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Groo the Wanderer
Groo: Play of the Gods
The Eisner-award winning bumbling barbarian returns for a hilarious adventure full of mistakes, misunderstandings, and cheese dip.
We had the Fray of the Gods. Now we have the Play of the Gods--a tale of lust for gold, lust for power, and lust for cheese dip. As with all things Groo, it's brought to you by the award-winning team of Sergio Aragon's, ably assisted by the lettering of Stan Sakai and the coloring of Tom Luth. The Gods themselves watch this story from the above so it must be good enough for you. This handsome paperback volume collects all four issues of the series: in one package, you get a lot of Groo doing real stupid things and causing mass destruction. Just what you wanted!
We had the Fray of the Gods. Now we have the Play of the Gods--a tale of lust for gold, lust for power, and lust for cheese dip. As with all things Groo, it's brought to you by the award-winning team of Sergio Aragon's, ably assisted by the lettering of Stan Sakai and the coloring of Tom Luth. The Gods themselves watch this story from the above so it must be good enough for you. This handsome paperback volume collects all four issues of the series: in one package, you get a lot of Groo doing real stupid things and causing mass destruction. Just what you wanted!
116 pages, Paperback
First published February 20, 2018
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21 people want to read
About the author
Sergio Aragonés
576 books97 followersSergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 21, 2025
I've been a reader and fan of Groo for nearly 40 years, so I'm quite biased regarding the brainless barbarian. That said, Play of the Gods is among the best mini-series of Groo in the last couple of decades. Heavily parodying Spain's initial invasion and conquest of modern-day Mexico in the early 16th century, this 4-issue arc has a fun blend of social, political, and religious commentary mixed with some great gags involving Groo, the hapless Captain Ahax, ne'er-do-well mercenary Taranto (the oldest recurring character in the 40-plus-year-old series), and even the pantheon of gods who have shown up from time to time in the book's pages. Sergio's artistic skills were still at or very near the top of his then-80-year-old game, which is astounding.
No, it's not "high art" and it's not the grim, gritty, mature graphic storytelling than many (including myself much of the time) older readers look for. But for great classic, fun-for-all-ages, timeless cartoon storytelling, Play of the Gods is among the best in Groo's long history.
No, it's not "high art" and it's not the grim, gritty, mature graphic storytelling than many (including myself much of the time) older readers look for. But for great classic, fun-for-all-ages, timeless cartoon storytelling, Play of the Gods is among the best in Groo's long history.
January 7, 2018
Groo has been better.
Art is there, Aragonés just is so good. But the story, all the wanking with gods and stuff. Gods bring in religion and religion is always pointless, stupid and root of things evil. Ok, the story makes point in that also, but to me, religion and everything related to that is huge red cloth. After all, it is simple: Think for yourself, you do not need a rulebook how to live your life.
Back to comics: Nice art, so-so story, not enough cheese dip in the world.
Art is there, Aragonés just is so good. But the story, all the wanking with gods and stuff. Gods bring in religion and religion is always pointless, stupid and root of things evil. Ok, the story makes point in that also, but to me, religion and everything related to that is huge red cloth. After all, it is simple: Think for yourself, you do not need a rulebook how to live your life.
Back to comics: Nice art, so-so story, not enough cheese dip in the world.
May 23, 2022
So, okay, this was my introduction to Groo. A good friend loves this character and the whole series. It was entertaining and pretty funny at parts. I am wondering if I shouldn't have started somewhere else, though.
April 15, 2019
A nice follow up to Fray of the Gods. A few old "friends" show up and ships sink, gold is being stolen and Groo is celebrated ?
December 5, 2019
Hail Groo...and Rufferto too!
July 24, 2021
This is hilarious and thought provoking - I thoroughly enjoyed it!
July 18, 2023
There is some sort of confusion on Goodreads between this and Fray of the Gods, but it’s the same rating for the same reasons.
February 19, 2024
Always fun to spend time with Groo.
October 23, 2025
this is a required reading for my GELITWO class. it's my first time reading a comic this long. fun experience AND it's damn political
October 23, 2022
I always *want* to like Groo but beside the art there’s not a lot going on of interest. DNF.
March 16, 2022
2022 reread:
I adore Groo's story in this graphic novel and really enjoyed reading it again. Groo is hilarious and I'm glad that I read this after reading Fray of the Gods this time around. Brings even more context to the story.
A Short Synopsis
The Groo graphic novels/ comics have been around for decades and I remember when I first heard about them when I was a kid. This is my first venture into his tales and I can honestly say that I'm surprised by how much I really enjoyed this simple little graphic novel. This follows along with Groo, a very idiotic barbarian that literally ruins everything around him by just being there. His ultimate mission in this tale is for the search of the best cheese dip in the world. Hilarity follows him in every movement as he ultimately changes the course of everyone's lives around him. Groo's dog, Rufferto follows him around as he adventures throughout this book and interjects little side comments throughout. He reminded me of Garfield in his way of making fun of the actions of Groo, similarly to how Garfield makes fun of Jon. It was quite funny to read.
Writing Style
Throughout the whole piece, we see not only the adventure of Groo but also the reactions of the Gods watching everything going on below them. The queen of the land is trying to spread out into other lands surrounding their own and spread the word of their one god to these lands. Each of the Gods blames Diothos for the fact that he is the only one that they are trying to worship and anyone believing in anyone else is getting hurt for it. As a famous sailor leads them to the land that he discovered each person has their own plan. The sailor wants to get gold for himself and leave the others. The priests want to spread the word of their god no matter what the cost, even if they have to hurt people (this actually becomes a funny joke throughout). Groo is tricked into coming for the best cheese dip and no one really wants him to come along.
What I really liked about the style of writing was the switch back and forth between the gods and the humans that they are arguing about. It was an interesting and rewarding choice in creation because this just added to the humor.
The Art, Lettering, and Coloring
The art style is wonderful to look at. It still has this old type of style with bright popping color for each of the characters. Each character stands out with their own specific styles that fit their characteristics. One of the best scenes is when the citizens of the new land start thinking up new gods. There are really ridiculous ones such as The God of Repetition (who then repeats everything he says multiple times throughout), The God of Spelling Things Backwards, and my favorite: The God of Procrastination. Each of these gods looks different from each other and many have a look that matches what they are gods of. The more gods added to this scene looked great together.
The lettering really is nothing too spectacular but it goes along perfectly with the style of the drawings and the coloring. All of the dialogue stands out great against what is happening in the images. They look great together.
Final Thoughts
This is the graphic novel that I wanted and needed to read at the end of the year. I loved the humor and the style of each panel. Groo was a character that grew on me almost instantly. The poor guy keeps messing up everything for many of the people around him and many will run away to avoid him. He doesn't even seem to realize or care and I found him enduring. The only downside that I really found in this piece was how slow it was at the beginning. It took me quite some time to actually get into this but once I did I was hooked. The art style and writing style make for a great experience. I cannot wait to read more of Groo's tales from the past and any more that will come out.
I adore Groo's story in this graphic novel and really enjoyed reading it again. Groo is hilarious and I'm glad that I read this after reading Fray of the Gods this time around. Brings even more context to the story.
A Short Synopsis
The Groo graphic novels/ comics have been around for decades and I remember when I first heard about them when I was a kid. This is my first venture into his tales and I can honestly say that I'm surprised by how much I really enjoyed this simple little graphic novel. This follows along with Groo, a very idiotic barbarian that literally ruins everything around him by just being there. His ultimate mission in this tale is for the search of the best cheese dip in the world. Hilarity follows him in every movement as he ultimately changes the course of everyone's lives around him. Groo's dog, Rufferto follows him around as he adventures throughout this book and interjects little side comments throughout. He reminded me of Garfield in his way of making fun of the actions of Groo, similarly to how Garfield makes fun of Jon. It was quite funny to read.
Writing Style
Throughout the whole piece, we see not only the adventure of Groo but also the reactions of the Gods watching everything going on below them. The queen of the land is trying to spread out into other lands surrounding their own and spread the word of their one god to these lands. Each of the Gods blames Diothos for the fact that he is the only one that they are trying to worship and anyone believing in anyone else is getting hurt for it. As a famous sailor leads them to the land that he discovered each person has their own plan. The sailor wants to get gold for himself and leave the others. The priests want to spread the word of their god no matter what the cost, even if they have to hurt people (this actually becomes a funny joke throughout). Groo is tricked into coming for the best cheese dip and no one really wants him to come along.
What I really liked about the style of writing was the switch back and forth between the gods and the humans that they are arguing about. It was an interesting and rewarding choice in creation because this just added to the humor.
The Art, Lettering, and Coloring
The art style is wonderful to look at. It still has this old type of style with bright popping color for each of the characters. Each character stands out with their own specific styles that fit their characteristics. One of the best scenes is when the citizens of the new land start thinking up new gods. There are really ridiculous ones such as The God of Repetition (who then repeats everything he says multiple times throughout), The God of Spelling Things Backwards, and my favorite: The God of Procrastination. Each of these gods looks different from each other and many have a look that matches what they are gods of. The more gods added to this scene looked great together.
The lettering really is nothing too spectacular but it goes along perfectly with the style of the drawings and the coloring. All of the dialogue stands out great against what is happening in the images. They look great together.
Final Thoughts
This is the graphic novel that I wanted and needed to read at the end of the year. I loved the humor and the style of each panel. Groo was a character that grew on me almost instantly. The poor guy keeps messing up everything for many of the people around him and many will run away to avoid him. He doesn't even seem to realize or care and I found him enduring. The only downside that I really found in this piece was how slow it was at the beginning. It took me quite some time to actually get into this but once I did I was hooked. The art style and writing style make for a great experience. I cannot wait to read more of Groo's tales from the past and any more that will come out.
January 2, 2018
Rarely has the quest for cheese dip been so deep.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews