Grog the Frog: The Book of Taurus

by Davilorium, Alba Bg

Every summer, Grog the Frog forgets to celebrate the most important magic ritual of the the Perseids harvest. But this year will be different. The eternally grumpy wizard will travel to forsaken mystical mountains and complete the magical rites. Unless, of course, a case of mistaken identities means that he becomes embroiled in a duel with his cosmic rival.

Will Grog be able to put order in chaos and fulfill his purpose? Or wait, perhaps Grog would prefer chaos? He's supposed to be the lord of chaos, isn't he? Either way, it will be epic!

Drama, love, magic, a delivery guy who can fly, a weird snake, a bald centaur who rents cars... it all awaits Grog in this hilarious graphic novel! All hail Grog!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Comics, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult, Comic Book

64 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 2023

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: if a zany adventure is what you seek, follow a frog into the unknown. Okay I’ve never said that before but it’s pretty sound advice. Especially if that frog is Grog of Alba BG and Davilorium’s Grog the Frog: The Book of Taurus graphic novel. A short and bonkers tale that comes strong as if over-caffeinated and bursting with things to say, Grog the Frog follows the Grog, the god of chaos, as he travels to attend the magical Perseids harvest and…well create chaos. But when a mix-up and some vague confusion brings chaos to Grog’s own life, they will have to face off in a duel between gods. The art here is outstanding and bursting at the seams with energy and weirdness, though the snarky and silly plot occasionally becomes too bonkers for its own good and descends into a bit of chaos. Which, I suppose, is what Grog would want. With shades of Adventure Time and feeling like the sort of shit you giggle at with your buddies after a satisfying smoke rotation, God the Frog is weird and wild but overall whimsical fun.

I do really dig this art

I’ve been getting into the Silver Sprocket catalog and there are a really cool variety of little graphic novels from this indie publisher. Grog the Frog brings us Grog, who is all about chaos so the majority of this wacky little tale is just Grog going around being a complete dick to everyone.

Which is pretty fun and this short tale is chock full of snark and mean spirited humor that comes flying at you through very quick frames that make for rather chaotic, but organized, pages. It does occasionally have too much text in the frames, but that also feels like a stylistic choice to keep that over-caffeinated vibe hopping. There is a LOT going on, all of it slapping you in the face in rapid succession as Grog slaps insults at everyone, and its kind of messy but altogether just cool and dumb fun.

There’s a plot and you can kind of follow it, but nothing really all that engaging beyond the silliness of it all and it sort of feels and looks like it could be an episode of Adventure Time. It seems like this is setting up a series and while I won’t be eagerly awaiting them, I will definitely be reading them because why not. Who doesn’t want a zany adventure with a complete asshole of a frog? Good times.

3/5

[Jessica Park Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 for art, 4 for world, 2 for plot

[hope h. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don't know WHAT was happening here i'm gonna be so real but i loved every second of it. damn that frog is a real asshole, i love him

[Lexi Stargasm · Rating 3 out of 5]

the art was incredible but the story was confusing and spotty. it felt like it was trying so hard to be considered “cool” and “chaotic” that it lost its plot. gonna reread, and hopefully understand it better

[Lucille · Rating 4 out of 5]

En vrai j’ai pas tout compris mais c’était très drôle, j’ai adoré les dessins et couleurs, l’univers magique et humoristique un peu farfelu et plein de références gaming/online. Une bonne petite lecture très fun

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

no plot, but beautiful art and world

[a.g.e. montagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hark, fools! All hail Grog the Frog!
He's the greatest dark magic wizard in the land, whose powers include an impeccable sense of style, bottomless narcissism and a shrewd lack of the most basic good manners. Don't you worship him already? Join the cult!

I discovered Grog's creators Davilorium and Alba Bg thanks to the 2022 edition of my local Treviso Comic Book Festival (which I'm told is actually a big deal, nationally). The exhibition was a success, owing to the irresistible appeal of their ultramodern take on tarot cards and ancient mythology; I've posted a few crappy photos here and here if you're curious.


At the time, they were already working on their upcoming book-length graphic novel, advertised on Instagram through sneak peeks and "Draw This In Your Style" campaigns, mixed with their usual dose of Evangelion and Toriyama's fan art (among others).
Needless to say, The Book of Taurus is a post-Adventure Time reinterpretation of arcana and lore, a superfast and superfun romp replete with metanarrative eyewinks and Easter eggs galore. At the beginning of the story, Grog is forced by his own forgetfulness into last-minute departure in order not to miss the Perseids, "the most important event in the magician's calendar". From the onset of his quest, he lags several steps behind a seemingly endless list of ordeals, with only his equally unassailable braggadocio to keep him abreast of the breathless swirl of events.
The plot twists will remain opaque to all save those initiated to the mysteries of the cult, while the Spanish couple's trademarks (gorgeous colours, savvy and light-hearted humour) will surely win new acolites. Their avant-pop styles reminded me in places, of all people, of their compatriot Miguel Ángel Martín, though the comparison is only superficial; Grog's brawn has probably no match in comicdom, and his next adventures should not be missed.

The volume's end titles include character designs and a selection of the aforementioned #DTIYS.

[Mady · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.25

[Jojo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty art but what the heck was the plot lmao

[loyboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome illustrations with a silly story

[Chanel Chapters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grog the frog - Grumpy, green, and unreasonably powerful.

3.5

[Jack Phoenix · Rating 1 out of 5]

The artwork is cute enough and reminiscent of ADVENTURE TIME, but that may not be enough to compensate for what little story and editing on the pages.

[Iselin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read, wonderful illustrations and interesting character design!

10/10

[Karlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly little story with fun colorful art

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art style immediately drew me in, from the details on the cover, to the endearing shapes, to the vivid colors. I love the thought and care put into the different characters and the layout of the pages. Some panels were especially fun and not the generic action-dialogue type. Very easy to read, pleasing to look at. But I will say the plot wasn't very coherent or gripping, and I was mostly kept captivated by the art rather than the story.

[Romane · Rating 3 out of 5]

très jolis dessins mais j'ai rien capté

[Nellie Bee Darnel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Livre top notch avec des grenouilles et du swag

[pindragon · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art style is super fun and whimsical, certainly reminded me of adventure time. The character design has so much potential for an enticing story, but the plot, which was hardly even a plot, was all over the place and just kind of awful. There was zero exposition, zero explanation as to what anyone is doing or thinking or their reasoning for doing/thinking. That dialogue makes no sense and adds little relevance to the story. It was hard for me to appreciate the art because of how lost I was story-wise, and I even reread it hoping I had just missed some crucial part, but no.

The entire time reading it feels like there is a prequel you didn’t read, so you have zero clue what’s going on. Cute story, one dimension main character, horrendous “plot”

[Ben Saylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very weird book. It was fun, and the art was beautiful, but there were times when the dialogue did not make any sense, and it was very confusing as to what was going on. Part of it felt like there were chapters I missed or that this was not the first in the series. I almost wonder if there is more online that hasn't been printed yet and this was just a section that was printed (not the first in the series). It definitely has an Adventure Time feel to it, I just wish it was clearer as to what was happening and that Grog was a more likeable character. He's the kind of Jerk that works well as a side character or someone who shows growth, but there was no growth, and he was the main character.

[Zack Guajardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

When reading this book, I thought it would be a cutesy story directed towards kids with more complex concepts for more advanced readers, like Adventure time. The art style is indeed similar, and exceptional to be honest. But I genuinely don't know what happened in he story. I read it, and events DID happen, but it was a very trippy series of events that I am not sure how to put into words. Very cute and very fun though! Grog the frog is just the most powerful wizard of all time, and he's just a little guy. It's hilarious.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the art style of AlbaBG and Davilorium and have long followed their excitement over Grog the Frog and his impeccable character design. I was glad to see this had been picked up by bigger distributors so it was available in Australia.
As other reviews have mentioned, the art/ design style is fantastic, but is let down by the confusing and unclear plot. I hope this improves for the next book.

[Maya Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something about the writing – maybe the characters – that I feel I don't get. Maybe it's like The Midnight Gospel in that way.

However, what I do get is the stunning art. The mix of simplicity and detail, the nearly flat color rendering showing off impeccable taste in palettes, the 11/10 appeal of the character proportions (bodies and faces). Buying this to flip through for color inspiration alone would make sense.

[Ricky Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the visuals of this book. It feels very fresh while still feeling very classic. I had just finished reading the Incal so this book really felt like an updated modern trip of the same nature. The story is a bit thin, but it could also have been I just wasn't getting the deeper context, which happens. Overall a very fun book with lots of great visuals.

[Marek · Rating 2 out of 5]

5.0
Kocham tak rysowane treści, ale jednak piękno kolorów i kształtów to nie wszystko. Scenariusz to ogromny bałagan, zapamiętywalnych czy ciekawych dialogów tu brak, a dodatkowym problemem staje się główny bohater - irytujący, odrzucający. Ten cool vibe warstwy wizualnej nie przekłada się w ogóle na to, co przyszło nam czytać.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a weird one. The story is utter nonsense. But I absolutely love the way it was told. It's very disjointed, halfway between slice of life and a quest fueled adventure. It's set in a deep fantasy world but everyone talks like GenZ. It's an odd mix but it worked for me. And the art is just gorgeous and lush

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the artwork, but I wish the protagonist was at least a little more likable. Even though Grog’s a psychopath played for laughs, I found him barely amusing and very one note. The other characters were waaaaay more interesting and dimensional.

[jess! · Rating 3 out of 5]

i really really wish this had a better story/characters. or like, any story at all. i loooooved the art style, but the plot was all over the place and the characterization was pretty inconsistent too. worth reading for the art though

[Anna Frohling · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short comic about a frog that starts off a little too similar to Adventure Time (in art style, sense of humor, and weird-for weirds sake goofiness mixed with modern anime and video game references) but comes into its own near the end.
The coloring is great

[Susi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Como dicen los ingleses de esta app silly story with great art. Esque lite opino eso las ilustraciones, personajes y colores preciosos.

Me ha recordado a hora de aventuras y ese tipo de series pero mas simple en cuanto a la historia y la forma de ser de los pj.

[Peter Hollo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful slice of post-Adventure Time epic sci-fantasy silliness