Marxist implications in the Grendel graphic novels: The marginalized anti-hero, alienation and psychic fragmentation, and the dissolution of late capitalism

Matt Wagner's Grendel graphic novels are indicative of a shift in epistemological conceptions of comics as a medium. Marxist analysis of these works indicates that the narrative poses questions regarding contemporary ideological discourse. The sequence challenges traditional concepts of comic book elements beginning with the role of the anti-hero as the protagonist, the psychic fragmentation of the alienated anti-hero, and the dissolution of society that ensues from estrangement of counter-ideological characters.