Steven and Chris obsess over issues one through seven of the quintessential ‘80s comic book, Comico’s GRENDEL (1986), featuring perhaps the dopest indie comics character of all time; they cover roughly the first half of the “Devil’s Legacy” story arc and reckon with the lasting resonance of Matt Wagner’s extraordinary exploration of evil. Mask Off, Lady Vengeance!

RE: GRENDEL:
“…a brave and possibly even reckless experiment that has succeeded admirably."
— Alan Moore (WATCHMEN)


Comics Rot Your Brain! is a deep dive into ‘80s comics (plus a few noteworthy exceptions). Screenwriters Chris Derrick (STAR TREK: PICARD) and Steven Bagatourian (AMERICAN GUN) discuss their favorite books, runs, and creators from the Bronze Age.


🧭 TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Show Music Fade-in

00:32 - Intro to GRENDEL. Move over, Batman! The Dark Knight ain’t the only violent vigilante in town! Cue a valiant attempt to summarize the fascinatingly unique, complex concept of GRENDEL

03:12 - “DEVIL’S LEGACY” …Christine Spar dons the mask of the fiend. SHE is GRENDEL!

20:39 - The amazing Pander Brothers! ...and the inking of their highly stylized work — touching on ‘80s fashion art, Aeon Flux, and Patrick Nagel. The Pander Bros = style AND substance, plus “They draw some of the best hands in comics!”

29:10 - The eye-popping sales of the first issue of GRENDEL — 68,000 copies!

30:54 - How to pronounce “Comico”

37:22 - DC Comics’ amazing BLUE DEVIL by Paris Cullins, Dan Mishkin & Gary Cohn

38:42 - The cleverly titled TEMPUS FUGITIVE by Ken Steacy; NOW Comics, ASTRO BOY, SPEED RACER

40:17 - THE SACRED & THE PROFANE by Dean Motter & Ken Steacy

41:14 - The bizarre & mostly unnoticed WAR BEARS from Dark Horse Comics by Margaret Atwood (!) & Ken Steacy

42:38 - Our conjecture re: why Matt Wagner brought in other artists on GRENDEL and why modern comics artists are no longer able to do long-ass runs on a series

48:15 - The looser, more gestural art of Hayden Sherman and Ashley Wood — drawing awesome comics with styles built for speed

50:57 - The super dense verbiage of Matt Wagner’s writing in this run of GRENDEL

55:06 - “THE DEVIL’S LAIR,” the GRENDEL letter column — Diana Schutz responds to a critical letter about Matt’s “wordy” approach, defending his “intentionally complex” writing choices

1:01:15 - GRENDEL: WARCHILD, Grendel Prime, the exquisite art of Simon Bisley

1:04:33 - Great unfinished stories in comic books — THE AERIALIST, TYRANT, BIG NUMBERS

1:08:51 - Edvin Biukovic & Darko Macan, the brilliant Croatian artist/writer team that created GRENDEL TALES: DEVILS AND DEATHS

1:12:33 - The progressive, multicultural, racial dynamics in this run of GRENDEL

1:13:33 - “…There’s so much greatness in the idea of GRENDEL…”

1:37:57 - The similarities between the mask designs for GRENDEL and SPAWN



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+ For even more cool shit, read Chris's Substack (cinema, comics, and culture) - THIN ICE





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