GrooWanderer

GrooWanderer isfantasy/comedy comic book series writtendrawn by Sergio Aragones. Overyearshas been published by Pacific Comics, Eclipse Comics (one special issue), Marvel Comics (under its Epic imprint), Image ComicsDark Horse Comics.

Tablecontents

1 The Characters 2 In-Jokes 3 The Creators

The Characters

GrooWanderer isdark-ages-era large-nosed buffoon who constantly misunderstands his surroundings, and, despite his generally good intentions, causes mass destruction wherever he goes. Mosthis adventures endhim walking away oblivious tomayhem he has wrought, or fleeing an angry mob. Groo occasionally meetsrespectgood fortune, butdoes not last. Towns, civilizations, businessescultures have all been unwittingly destroyed by Groo. SuchGroo's incompetence that so much as stepping ontoship will cause itsink.

The onlythat has kept Groo alive through allhis adventureshis excellent swordsmanship. Groo has slain entire armies on his own,nothing more than his swords. Groo loves these battles - or "frays", as he calls them -often charges intomelee withcry"Now Groo does what Groo does best!" So muchhis lovebattle that Groo seldom bothersconsider which side hefighting for,goes onslay soldiers from either side.

In allhis travels, Groo has encountered literally thousandscharacters. However, therean assortmentrecurring characters:

• Rufferto, Groo's dogonly true friend. Rufferto ran away from his life asroyal petendeared himselfGroo. In Rufferto's eyes, Groo ishero andtactical genius. Groo can also safely boardshipRufferto's presence.
• The Sage,wise old man whousually never far from Groo. The Sage often attemptsgive Groo sound advice, but Groo's stupidity often means thatadvice only makes situations worse. The Sagenever without his dog, Mulch. The Sage has known Groo since childhoodoften tells his talesall whowillinglisten.
• The Minstrel,singing jester who speaks exclusivelyrhyming sonnets. He often likessingGroo's deeds, but Groo seldom appreciates his unflattering descriptionshis bungling.
• Chakaal,beautiful female warrior whoGroo's equalswordplay. Chakaalstrong, noble,wise,Groomadlyloveher. However, she repeatedly turns down his idiotic advances.
• Taranto,corrupt general who has had his plansglory dashed by Groo several times,is obsessedkillingwanderer.
• ArbaDakarba,mother/daughter pairwitches who have suffered much tryingtake advantageGroo. They have repeatedly been strippedtheir powers becausehim.
• Arcadio,handsome warrior whoconsideredgreatest herohis time. He has often enlisted Groo as his "lackey",while Groo has succeededhis quests timeagain, Arcadio always getscredit.
• Granny Groo, Groo's gypsy grandmother. Granny Groo often triesuse her grandsonaid herher moneymaking schemes, but invariably ends up giving himgood spanking when he fails.
• Grooella, Groo's sister. While she greatly resembles her brother,twothemtotally different: Grooella isqueen. However, her occasional reliance on her brotheraid has spelled disaster every time,she despises him.
• PalDrumm, two con men. The diminutive Palalways lookingeasy money, but his hulking partner Drumm isn't very bright. Their dealingsGroo have often left themtrouble withpeoplewere scamming.
• GrativoWizard, who often punishes ArbaDakarbatheir failures.
• The WitchKaan, an eccentric old hag who always haspotion readyanybody who visits her.

In-Jokes

Groo's adventures have resultedthese "running gags" that have become staplesyears.

• Mendicant: Groo becomes violently angry whenever someone calls himmendicant, even though he doesn't know whatmeans.
• Early Groo tales began withpoem. Almost every Groo story ends withmoral.
• The handle ofminstrel’s mandolin changes shapeevery panel.
• Cheese Dip: Groo's favorite food. Whenever Groo comes across money, cheese dip isfirstthat comeshis mind.
• Mulch: This agricultural processoften mentionedcasual conversation. The Marvel/Epic editions hadlong-running gag inletter column,which fans would ask Mark Evanierdefine "mulch"he would oblige withsame dictionary definitionevery issue. It was later revealed thatSage's dog, whose name hadbeenmystery, was called Mulch.
• "Did I err?": Groo's understatement when he surveysdestruction he has caused. (A letter fromfan once pointed out that since "to errhuman",constantly-erring Groo must bemost human character ever created.)
• "I amPrinceChichester.": Granny Groo once made Groo memorize that phrase during onetheir ill-fated scams. The con fell apart, butphrase still sticksGroo's head,he saysfrom timetime when he cannot thinkanythingsay.
• "What do you mean, 'slowmind'?": Groooften called "slowmind", but itusually much later instory when he finally respondsit.
• "I can plainly see that!": Groo's responsewhen somebody says "...as any fool can plainly see."
• "What pirates?": Once Pal lied toqueen who wasprevious ownerRufferto that(the dog) had been kidnapped by pirates. Drumm asked "What pirates?" (there were none,course)front ofking andqueen,later instory he kept asking Pal that. From timetime, he STILL asks "What pirates?", especially when he's tryingkill Pal because onehis plans failed again.
• Hidden Messages: ManyGroo's Epic (Marvel) issues havehidden message concealed inartwork ordialogue. The hidden message usually reads "This ishidden message."

The Creators

Every issuewrittendrawn by Sergio Aragones. Stan Sakai does lettering,Tom Luth iscolorist, who hasunenviable jobcoloring Aragones' scenes, whichusually fullhundredspeople. Mark Evanier, who answersletters pagewritespoemsmorals, claims that nobody knows what he does (his creditoftenludicrously polysyllabic title that changes every issue),that he never gets paid. In fact his job involves turning Aragones' rough ideas into finished scripts. CaricaturesAragones, Evanier, SakaiLuth often appear withinstories, inbackground.