Nothing says love like a sister.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Evanier
Art: Sergio Aragones
What They Say:
Groo once again encounters his sister, Grooella, who got all the brains in that family . . . not that there were a lot to go around. She’s at war with the Kingdom of Comino, and just when things are going poorly, her brother shows up (as he so often does) to make them worse!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s hard to believe we’re in the fifth installment of the Groo: Friends and Foes series already. The book has felt like it just started, but at the same time it feels like it’s gone on for years because of the variety of the cast and the utter ease in which one can get into it. We’ve had a good mix of characters so far that have allowed them to stand out and be their own persons with motivations and plans of their own, but we’ve also been exposed well to Groo himself and how his ever so simple ways can have such a huge impact on so many others. The dynamic is one that’s always been interesting to watch over the years, especially with the skewed view commentary we get from Rufferto.
With this installment, the series turns to one of the characters that I’ve been less than enamored by with Grooella, his sister. Their relationship is one that does admittedly work and there’s plenty of fun interplay to be had about it when they’re together, but the structure here is mostly familiar once again as we get people adjusting plans simply based on the presence of Groo. Which is well founded and proven over the last four issues. For Grooella, she’s in the midst of setting things up to go to war with King Comino, as she and her have waged a war of words for so long and it’s now escalating, which is making everyone panic. But like her brother, Grooella is not one to back down and it does lead to a pre-emptive strike atetmpt against Camino’s kingdom in defense of her own Queendom.
The unfortunate part is that as her army moves towards battle, Groo stumbles into it and just goes to town, even as his sisters angry face adorns the top of so many banners in disturbing fashion. The ups and downs at play are fun as Groo eventually figures things out, which comes alongside learning Camino’s true plans in how he was trying to trick Grooella, which is going to be thrown into chaos because of Groo. There’s a lot of fun in general, but when we see Grooella having to “lower her beauty standards” in order to look like Groo, and then act like Groo, in order to deal with the battle at hand, it’s hilarious seeing how she hates every second of it and every compliment that she ends up getting. It’s utterly chaotic and nonsensical in some ways as there’s a smooth back and forth between things that leads to the kind of insanity of any battle involving Groo.
In Summary:
Though not one of my favorites, the Grooella story here is one that works well in presenting another character that inhabits Groo’s universe and makes things difficult for him. Well, Groo makes everything difficult for himself, though he never realizes things are difficult or problematic – for him or for other people. The fun here is as we see the way Grooella attempts to use her brother, and his form, to achieve her larger goal. And that’s really enjoyable to see unfold because of her distaste for him. But the book continues to win me over just for Aragones’ artwork, which is complex and beautifully with all its humor and little gags packed into it, especially when you get an issue like this where there’s a lot of soldiers tightly packed together with so many unique expressions and actions. A must for anyone who truly wants to work in the comic art field.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 20th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
