Review of "The Death of Groo The Wanderer," by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier

Review of

The Death of Groo The Wanderer, by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier ISBN 0871352907


Four out of five stars

 This story in graphic novel form uses the plot device of the bumbling, ignorant hero that finds it almost impossible to do anything right yet manages to succeed in the end. After two major failures, Groo is so despised by the ruler that he spends a great deal of his time stating how much he hates Groo. Subjects that do not express similar opinions with sufficient fervor are severely punished.

 Groo is a complete idiot, so stupid that he is baffled when he hears that he is dead. There is a dragon called Floom Floom that terrorizes the area and Groo manages to meet the dragon in what is supposed to be a fight, but incompetence saves Groo from the flames.

 The action is always on the stupid side, the best part of the book is the captions of rhyming verse “sung” by a minstrel. They are made up of reasonably intelligent dialog, unlike the dumb piled on dumb features of the rest.

 If you are a fan of the bumbling, incompetent hero type of story, then you will like this book. However, if you don’t you will almost certainly find it dull and boring.