The solicitation says “it had to happen.” We here at Multiversity Comics aren’t going to argue with that, but we will tell you whether or not Groo and Conan end up being like peanut butter and chocolate: two great tastes that taste great together. Read our review below to find out.
Written by Sergio Aragonés & Mark Evanier
Illustrated by Sergio Aragonés & Thomas Yeates
Colors by Tom Luth
Lettered by Richard Starkings & ComicraftIt had to happen: The most heroic warrior in history meets the stupidest as Robert E. Howard’s immortal Conan the Barbarian crosses swords with Sergio Aragonés’s Groo the Wanderer in Groo vs. Conan #1. This four-issue miniseries was concocted by Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragonés, aided by illustrator Thomas Yeates and colorist Tom Luth. Will Conan annihilate Groo? Will Groo turn out to be the man who can defeat Conan? We’ll see.
* Comics’ greatest barbarians together at last!
Aside from the fact that one is an obvious genre parody of the other, you’d be hard-pressed to find a lot of similarities between “Conan the Barbarian” and “Groo the Wanderer.” Conan, after all, is a warrior who ultimately ascended the throne of the most powerful region of Hyboria, his legend ever-increasing. Groo, on the other hand, is pretty much just a bumbling oaf who happens to enjoy swordfighting. And so a couple of questions hung over the much-delayed release of the “Groo vs. Conan” miniseries. One of these was superficial, and not so important: Through what circumstances would Groo and Conan cross one anothers’ paths? The other question, more important, because it’s the thing that gives any crossover true purpose: How would these characters relate or contrast with one another on the page?
Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier (Aragonés’ longtime “Groo” scripter) actually find a brilliant way of making the characters complementary to one another, through a pair of bookends to the opening issue. As is the case with most insanely long-running fictional characters, there are a variety of valid interpretations of the character of Conan the Barbarian. Evanier and Aragonés find a vain, preening one for their story, which matches Groo’s blissfully ignorant confidence in himself. Evanier clearly has fun pumping the arrogance into every moment of Conan’s exploits, so much so that you’d almost expect he and his supporting cast to break out into a parody version of the “Gaston” song from Beauty and the Beast at some point. In this way, this comic’s Conan feels slimier than Groo, which is probably the way it should be. Groo may have an unearned confidence in his own abilities to do, well, anything without getting caught up in a misunderstanding – but at least he thinks he’s making the noble choice. I think this Conan only does what he does for the treasure. Also for the literal booty. (See: the damsel-in-distress trope in the early moments of the issue)
“Groo vs. Conan” #1 is mostly interested in establishing the versions of these characters that will be facing off against one another, making sure that we understand who they are and where they’re coming from. The mash-up is happening slowly, but it’s working because of the surprising synergy between the two worlds. But there’s a third element at play here – one that is fun at times, but also feels misplaced. If you’ve been reading the solicitations on this series, you might have noticed something pop up – something I noted in “Soliciting Multiversity.” Without spoiling anything that the solicitation doesn’t already, there is a heavy metatextual element to “Groo vs. Conan” #1 that finds Aragonés and Evanier as characters, commenting on the prospects of the titular battle at hand. These sequences are chuckle-worthy to a point, if for nothing more than Aragonés’ knack for visual jokes you can find populating the background of the “real world.” On the other hand, the “Groo vs. Conan” story is the proverbial straw that stirs the drink, and the real world sequences comprise a surprisingly high percentage (almost half) of the issue. It makes total sense, given the sense of humor of the creators involved, that this would be an element of the comic, but you’ll wish there was more of Groo and Conan by the end.
Continued belowThe visual aspects of the crossover could have been another big question mark, but the creative team handled this aspect with such care that the results are about as good as you could hope for. Aragonés is Aragonés – his style is so established, cartoony, and consistent that there’s never a doubt that you’ll get anything but pure magic out of him. Aragonés’ visual language is so signature that you could not mistake it. Getting another Groo story out of him is almost too much to ask for, much less the metatextual interlude that I described above. Groo’s world remains and exists just as we’d left it, the big-nosed barbarian bumping up against yet another ramshackle clan of ne’er-do-well townsfolk and making things even worse for them. Aragonés’ cartooning is gleeful, as Groo does everything he can to complicate things for the locals. Meanwhile, the caricatures of Evanier and Aragonés wander around a city peppered with references to comic books, comic shops, and geek culture. It’s an appropriate series of gags to see just before comic con starts.
But while we already knew what we’d get from Aragonés, the wild card here could have been the Conan art. I’d love to see Aragonés’ take on Conan, but the comic is better off blurring a more realistic depiction with that of the cartoony “Groo.” I can think of few better artists than Thomas Yeates, who embodies the spirit of pulp serial cartooning in everything he does, whether it’s fantasy, crime, or what have you. He’s drawn Conan for Dark Horse before, but he’s also done Zorro, Tarzan, Prince Valiant – all classics. It’s fitting that Yeates, a comic strip illustrator in his own right, is paired with Aragonés, who got his start in the United States doing smaller strips and funnies for “MAD Magazine.” They’re styles couldn’t be more different, but they complement each other well.
Yeates comes up with something between the hulking Schwarzenegger Conan and the lithe Conan of the recent Brian Wood series. In fact, Yeates’ Conan may be more similar to what Robert E. Howard intended than either of those other versions. But again, multiple interpretations are valid. And the smug grin that Yeates places on Conan’s face as he vanquishes his foes feels just as right. Yeates is a great fit for classic sword and sorcery, but his style also manages to blend with Groo’s world. As some of Aragonés’ townsfolk cautiously step over a pile of bodies drawn by Yeates’, you get a sense that these people are from very different worlds, but the visual effect is not unpleasant or clashing. Rather, it’s playful – as is the entirety of the book, even with its faults.
“Groo vs. Conan” is not to be missed by fans of Aragonés work. Each and every one of them should apply. For Conan fans, there might be less to like, because Evanier and Aragonés’ sensibilities so clearly drive everything. Conan is a malleable and enduring property, while Groo is a creator-owned concept very near and dear to the hearts of these creators. While they treat Conan with respect, this is ultimately a book meant more for “Groo” fans. But Evanier and Aragonés are talented, funny, and charming, and that mostly shows up in “Groo vs. Conan” – that should be enough to win over some Conan fans, at least.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – “Groo vs. Conan” is mostly for Groo fans, but “Groo” is a fine comic, so it’s worth checking out.
