From not-so-humble beginings |
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With the impeding release of BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT, I thought it might be cool to look into other "anti-heroes" who I feel have paid their dues and deserve their own movie. Now obviously with WOLVERINE: ORIGINS and PUNISHER: WAR ZONE on the horizon, this would appear to be the season for the dark and shadowy good guys (I might have included IRON MAN and THE INCREDIBLE HULK to that list, but an alcoholic tin man and the pissed off Jolly Green cry-baby don't seem to fit the mold very well - Analytical Alpha.) My point is that there are plenty of dark heroes to choose from. I thought I would go a little obscure on this one and pick a character even I am not as familiar with as I would like to be (don't look so surprised true believers, there are limits to my vast knowledge - Contrary Craig). My idea is none other than Grendel. To be begin to understand where I am going with this, you are going to need a crack team of therapists, but we don't time for that so I will give you a rundown of The Grendel's origin, Alpha-style.
Grendel first appeared under the publishing company Comico in 1982 and was created by Matt Wagner. Comico gained notoriety from its innovative titles such as Grendel, Mage: The Hero Discovered (another Matt Wagner creation – Archivist Alpha) and various adaptations of the popular Japanese anime series Robotech. Grendel started off 
I think you may be thinking of another Grendel |
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making appearances in the Comic anthology titled "Comico Primer" and was given his own series in 1983. It was very noir in style, along the lines of old 1930's classic radio serials, and focused on Hunter Rose and his arch enemy, Argent the wolf (which isn't at all meant to remind you of the name Beowulf – Crass Craig.) Rose was a very suave and appealing master criminal not out to save the world but to plunder it and Argent was a very gruff half/human half wolf hybrid that claimed to be a 300 year old Indian shaman cursed by his tribe for a forbidden love affair. The series lasted 3 issues before Comico went bankrupt (a sad day for those of us who preferred the Comico Robotech adaptations to the later DC series – Annoyed Alpha.) Matt Wagner, still owning the rights to his Grendel and Mage titles, took them to Dark Horse Comics and completely revamped Grendel's origin in a back-up story arc in Mage called "Grendel: Devil by the Deed". Since then Wagner has cast many other people in the role of Grendel and it has become more of a title and symbolizes, in Wagner's words, "The Spirit of Aggression" and took more of a noble assassin role (i.e. an anti-hero.) Wagner has reprized Rose as his main Grendel on many occasions including the two Batman/Grendel crossover story arcs and that is who fans feel is 
I give you Hunter Rose |
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the best incarnation/representation of Grendel.
The transformation took quite some time, but Grendel's cult status was cemented almost instantly. Much like The Punisher, Wolverine, Spawn and Lobo, Grendel skated the line between hero and cold-blooded killer not afraid to get his or her hands dirty (there were women Grendels from time to time – Affirmative Action Alpha) if the situation called up it. Now I am sure those of us who regretfully remember the debacle that was SPAWN can see how an idea like this can go terribly wrong. I can't hate the SPAWN movie because its heart was in the right place, but the writing wasn't great and the production value was dated and poor even just months after its release. To those out there who would attempt a movie adaptation of Grendel, take a queue from SPAWN and don't rely on low budget/video toaster-like CGI. Instead make it a black and white piece with little splashes of faded color similar to SIN CITY. Don't flat out copy the cinematography mind you; just reproduce the feel of it. Make the setting be similar to DARK CITY where it took design hints from many different genres like retro, art deco, old school Metropolis cityscapes. Make the colors, and lack there of, more along the lines of SCHINDLER'S LIST.
Casting would also be important for Grendel. Hunter Rose would need to be somebody capable of being charming and seductive one moment and evil 
Coming soo to a theater near you? Please? |
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and heartless the next. My choice is a lesser know, but exceptionally talented actor (and if you saw him in the 2008 remake of APRIL FOOL'S DAY, THE HAMILTONS, LURKING IN SUBURBIA and his Youtube series GUSTOPHER you would agree the guy has the chops for it – Cinema Covering Craig.) I am of course speaking of Samuel Child. He has the charm, as shown in an interview done on this site, and it translates over to film quite clearly. He can be sadistic, funny, awkward, charming, egotistical and downright evil (all of the personality traits you would want from Hunter Rose – Astute Alpha.)
I think there is huge potential in this possible endeavor. I wasn't quite sure when I first started this column, but after doing some more intense research into the character (let's be honest, using it as an excuse to get some really cool back issues with my $1 a book discount code at Mile High Comics* and adding to my collection that had some Grendel in it already – Clever Craig) I realized that Grendel could be a great crossover into the mainstream through the movie medium. If they can make a WANTED movie, why not make a Grendel movie? Thanks for reading true believers, EXCELSIOR!
*If Mile High Comics would like to send me some free swag for the unsolicited plug for the site, feel free to let me know. Just kidding, but not really.
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| The Alpha Craig |
I am the first and the last, maybe not. I'm 31 years old and still spend my disposable income on comic books. Might as well put it to good use.
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