The conclusion of what if? tales such as Grendel vs. The Shadow are usually the weakest piece of the story, not for fault of the storyteller but simply because the end must reset back to the status quo without allowing either iconic figure to be truly beaten (or killed). Even with these limitations writer/artist Matt Wagner manages to end the three-issue mini-series in style giving us two final confrontations between Hunter Rose and The Shadow.
Of the pair’s individual tales Grendel’s works better as Hunter Rose finds himself pulled into the nostalgia and romance of his time-travel adventure only to realize the truth almost too late. The subplot of Margo Lane‘s possible departure doesn’t work as well simply because at no point are we sold on the possibility of her actually leaving Lamont Cranston.
In the end both warriors are bloodied and battered but Grendel, despite his hurt ego to go along with is injuries, manages to return back to his own time. His inability to find any mention of his adventures in the past suggests Grendel’s journey wasn’t just through time but also through an alternate dimension where crime does not pay. Worth a look
[Dark Horse / Dynamite, $5.99]
