Groo arguing with his own echo is perfection.
Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Evanier
Art: Sergio Aragones
What They Say:
What does a god do when his followers stop following? Easy: He makes them follow. Ravenous the Insatiable (one of your greedier gods) and his minions do godlike things to his flock. That is, until the godforsaken warrior named Groo shows up. Then the new order of Ravenous faces a challenge, and all the believers suddenly believe its time to flee.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a couple of months between issues, it can be easy to forget what’s going on sometimes depending on how many books you follow on a regular basis. That’s a bit less of an issue with Groo as our leading character is one that forgets what happens panel to panel sometimes, so you get reminded easily of what’s happening. Groo’s journey in this series is one that has been a bit weaker for me as I haven’t cared much for the whole gods aspect of it compared to what’s going on with the brothers Cuffi and Saffil. And after getting so many books recently that focused on largely one-off adventures, a four-part story feels bigger and more involved than I’m used to with this character and that’s a bit of an adjustment as well.
With this chapter, things are continuing to build in a bad way for a lot of people, and that’s not including those that have to deal with Groo. Cuffi’s attempts at building the stature of the Star God has hit the expect roadblocks as there aren’t enough followers just yet to take it to the next level, both above and in building on Earth. Even worse, his followers are dealing with Groo being around and domesticated Groo is doubly dangerous. The Star God himself is proving to be frustrating to the other gods in a way like a low-key Groo is as he’s ending up in places where the rest don’t want him since he’s so cocksure and then as more of his following grows he’s getting into a mindset of being the top dog among gods, which is looking increasingly probably to the other gods that are now seeing their own fates being adjusted downward.
While there’s a lot to like in seeing Groo helping out around Cuffi’s place and forgetting his original mission of returning the treasury, I do enjoy the mission that Cuffi comes up with for him. Sending him out with an entourage that basically uses him as a push to get people to go back and follow the Star Lord and serve as labor to him isn’t ingenious but it a dangerous thing that works better than it should. Groo’s a bit more pliable than usual here to a degree but it seems like they’re figuring out how to manage him a fair bit. Which, of course, means it’s about to go all to hell pretty quickly. The missionary moments are fun to watch here and that all circles back to a ravine where there’s an echo on the journey home that has Groo with one of his best bits yet in arguing with himself without realizing it. The ratcheting up of rhetoric is perfect as he gets more and more frustrated yet impotent at the same time.
In Summary:
A couple of months between issues hasn’t diminished what Fray of the Gods is doing and I think a bit of a break actually helped me some in enjoying this installment a bit more. The series has been a bit thicker in some ways than others and it’s a bit of an adjustment to get into it, which is a welcome challenge. The fun here in seeing Groo being used as an emissary of sorts means the blowback will be profound and I can imagine the fourth and final installment coming up will be pretty well packed to get a whole lot going into it considering the events above and below. I’m still a bit wary on this miniseries overall, having enjoy the previous twelve-part series more, but any Groo is good Groo – unless you’re on the pointy end of his sword.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: November 23rdt, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
