“Just let me slay one. A small one!”
Creative Staff:
Story: Mark Evanier
Art: Sergio Aragones
Colors: John Ercek, Tom Luth
Letterer: Stan Sakai
What They Say:
Groo and his loyal mutt Rufferto sail to a new land where the streets are laid with gold. It could be a fine place to live but for those who want both the souls and the gold of those who live there. One is a longtime friend of Groo–when he isn’t trying to kill him . . . the one known as Taranto! And high above, looking down on it all, are the gods themselves.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The focus on the gods in recent issues of Groo has been a mixed bag to be sure. There’s this sense that there is a bigger plan in mind with it but it hasn’t landed well enough or interestingly enough to really make it work for me. Evanier has some fun with it to be sure and there are cute bits, such as seeing how reduced the Star God is at this point, but it’s still mostly lacking a narrative that makes you want to follow it. Though there are comical bits about their observations of what’s going on in their name, which they mostly just kind of roll their eyes about, the pages with them in it tends to feel like it’s slowing things down.
This issue shifts gears a bit with Ahax and his crew making their way to the new land that he’s found full of people and riches. The Queen of Ibezza is excited about this since it means new people to bring under her sway and new riches while the clergy are keen on bringing in new followers for their god, Diothes. Of course, the trip to the new land is one that’s fraught with Groo ends up on the ship after the journey is fully underway. This is cute as we see Ahax jumping ship quickly and then trying to figure out which is worse, Groo or sharks. Hint: It’s Groo, but Ahax makes the wrong choice. Ahax’s attempts at keeping Groo mollified is definitely fun, especially as Groo’s curiosity simply keeps him going forward like a toddler looking for the next shiny object. Or food.
The arrival on the new land also plays out comically as the clergy are shocked to discover that the locals have thousands of gods and can’t understand how these new arrivals only have one good. Even worse, in a way, is that everything they brought with them to try and win them over with the locals view as cheap junk compared to what they have. And with a mountain sized piece of gold in their backyard it’s easy to understand why. The issue works to showcase this bad arrival in all the right ways while also trying to figure out how to use Groo to their advantage (always a bad idea) as well as seeing Ahax and Taranto trying their own approaches to acquiring as much gold as they want. Suffice to say, the new land isn’t impressed with the arrivals, but they also haven’t seen Groo in his full glory yet.
In Summary:
Groo: Play of the Gods has some fun bits to it for both the main storyline and some of what the gods are going through. The gods side is weaker overall, though I appreciated the nod to how weak the Star God is and the fun of the arrival of so many new gods that’s going to make things complicated – even if it just feels wonky. Groo himself has some good bits throughout but it’s more of an ensemble cast this time around doing things more than anything else and that keeps it brisk and fun. And, as always, worth salivating over all the details in the artwork. Aragaon’s big two-page spread here with the arrival is one of his signature pieces that never gets old as it shows us a village full of life and detail.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: August 9th, 2017
MSRP: $3.99
