Review: Groo: Friends And Foes #2 (Of 12)

Groo: Friends and Foes #2 (of 12)
Written and Art by Sergio Aragones
Wordsmithed by Mark Evanier
Colored by Michael Atiyeh
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Ah, Groo the Wanderer. One of the earliest and longest running creator-owned titles in the history of the medium. The book that exposed the wider comic book reading public to both Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier. A title that was part of Marvel’s Epic imprint even when there was no Epic imprint.

And easily the funniest, silliest, “holy crap, I just fell out of my chair from laughing so hard” comic books ever.

For those of you unfortunate enough to have never experienced reading an issue of Groo, the book tells the story of Groo, his dog Rufferto and their many fantasy misadventures. In this latest miniseries from Dark Horse, Friends and Foes, we watch as Groo reunites with various people from his past. In the case of issue #2, it is the woman who raised him, Granny Groo. And hilarity ensues.

If you are looking for a deep story, character development or interesting subplots, you have the wrong book. From its earliest beginnings, Groo has been about one thing, and one thing only: bringing the funny. Since 1982, Aragones and Evanier have tried to do nothing more than make the reader laugh and laugh often, usually using the same jokes over and over.

Watching Groo “err” or dive into a fray, cheese dip, his penchant for ignoring the obvious … those are all parts of what makes Groo such a great book. For the time it takes you to read the latest issue, you can turn off your brain, put aside all the stuff going on in your life and just have a good laugh.

And the art! I defy anyone to find an artist who packs as much into each and every panel of a comic as Aragones. Each page is practically exploding with characters, backgrounds and the like. Just look at the two-page spread that opens issue #2 of Groo: Friends and Foes, and you’ll see what I mean. There is so much going on, you don’t know where to direct your eyes first.

In fact, some would say that there is just too much going on, but each and every element of the art has a purpose. It would be one thing if all the art was just there, taking up space. But in Groo, it all helps to tell the story. Aragones and Evanier have created a book where the art plays almost a more important role than the script, and has always focused on using the unique medium of comic books to tell a story to its fullest.

That, and jokes about Groo regularly destroying whole villages, sinking fleets of ships, and mulch.

The Bottom Line: If you think comics only as an “art form” that should “push the boundaries of the medium”, then go reread Watchmen or Sandman again and don’t waste your time with Groo. On the other hand, if you still think comics can and should be funny (so funny that it may or may not have made this reviewer pee himself a bit from laughing so hard), Groo: Friends and Foes will be right up your alley.

After all, in the kind of world we live in today, I think everybody could use a little bit of Groo in their lives.

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