Thursday, July 24, 2014

Groo vs. Conan #1 (of 4)

   I have to admit that when the Groo vs. Conan was first announced (some years back, it seems), my first reaction was "Oh, I'm buying that."

   My second reaction was, "How the heck is that possibly going to work?"

   After all, Groo is the most comical barbarian of them all, and Conan is rooted in the dark, brutal world of the Hyborean Age.

   I should have had more faith in Sergio Aragones, the writer / artist who created Groo and is, quite frankly, a national treasure. He is, without a doubt, our greatest comic (in every sense of the word) book artist, one of the greatest writers and an all-around wonderful guy.

   (I'd have faith in veteran writer Mark Evanier, too, but no one - including Mark - knows what he does on this comic. )

   The trick is reviewing this comic, because I don't want to give away any of the surprises therein.

   Well, the cover shows that Aragones has recruited an excellent artist to depict the Conan side of the story - Thomas Yeates, a fantastic artist with a classic heroic style that fits perfectly into the world of Conan.

   And thankfully, it's obvious that the creative team is a big fan of Robert E. Howard's creation, so - at least so far - Conan has been treated with respect. Groo, not so much, but that's as it should be.

   This is definitely the most offbeat comic in recent memory, and well worth picking up - if just to see how they make it work.

Grade: A-

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