Crush Your Enemies. See Them Driven Before You. Hear the Lamentations of … Groo Fray of the Gods #1

Groo The Wander first appeared in Destroyer Duck #1 way back in May 1982. That must make Groo one of the elder statesmen of the modern age of comics. Published on and off for 34 years is not an accomplishment to sneeze at. Like a lot of Dark Horses’ offerings Groo has been published recently in a bunch of contained limited series. Groo: Fray of the Gods is the latest installment.

Groo is the satirical creation of Sergio Aragonés with collaboration from Mark Evanier which did an absolute pitch perfect parody of the sword and sorcery genre. Groo is an incredibly skilled swordsman but in all other aspects is incredible inept and stupid with most common folk seeing him as a natural disaster dreading his appearance in their villages. Accompanied by his faithful dog Rufferto, Groo’s single-minded focus on fighting in glorious battle over rides almost all else in his life.

In this new series, “The gods did not bless Groo with brains, only with the ability to battle. Now, they themselves are in conflict over the spirit and future of mankind … and it is Groo who becomes the pawn (unwitting, of course) in their war. If the future of humanity depends on the wanderer – we’re all in a lot of trouble.”

Mark Evanier’s writing is as funny as ever with a nice slice of commentary on the real world thrown in just to be safe. You cringe each time Groo displays his buffoonery and giggle at Rufferto’s unvoiced dialog. Sergio Aragonés’ art is brilliant as always with so much detail in each panel, all done in his unique style. Long time Groo collaborators colourist Tom Luth and letterer Stan Sakai also return. There really is so much to look at on each page and more than a few Mad Magazine Easter eggs dropped in here and there.

Fun stuff which is right up my alley and it made me think about how much I missed this character. I will be putting this limited series and future Groo releases on my pull list right away.

Issue: Groo: Fray of the Gods #1 | Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Mark Evanier | Artists: Sergio Aragonés & Tom Luth
Price: $3.99

About Author

Martin Boruta

Martin Boruta has been reading comic books and graphic novels for 50+ years (he reads books without pictures too, just sayin’). A lifelong fan of Captain Canuck, Martin is the curator of The Unofficial Yet Definitive Captain Canuck Comicography website. Since 2016, Martin has been reviewing comic books and highlighting great new Kickstarter projects at First Comics News. Martin’s writting has also been featured in Sequential Magazine. For over two-hundred episodes, Martin enjoyed teaming up with his pals and sharing hosting duties on The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show broadcast on Trent Radio 92.7 CFFF FM in lovely Peterborough, ON Canada, and still available at The Hey Kids Comics Radio Show website. Martin is a founding member of the Canadian Comic Book Alliance. In his various adventures, Martin has demonstrated an innate ability to spell “Erik Larsen” incorrectly.

Martin’s “day job” is owner of Shaw Computer Systems Inc., an Information Technology consultancy firm in Peterborough, ON, specializing in Managed Services for small to mid-sized businesses since 1980.

In the past, Martin served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserve as a member of the Cadet Instructors List (Cadre), reaching the Queen’s Commissioned rank of Captain, was awarded a Baronship of Sealand, and was ordained as a Reverend in the Universal Life Church while watching an episode of Monster Garage.

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