Groo and Rufferto

Groo the Wanderer

by Sergio Aragonés

No dog has ever been so loyal for so long to so stupid a master finally it pays off, and the boneheaded barbarian Groo's dog Rufferto gets a little of the limelight. A bad run-in with the wizard Anakrony, Master of the Chronological Sciences, tests once and for all the bond between this barbarian and his best friend. Making another accidental stand against tyranny, Groo becomes separated from Rufferto, and an entire city is made to suffer. Will Groo be reunited with Rufferto, or will the little dog have to go get his own comic?

Genres: Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Humor, Adventure, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

117 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2000

About the author

Sergio Aragonés Domenech is a cartoonist and writer best known for his contributions to Mad Magazine and creator of the comic book Groo the Wanderer.

Reviews

[Marko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Groo a ili voliš ili ne. Ako ga voliš onda nema loših epizoda.

Čestitke CRŠu na objavljivanju Grooa uz želje da izguraju celu Dark Horse-ovu seriju. Malo je cimanje za nas iz Srbije da kupimo (fuck-you-Čarobna-Knjiga) ali nađe se način.

Pogotovo sto je Groo uvek aktuelno štivo kad živiš u Srbiji. Dok čitam ovaj broj gde Groo zabrani ljudima da koriste most dok se ne ispune njegovi zahtevi slušam na tvu kako poljoprivrednici blokiraju puteve po Srbiji i Pošta štrajkuje kao sto i u Groo kralj uzima poreze pa rudari rade za džabe kako bi platili porez.

Pri tom Groo ima lagan humor i neki toplu ljudsku poruku tokom svih njegovih avantura sto mu daje vrlo poseban ton.

[Michael Emond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Even with two stars I didn't hate this book I just wasn't impressed with it compared to other Groo adventures. You still get the humour and the wonderful art and the fun character of Groo. However the story was one I would have passed on. Rufferto gets transported to the future and spend the tale just being amazed at how awful the world is. Not only is the hook to get him to the modern world weak (a wizard send him there on a test run because a rich king wants an escape route if things go bad) but there really isn't a lot of humour or anything new to say. The world is noisy...well sure - to a dog from the past it is but that's not an interesting or original thought. And the way it is written there aren't any good laughs that come from such a forced premise. If you are going to bend the rules of the Groo Universe and send Rufferto here, do something more interesting than have him remark that the middle of a busy city is loud and smelly. What (you ask)? Well, since you asked, either have him run into Sergio and Mark (the creators) or maybe run into a Groo-like modern person or (best ides) have him get adopted by a modern person opposite of Groo and have him yearn to be back with is original master (although - he wouldn't need to time travel to do that premise).

But basically - if you separate Groo from his dog - make it worth our while.

I did like Groo solving a problem by guarding a bridge but even that was odd. Not sure why Groo thought preventing people from crossing a bridge would help him find Rufferto (yes, yes, Groo never makes sense...but still). More reasonable would be to have him look for Rufferto and cause trouble while doing so.

But really - it was the forced premise of time travel that bugged me the most and didn't end up paying off in terms of a good story or good humour.

I would skip this one even if you are a Groo fan.

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Groo wreaks havoc wherever he goes. he is feared by the villagers and the King would love him gone. Groo stands for the people who fight the tyranny of the King. When Groo's dog Rufferto goes missing Groo is not happy. He holds court on the only bridge into the city and will not let anyone pass until his dog is returned. This causes the people to live away from the King's rules for a while and changes begin to happen. meanwhile Rufferto is in a new world where everything is different....worse. As Rufferto learns about this world we are shown how horrible it's been made by the faults of humans. Rufferto teaches us a valuable lesson as he learns about man's mistakes. A great story, interesting and a good lesson. Well written with exciting drawings...a joy to read.

[Pascal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say that I really enjoyed the humour and various adventures of Groo, character that I didn't know before coming across it in the "1001 comics to read...". Hilarious stories and situations, great drawings. A true reference.

[Christoph Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Groo! EInfach fantastisch.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can never go wrong with Sergio.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

a different tale where Rufferto gets transported to modern day , very good

[Abram Cordell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read Groo as an early teen and had fond memories of his chaotic escapades. I thought I would revisit his stories in this trade paperback and was severely underwhelmed. The artwork is quirky and fine, but the story was lackluster and the message was very simplistic and one I’ve seen overdone to criticize modernity. Groo’s dog travels into the future and sees how much better it is in the Middle Ages, with all of the pollution and homelessness plaguing modernity thanks to our modern elected leaders. Finger wagging complete. Does the author really think this? Would he really rather live in the Middle Ages? Certainly we have our troubles, but increased life expectancy, improved quality of life with plumbing, transportation, etc is not something he would trade? These messages are frustrating and come off as disingenuous to me. Don’t think I’ll be stopping in for any more Groo.

[Daniel A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sergio Aragonés' Groo and Rufferto was my first real exposure to the character of Groo the Wanderer, Sergio Aragonés' satire/parody of sword-and-sorcery stories, and on re-reading it, it's kind of a wonder I ever tried reading Groo again.

Yes, I had always heard good things about Groo comics—that Aragonés and "wordsmith" Mark Evanier had a knack for satirizing both the conventions of sword-and-sorcery fantasy fiction and the modern world—but really, Groo and Rufferto isn't Aragonés' best effort. It's true that there are funny scenes in the comic—it wouldn't be a Groo comic without them—but for the most part, this is overshadowed by the relatively heavy-handedness of the satire of modern life. I feel as if the reason for this is that Rufferto actually travels to the present day (at least as of the 1990s' writing of the comic). Most Groo comics benefit by transposing the metaphor and/or satire to the milieu of sword-and-sorcery fantasy, and the use of the particular plot device in Groo and Rufferto is a distraction as a result, as it feels more direct than it allows the reader to make his or her own connections.

That being said, at least some of the satire in Groo and Rufferto is apt, and the humor is typical Aragonés and Evanier, which is to say, often silly, but always clever at the same time. Even though Groo and Rufferto was hardly Aragonés and Evanier's best effort, it still had its moments, and that made it at least somewhat of a worthwhile read.

[Googz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love books that include time-travel...from vaguely medieval times...for dogs. Groo is pretty remarkable in its extreme ability to satirize things, and make them all happen so quickly. Always entertaining, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, and constantly with the characters so well worth investing in!

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny. I particularly like the wordplay Groo uses, like "The likes of Groo are the likes of me."

[Meepelous · Rating 3 out of 5]

chaotic neutral barbarian, time traveling dog, and dinosaurs make for quite the amusing commentary on modern society.

[Hideo · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy MAD Magazine and I do, then you'll probably enjoy reading Sergio Aragones' "Groo & Rufferto".