“Groo vs. Conan” (2015) by Sergio Aragones & Mark Evanier: a Video Review.

Konnichiwa minna-san! I wanted to post a link to my latest review on YouTube. This is an update to a blog review I did in July 2019. (Here’s a link to the original review.) The video is just 8 minutes long. I recorded this on my phone and added an audio voiceover later. The microphone on my phone is not great for loudness. If you have any suggestions for improvements or would like to see a video review of something else, please let me know in the comments. Arigatou!

A new video review over on the YouTube Teahouse.

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My Thoughts

Groo vs. Conan is a funny, entertaining story and a great crossover. Two seemingly indestructible warriors–one without a clue–go head-to-head. Who will emerge victorious? I really liked the Rashomon-style in which this epic battle was reported by various characters in the narrative–who is telling the “true” story? It was also nice to see Sergio Aragones and co-writer Mark Evanier appearing as themselves in the story, acting as a framing narrative as well as a comedy duo. Some of their scenes had me laughing out loud.

Groo vs Conan (2013) by Sergio Aragones, Mark Evanier & Thomas Yeates

“If you want to live, Groo, drop your sword.”
“Groo lives by his sword!”
“Then but one response is possible…”

Sergio Aragones is a legend! He has been called “the fastest cartoonist in the world” and has won a number of prestigious awards including the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award, and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award. He began drawing for MAD magazine in the 1960s and created Groo the Wanderer in the late 1970s. (It was first published in 1982 by Pacific Comics.) Aragones teamed up with writer Mark Evanier and their collaboration on Groo became one of the longest-running “creator-owned” comic books of its time.