Grumble Vol. 3: Memphis and Beyond the Infinite

Grumble #3

by Rafer Roberts, Mike Norton (Artist), Marissa Louise (Colorist)

Mike Norton and Rafer Roberts bring you the third volume in their critically acclaimed fantasy epic, Grumble! Eddie, the small-time crook stuck in a pug's body, and Tala, Eddie's estranged (and part-demon) daughter, are going on their most bizarre, action-packed, and emotional adventure yet! Across the stars, and beyond the edges of reality, Tala's mother is held captive by the evil S'Taera. Joined on the rescue mission by Tala's ex-pro-wrester uncles and their armed militia of inter-dimensional mutants, Eddie and Tala will need to atone for the sins of their pasts and start working together (for once) or they may find themselves lost... beyond the infinite!

Genres: Comics, Humor, Fantasy, Graphic Novels

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2021

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie, the human con man turned pug, and half-demon, Tala, team up with some interdimensional wrestlers to break her mom out of jail. Hijinks abound in this incredibly fun series. Eddie is the wise-cracking, sell out his own mother kind of person which gets them into constant trouble. Mike Norton's art is perfect for traversing dimensions while getting one's self into tons of trouble.

Received a review copy from Albatross Funnybooks and NetGalley

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grumble: Memphis and Beyond the Infinite
by Rafer Roberts
Diamond Book Distributors

This graphic comic is a teen, sci-fi that has just about everything in it. A smart mouth crook in a Pug's body, his daughter that's half demon, having to work together with crazy wrestling uncles, on a space adventure to break out his daughter's mom from a space prison! Nothing to it!

Great colors, art work, font was easy to read, flowed well. Interesting story line. Only problem I had was I didn't know the back story except for the blurb. It would be best to read the earlier books first. I figured it out but it would be nice to know the full story. Only way to do that is to pick up earlier books.
Love the cover! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read this book!

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Grumble: Memphis and Beyond the Infinite: Volume 3' by Rafer Roberts with art by Mike Norton is a graphic novel series about a guy stuck in the body of a pug now involved in a jailbreak.

I did not get a chance to review the first two volumes in this series, so there are probably things I am missing, but each of the 5 issues here starts in the past when Eddie was a human and had a part-demon named daughter named Tala. In the present, Tala is trying to rescue her mother from an interdimensional prison and Eddie, now in dog form, is trying to help along with a cast of misfits.

The story is odd and leans in to it. There is some gritty adventure and weird humor and I liked it. This seems like the end of one story arc, so I just might have to go back and find the first two volumes.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Michael J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

At its' roots, the premise behind GRUMBLE VOLUME 1 was pretty familiar: a crime story where two small-time crooks steal from the big boss and then have to run for their lives. What made it seem so fresh was all the other elements that writer Refer Roberts threw into the mix: animal characters, alien characters, family relationships, old grudges. Add a bit of magic, fantasy, and science-fiction. Partner with an artist (Mike Norton) known for his skill at depicting funny animals in more serious situations.
That made for a book that was 100% fresh and like nothing else on the comics landscape. I was entertained and captivated.
I'm still enjoying the adventures of Eddie (turned into a talking pug by a magic spell), his half-demon daughter Tala and their love/hate relationship with lots of banter and jibes at each other. Volume Three took them away from the familiar stomping grounds on an inter-dimensional adventure. This volume did not seem quite as humorous as the previous two story arcs. In spite of the absurdity here, things got a little more serious. The ending is especially heart-warming, as one of the characters makes an important sacrifice for the good of all.
If there's more to come (it was hinted at) then I'll keep reading.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

In which a bloke who's been turned into a talking, beer-drinking, bipedal bulldog has to help his girl shoot her mother out of a space prison, " two realities over" - only the mission is nothing like what our mutt was expecting. I would normally say something like 'only come here if you're OK with such a premise', but this isn't quite as wacky, outre or goofy as it might have been (a charge I levelled at the series opener, before the reviewing gods denied me a butcher's at the second). Constant switching back to when the canine was still a cad kind of dilutes the out-there potential. And at times it's not too great at the more mundane aspects, either – a prison break-out is too full of inter-species bickering and sass-talk to hold the attention enough, and the pell-mell action beyond that is rather of the one-note, meaningless kind. It's not awful, but it didn't prove to be as close to my tastes as the evidence of the first book led me believe. Still, good ol' Slippery Jim diGriz went shit, so there was always a chance that doing that kind of thing but with a dog is not going to yield the most coherent, entertaining or sensible book out.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have to admit I felt the tension and desperation in all of this. Just about everybody is trying to con their way for someone they love. A chance to get back at fascists, a chance to save loved ones, and maybe reflect on your ways.

It's kind of a hard pill to swallow when conflict is abound, people are more willing to believe a lie when there's something to gain. For Eddie Edino, I think it's safe to say the journey is worth more for a redemption arc. He seems like one of those characters who needed to recognize what he lost through Tala and trying to make up for it. All with the realization that when you can't be forgiven, you can at least try to live up to an inspiring lie. Because that's way better than being defined by a transparent reputation.

Eddie story certainly isn't over yet.

[Dawn-Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This third volume of Grumble is action packed, as Eddie and Tala cross dimensions to break Tala's mother out of prison. Plus, you get some background story on the relationship of Eddie and Tala's mom... and why he can't be trusted.

It would obviously help to have read the first two volumes before delving into this one. But if you can do without a lot of the background details and just accept that Eddie is a con artist, talking pug, the overall story isn't difficult to follow.

[Patrick Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humor done well in Comics is kind of special. The whole team has to be on the same wavelength to really make it work. Grumble has consistently provided humor wrapped in a caper fantasy story dust jacket. Everyone on this book deserves recognition for their contributions.

[Jenn Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn about writing this review. I want to start by saying I love Mike Norton. I am a huge fan of Battle Pug and have not found a Mike Norton book that I have not loved. The idea of this book is great; a conman stuck in the body of a pug, so creative! That being said I really struggled getting into this book. I don't know why. I couldn't list anything that I thought was bad, I just could not get into it. This is volume 3 and I have not read the others so that was probably the biggest impact on my comprehension and enjoyment of Grumble. I do plan to pick up volume 1 and 2 to see if that makes volume 3 more engaging to me. I will update my review when I get a chance to read the rest of this series.

3 stars for now...

[Matthew Sargent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid entry to the series, this one gives us a rescue mission, a bunch of flashbacks, and a good ending to the first story arc.