel saga in Grendel: Devil’s Crucible – Defiance #2.
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The Dispatch:
Grendel Prime has found companions in the form of secret followers of Grendel’s religion—these companions are Hari and Ptolemy. These three are on a journey to get Grendel Prime to the new headquarters of the Grendals before they are stopped by more obstructions in their path. Grendel: Devil’s Crucible – Defiance #2 is more of an action-focused book than something plot or story-heavy as for the most part the plot of the book has been extremely simplistic since the first issue which is a lot like the previous Grendel Prime story. But, because of this, the stories seem to be getting redundant.
With this book, the plot seems even more redundant than the last Grendel Prime story (Grendel: Devil’s Odyssey) because that story was structured differently than the other Grendel books as it was an anthology that would help explore different things in each issue. Sadly, that is not the case here. Even though there is a simplicity to the plot, no themes are explored, and the new characters are not characterized at all outside of establishing the fact that one is the wise one and the other one is the strong one. The characterization of Grendel Prime on the other hand is really good. So, because of a well-characterized protagonist, the story is engaging. The action of the book is its main selling point because it is extremely well done.
The Art:
The art of Grendel: Devil’s Crucible – Defiance #2 is beautifully done. The art by Matt Wagner is great as one has come to expect that of him but this time the highlight is on Brennan Wagner as the colorist. Brennan Wagner’s Colors make this book fun to read despite its simplistic plot. The action which has previously been praised in this review is simply phenomenally drawn and colored. The action is so well crafted that it adds impact to this story. Readers will be on the edge of their seats whenever they read an action sequence.
Final Thoughts:
Even though, the story maybe unique in context of the Grendal saga it is simplistic and predictable in the context of every piece of media that has come out before it. The art is well done and the action is the main selling point of Grendel: Devil’s Crucible – Defiance #2. The focus on Grendel Prime’s characterization does allow for an extremely engaging read.