Photo: Sergio Aragonés.
Groo the Wanderer (Groo the Tramp), by Mexican-Spanish artist Sergio Aragonés, is a popular comic series featuring a foolish but deadly barbarian who wanders through a world of magic and fantasy, leaving chaos in his wake. Aragonés, known for his humorous work in the magazine Madinitially conceived Groo in the 1970s, but had trouble finding a publisher willing to accept its creator-owned terms. It was not until 1981 when Groo finally debuted in the anthology Destroyer Duck #1 of Eclipse Comics. From then on, the success of Groo has paved the way for independent creator-owned comics.
Groo is a dumb, but deadly barbarian.
Groo is a parody of Conan the barbarian, but unlike the cunning warrior, he is incredibly dense and often causes unwanted calamities due to his inability to understand simple concepts. Despite his incompetence he is a formidable swordsman, capable of defeating entire armies. His adventures usually follow a pattern: Groo He walks into a town, gets hired or volunteers to help, and inadvertently ruins everything. However, in the midst of the chaos, he occasionally commits acts of accidental heroism or personal growth, such as learning to read, in the issue 100.
The series features a colorful cast of characters, including the loyal canine companion of Groo, Ruffertoand the cunning sage. Villains such as the witches Arba and Dakarba pose recurring obstacles to Groowhile Captain Ahax repeatedly suffers the consequences of the presence of Groeither.
ANDs drawn and inked by Aragonés, who also devises the stories. Mark Evanier is in charge of writing the dialogues. Lyricist Stan Sakai and colorist Tom Luth round out the production team. The creators maintain a close relationship with fans, incorporating jokes and interacting with readers through comic strips and through the letters to the editor section. Frequently, members of the creative team appear as secondary characters in the stories.
Despite its comical nature, Groo addresses real-world problems such as censorship and immigration issues through satire. Aragonés’ art, characterized by intricate detail and impeccable timing, elevates the series, often with elaborate splash pages.
Although stories of warriors and sorcerers are no longer as popular, Groo is approaching half a century of existence after passing through several publishers such as Pacific Comics, Epic, Image and darkhorse. In 2014 it was published Groo vs. Conanwhere the two legendarily barbarians finally met in one comic.
