This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Amulet Series: Groo the Wanderer #34 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 24 Words: 2K
Back in Issue 26, Groo was tasked with finding half an amulet for a pair of witches. Who were in turn tasked by a powerful wizard. And of course Groo found half the amulet, only it was the half the wizard already had, and Groo completely messed up everything by throwing the half everybody wanted into a lake without them know it.
In this issue, things get resolved. In a very Groo sort of way of course.
The Wizard is in some sort of war with “creatures” and appears to be losing. So once again he tasks Arba and Dakarba to find Groo so as to find the lost half of the amulet. The Sage gets involved, as does his dog. Groo gets turned into a fish (which is smarter than Groo as a human), finds the amulet and the Sage steals the amulet and sends the Wizard and all his minions to another dimension.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Pirates of Salgari Series: Groo the Wanderer #33 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 27 Words: 2K
Well, it turns out that Rufferto the dog is some sort of anti-kryptonite for Groo. If Rufferto is on a ship, it can’t sink, even if Groo is on board. But as soon as Rufferto leaves, if Groo is still on board, sploosh, that’s it for that poor ship!
This was a great misadventure of Groo ending up fighting for both sides and not having a clue, as usual. And the ending was just SO GROO. People are fighting, so he just jumps in, hahahaha.
I included this picture because of the first two panels specifically. It was SO expressive of just what was going on. It is simplistic but it conveys everything needful of that situation. From Groo (who isn’t even pictured but is kicking butt!) to the Leader of the Pirates to the onlookers. You read those two panels and you know exactly everything everyone is doing and feeling. How incredible is that? And I think that is why I keep reading this comic. Aragones is good at telling a short story and making his art support it every step of the way.
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Synopsis – click to open
A town is plundered by pirates and offers a reward for the return of all their goods. Groo hears about it and with his dog Rufferto’s help, sails to the pirate island, where he inevitably becomes the leader of the pirates. And leads a raid on the town who is offering the reward. Groo doesn’t get his reward and goes off to sulk. Soldiers from the king attack the pirates cum villagers and Groo ends up attacking everybody. The End.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Bankers of Avara Series: Groo the Wanderer #32 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 24 Words: 2K
I read this. I enjoyed this. The end.
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Now that Groo has a fortune from his previous misadventures, everybody is his friend. Thinking he is getting lots of jobs to earn money, Groo accidentally sets in motion a chain of events wherein he has become the prime lender in the town of Avara. At the same time, the robbers who tried to cheat him before are tracking him down to steal back the money. And Groo gives his money to a bunch of monks for safekeeping, who use it to gild their little temple. Everything goes wrong at the end and nobody is happy.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Arms Deal Series: Groo the Wanderer #31 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 23 Words: 2K
Ahhh, Groo. Sometimes when he tries to do the right thing he completely ruins everything, for everybody. Then you have comics like this where he pretty much lets well enough alone and Fate takes a hand and dishes out punishment to those who deserve it, through Groo 🙂
Groo’s lack of math skills are really shown here, whether’s counting thousands of kopins or fighting people, once he has to count above one, he’s lost. It still all works out for the best in the end though 😀
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo has plenty of money from the previous comic. Pal and Drumm cheat him out of it with bad weapons. Only for Groo to be so dumb as to make his money back but also to get another whole load of weapons. And he sells them all, makes tons of money AND gets to fight both armies at the end.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Rufferto II Series: Groo the Wanderer #30 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 23 Words: 2K
Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about. No forgetting poor Groo this month!
Finally, Groo has found something even dumber than he is. Rufferto the dog. The opening page to the comic gives us the previous comic in one page with the people involved just shaking their heads and rolling their eyes at Groo’s stupidity. It was a good refresher for those of us who might have accidentally skipped reading Groo for a month.
Nothing but people trying to swindle Groo, each other and the Royal Couple. Groo ends up with money, Rufferto and gets to end the comic fighting everybody. Which is What Groo Does Best!
This wasn’t a deep read, nor can I spout some bull caca to make it seem like this was A Big Important comic with messages about the Human Condition and a funny message that will bring us all together. No, this was a comic book and it entertained me for about 15minutes and that’s all I needed from it. It delivered in spades, just like all the previous Groo comics and I am thankful for that. Sometimes a cheese pizza is all you really want. And sometimes a Groo comic is all I really want.
This is the last page in the comic and it manages to recap the whole comic for your viewing pleasure.
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Synopsis – click to open
The Adventures of Rufferto continue! The King and Queen continue to offer a reward for Rufferto and his 100,000 kopin collar. Soldiers try to find him. Swindlers find Groo and try to swindle him. Another King finds out about the collar and buys Rufferto off of Groo. The Swindler’s paint a dog to look like Rufferto and give it to the soldiers. And Groo is paid twice. And gets Rufferto back each time. And the comic ends with the soldiers, the swindlers and the other king all fighting over who cheated who the most. And Groo wins most of all with 2000 kopins and a fray!
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
I felt like something different today and so I delved back into my collection of comics. Don’t expect this to be a monthly thing though, this is pure mood.
I quite enjoyed this. Each chapter was a self contained story where we learned a little about Usagi (the Yojimbo is a title meaning bodyguard) and how he became a Ronin and how he got the title Yojimbo. This is a linear story with some flashbacks. I liked the straightforwardness of it.
The author/artist, Stan Sakai, also does a good job right from the get go. His drawings at the beginning of the book look just the same as those at the end, which considering these were released individually over time, means he was already skilled when he started. Unlike, say, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where the art looked like it was done with a number 2 pencil on a napkin, this was well done from top to bottom. I enjoy looking at something that is well executed from the start. The lines are clean and I can actually see what is going on, even in the action sequences.
Because this takes place in the 1600’s in Japan, when the Shogunate was just coming into being, it felt very similar to the manga Rurouni Kenshin, which takes place in the 1800’s at the ending of the Shogunate. No magic or super powered villains though, just plain skilled warriors and a rough and tumble lifestyle. I thought the mix of anthropomorphic animals and humans together wasn’t going to work, but I have to say, it really did. Sakai didn’t try to give each animal set of people some “animal” trait and thus they were able to simply be another set of people. It definitely makes for a more fun reading time.
I had a good time reading this but feel no need to pick up the next volume. Which means when the mood strikes, I’ll probably enjoy the next volume quite a bit too.
Oh, oh, oh, I ALMOST FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT!!!!!!!!!!! (that’s what happens when I start blabbing, the important bits go right out the window)
Groo the Wanderer is referenced AND he makes an appearance. Now that is totally awesome awesomesauce.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Hahahahaa, another great entry. I just love these comics. This starts out exactly how I would react to Groo being on a demolition crew. I just laughed my head off.
One interesting thing I found in this comic was that the lettering for the comic is done by a guy named Stan Sakai. I know that name. You’ll know that name too. If you read tomorrow’s post 😉
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo destroys a building, sets a royal dog free and then when the dog follows him, tries to eat it. It remains loyal to Groo and when Groo falls into some quicksand, the dog gets some villagers to rescue Groo. They recognize Groo and begin shoving him even quicker into the quicksand. Royal Soldiers track them all down and take the dog back. A random villager accidentally saves Groo. Groo sees a reward poster for the dog, attacks the royal palace and takes the dog for the reward, not realizing who the true owners are.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: The Gourmet Kings Series: Groo the Wanderer #28 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 22 Words: 2K
I am getting a serious case of the “don’t want to writes”. It is kind of like writer’s block, except it’s not that I can’t write, it’s that I simply don’t want to! Big difference.
click for the embiggenable version
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo is hungry. He smells something tasty and tries to be a cook’s assistant. He quits when he finds out he won’t be eating the tasty food but only slop. He comes into contact with a King who is on the lookout for a new Head Chef. After several failures (cannibals, bat eating cave dwellers, etc) Groo remembers the Chef from the town where he quit. He kidnaps the Chef and the King prepares a vast feast for Another King, in advance of working on a peace treaty. Only, the Other King is the one who the Chef originally worked for and this display of kidnapping his own chef sets the two kingdoms warring, again. But at least Groo got fed this time.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
I don’t know why I keep “reviewing” these. Mainly to keep track I guess. I mean, these are regularly funny. Every time I read one I enjoy myself. How many ways can I say “I enjoyed this funny comic because Groo is an idiot”. So far, I’ve said it 27 times. I guess that’s enough. I think after this I’ll just start using this “review” place to talk about whatever is on my mind at the time. So be prepared to be wowed and amazed as I pontificate on matters most important.
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
The Minstrel and the Sage are captured as spies and they tell a couple of stories about Groo as a spy to fend off their deaths. Groo is in the camp and when everyone starts making fun of him he attacks them. Minstrel and Sage use the chaos to escape and the issue ends with Groo furiously attacking everyone.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Arba and Dakarba Series: Groo the Wanderer #26 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 23 Words: 2K
Hahahahaahaha, this was another laugh out loud comic. Man, if Groo can DO something and yet still not do it, he will find a way. I am in awe at how Aragones even comes up with these ideas. What kind of mind is so fiendishly twisted that something this funny, this amusing and this twisted is even thought of? It’s just brilliant!
It is one thing to be funny, it’s not too hard to make Groo a complete idiot. But at the same time Aragones has made him this completely unstoppable force of nature who simply cannot do things as people want him to. Sure, he can stop an army. By burning down a forest and destroying all the villages in it. Whatever he is tasked with, Groo will do. But he will do it badly and in such a way that comes back to bite the person who made the initial request. Without fail!
The page I’m including is the last one. Groo has done his job but done it so wrongly that EVERYONE wants to kill him. Classic!
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Click to Open
Groo is hired by two witches to recover an amulet from some tiny people. The witches make Groo small and he attempts to steal the amulet. He fails but is told if he steals ANOTHER amulet from a wizard that the little people will let him have the first amulet. Both amulets end up being a part of an Artifact of Power. Groo steals the wizard’s amulet but in the process of giving it to the tiny people ends up stealing the first amulet, thus owning both. He throws away the wizard’s amulet, since “he” doesn’t need it any more and gives the original amulet to the two witches. Who turn out to be working for the wizard. The comic ends with the two witches, the wizard and the entire tribe of tiny people waiting in ambush to kill Groo for destroying all their plans.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Divide and Conquer Series: Groo the Wanderer #25 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 23 Words: 2K
Groo is a pretty obvious comic, so when I saw this page (page 5), I knew exactly where the comic was going to go. I didn’t know how it was going to get there, but I knew the destination:
And sure enough, that is exactly what happens.
The fun is watching Aragones lead us down the path to that destination. Just because we know the destination doesn’t mean we know the path the journey will take. Especially as Groo is involved and no journey with him is straightforward or logical at all! 😀
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Click to Open
Groo rescues a town from bandits, only to have them be attacked by another group of bandits. He rescues the town from those bandits as well. Then the two bandit groups unite. Groo teaches the villagers how to fight and it is a three way fight. Then they realize they have destroyed the town and all three groups join up to go pillage a different village. Good job Groo!
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
This was a little bit repetitive for my taste. The only change in the situation was each time that Groo had to get a new chess piece for the witch so she’d give him another potion. He’d attack the town and THAT was different each time. Even Aragones can only show that so many times before it gets boring. Considering we see Groo uglify the other town each time and Arcadio un-uglify it, it felt very much like complete and utter filler. Just something for Aragones to do to meet a deadline.
It was amusing but not really funny. Part of that was just how tired I am and how busy life feels right now and how my emotional life is relentlessly acting like a teenager and I’m just exhausted on every front. I’m too tired to even pick a page from the comic and showcase it.
★★★☆☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Click to Open
Groo is called by Arcadio to help break a spell on his town. Someone has turned them all stupid and mindless. They used to be ugly but Arcadio broke that spell when he married the princess. But it happened after Groo had left the village. So when Groo shows up and sees everyone absolutely gorgeous, he thinks THAT is the curse and gets a potion that turns them all ugly again. Arcadio had also gone to get a cure so when he returns he finds everyone ugly AND stupid. So he uses the cure to make them beautiful. This back and forth happens 32 times until Groo and Arcadio finally meet. Arcadio explains what is going on and of course Groo doesn’t understand. He uses the final potion to uglify everyone, including Arcadio and the Minstrel. The whole town is now smart again thanks to Arcadio and they all chase Groo out of the town, trying to kill him.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Groo Meets Pal and Drumm Series: Groo the Wanderer #23 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 24 Words: 2K
Hahahahahahahaaa. This was another great entry in the Groo comic. Groo is suckered into putting on fake fights with another warrior and of course, he bungles, every single time.
I thought it showed Aragones’ creativity to be able to think of these “simple” situations and then make comedy gold out of them. It’s not easy to do humor on demand (as shown by almost all of our modern media writers, who are nothing but hacks, at best) but Aragones hasn’t let me down yet.
One thing I don’t think I’ve mentioned about the artwork before is how Aragones manages to draw a scene filled with people and it is busy and full but he shades things in such a way that your eye is drawn to the important part. That takes skill too and I appreciate it. The artist of a comic should be directing the audiences’ eyes and if he’s not, he’s a complete failure of an artist and should be tarred, feathered and run out of town on the rails! (I’m looking at you, modern comic artists who draw 2 page spreads with so much crap going on that the reader gets epilepsy just looking at it!) The following pix is the last page in the comic and I think illustrates this principle perfectly.
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo meets another warrior, Drum, who is working with a schemer called Pal. All three work together to put on “fights” which are rigged. The problem is that Groo keeps messing everything up and eventually everyone else catches on and the comic ends with Groo, Drumm and Pal all running for their lives.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Groo and the Ambassador Series: Groo the Wanderer #22 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 24 Words: 2K
Groo gets into trouble, causes trouble and eventually just wanders out of the picture leaving death and destruction in his wake, as usual. Hhaahahahahaa!
Ahhhh, I love this comic 😀
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo the Wanderer is wandering around and at the same time an Ambassador named Gru is accidentally following the same path. Gru ends up taking all of the consequences that Groo creates by not paying for anything. Eventually war breaks out between two kingdoms and Groo is left wandering in the woods, clueless as ever.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
This was the last story that both Goscinny and Uderzo did. Goscinny died part way through. Not that I could tell, or even really cared, but maybe you do? Yes, weep dear populace, for your mighty hero, your captain, is dead. Deader than Marley in fact.
Ok, that’s enough time for mourning. Get over it now.
Sigh. Another visual medium bites the dust. It isn’t that I disliked this but I simply didn’t care about it. Since this was the last Asterix by both, and given how I’ve been feeling about manga, graphic novels and comics, I’m going to take a break at least until the new years. I want to enjoy these again and not slog through.
★★★☆☆
From Wikipedia.org
After fighting the Belgians in the northern part of Gaul, Caesar states that they are the bravest enemies he has ever faced (historically claimed by Caesar). His soldiers agree with him, to the point when they consider being posted to the camps outside Asterix’s village as a period of leave.
Chief Vitalstatistix is aghast at the idea that his village, which has been the terror of the Romans for years, is now looked upon as relatively harmless. He is further outraged when he hears of Caesar’s remarks. He claims that “his villagers” are in fact the bravest men of Gaul, and travels to Belgium to prove his point. A reluctant Asterix and Obelix go with him after Getafix tells them not doing so could make the story come to a sticky end.
After crossing the border, they encounter a village of Belgians who rely on brute strength (and a regular diet of meat and beer) to successfully scare off Caesar’s troops. These Belgians are led by two chiefs, Beefix of the Nervii and Brawnix of the Menapii (though Brawnix comes across mainly as a second-in-command).
To prove that the Gauls are the bravest, Vitalstatistix proposes a competition. The contest consists of raiding and destroying Roman camps on either side of the village. The Belgians and Gauls destroy the camps, telling the soldiers who they are. By the end they have destroyed an equal number of camps. Meanwhile, the Pirates’ ship is wrecked when Obelix throws a boulder catapulted at him too high, causing the Captain to complain, saying he and his men are neutrals. Word is sent to Rome, though the facts are exaggerated, talking about vast hordes of Gauls, a savage pack of hounds, and a mysterious fleet of neutrals. Caesar goes to Belgium himself to restore order unaware of the fact that the whole thing is to get him to decide once and for all which side is the bravest.
Upon Caesar’s arrival, Asterix and Obelix go to meet him under a flag of truce. Asterix proposes that Caesar meet both parties at an arranged meeting point and tell them they are equally brave so they can all go home. Outraged at being reduced to a mere umpire (as opposed to emperor), Caesar furiously declares that he will meet them in battle instead. In the ensuing fight, the Romans get their way in the early stages of the battle through the use of catapults. But then the three Gauls, and their magic potion, join the Belgians after they thwart a Roman flanking maneuver, and, by combining their efforts, the Gauls win the battle.
With the battle lost, Caesar decides to leave for Rome. On his way he comes across the Gaulish and Belgian chiefs. Caesar proudly announces that he will lay down his life, but the chiefs only want to know who is the bravest. Caesar angrily declares them simply all “crazy” and leaves Vitalstatistix and Beefix laughing the incident off. They have to face the fact that they are all equally brave and, after a victory feast, part on good terms.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Groo and the Witches of Brujas Series: Groo the Wanderer #21 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 24 Words: 2K
I not only like the humor of these comics, but I really appreciate Aragones ability to tell a silly story from start to finish in 24 pages. Not only does he do that, he keeps me entertained the whole time and never leaves me feeling like I wasted my time. I appreciate that he appreciates that my time is valuable.
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo is attacked by a wizard and then forced to help two witches against the wizard. They multiply Groo, he fights himself and then escapes with a scary boatman. The comic ends with Groo, the boat and the Boatman about to be sucked down into a whirlpool.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Old Man’s Cave Series: Bone #33-37 Author: Jeff Smith Rating: 3 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 128 Words: 5K
I don’t know what to say about this. I semi-enjoyed it and yet I found myself seriously not caring about the overall story. I also was not being very entertained. Not a very good combination.
I only have 3 more omnibus volumes left but I don’t know if I’ll hang in there or not. My patience with the visual art side of books has dramatically dropped. I want the pure words. Art has a way of making artist/authors think they can get away with poor story telling by covering it up with pretty pictures.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, sigh…..
★★★☆☆
From Boneville.fandom.com
Fone Bone and Smiley Bone are seeking for something. Wow, good job Bone fans, you outdid yourselves this time! You bunch of putzes.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Caesar is tired, again, of the small Gaulish village flouting his power. And another bright, up and coming young Roman decides that corrupting the Gauls with money will be enough to turn them fat, happy and lazy. With Caesar’s blessing he sets off and starts buying menhirs at exorbitant prices. The rest of the gauls want in on the action and before you know it, the entire village is slaving away making menhirs and selling them to the Romans. Of course, things don’t go quite as planned by the young smart Roman and Caesar ends up losing a bunch of money and the villagers get to beat the stuffing out of the new batch of Roman Soldiers. Good times for everyone!
This was pretty predictable, just like the story where the Roman with the power of gossip goes amongst the Gauls. Things start out as planned and then of course, the Gauls being the Gauls, everything goes off the rails for everyone, Gauls, Romans, Countrymen! And there are more menhirs than you can shake a stick at.
Once the gauls start smacking each other around, Asterix just has to guide them and voila, Gauls are smacking Roman Soldiers around, just like nature intended, hehehehe.
★★★☆☆
From Wikipedia.org
After Obelix single-handedly defeats a newly arrived battalion of Roman soldiers, Julius Caesar ponders over how to defeat the village of rebellious Gauls. A young Roman called Preposterus, using his studies in economics, proposes that the Gauls to be integrated into capitalism. Caesar agrees, sending Preposterus to one of the village’s outlying Roman camps. Upon meeting Obelix carrying a menhir through the forest, Preposterus claims to be a menhir buyer and offers to make Obelix a rich man, on the pretext it will give him power, by buying every menhir he can make. Obelix agrees and begins making and delivering a single menhir a day to him.
Demand for his goods increases in time, forcing Obelix to hire villagers – while some aid him, the others hunt boar for himself and his new workers. The resulting workload causes him to neglect his faithful companion Dogmatix, while Asterix refuses to help him, concerned on what this is doing to him. As Obelix grows wealthy and begins wearing ostentatious clothes, many of the village’s men are criticised by their wives for not matching his success. In response, many turn to making their own menhirs to sell to the Romans, despite not knowing what they are for, with Getafix supplying them with magic potion for their work. As most of the village grows wealthy, except for Asterix, Getafix, Cacofonix and Vitalstatistix who did not engage in the new economic system. Asterix believes that this new change will not last.
Eventually, Caesar becomes angered when he learns that Preposterus’ plan is placing him in financial debt. To counter this, Preposterus decides to sell the abundance of menhirs to patricians on the pretext they are a symbol of great wealth and high rank. However, this causes problems as other provinces begin making their own menhirs to sell to the Romans, creating a growing Menhir crisis that is crippling the Roman economy and threatening a civil conflict from the Empire’s workforce. To put a stop to this, Caesar orders Preposterus to cease further trading with Gauls or face being thrown to the lions.
Unknown to him, Obelix becomes miserable from the wealth and power he made, having never understood it all, and how much it has changed other villagers, making him wish to go back to enjoying the fun he had with Asterix and Dogmatix. Asterix soon hears of this and agrees to go hunting boar with him if he reverts to his old clothes, knowing that the villagers’ lives are about to return to normal. When Preposterus arrives to announce he will not be buying another menhir, the villagers claim Obelix knew of this in advance when he called a halt in his work but did not tell them, causing him to fight with them. Asterix soon breaks up the fight, directing the villagers to attack the Romans for causing the whole mess they are in. As they head off to wreck the camp Preposterus is residing in, Obelix decides to take no part in the fight. While the villagers’ wealth is gone, after events in Rome caused the sestertius they received to be devalued, they hold a traditional banquet to celebrate the return to normality.
This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress & Blogspot, by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission
Title: Groo and the Siege Second Try Series: Groo the Wanderer #20 Author: Sergio Aragones Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 24 Words: 2K
Hahahahahaa! Oh man, I totally did not see the final part coming. I knew the Sage was going to be able to help Groo, but I just didn’t see him misunderstanding the whole situation. Oh, it took Groo’s level of destruction to a whole new level. If I lived in a world with a Groo, I’d try to figure out a way to harness his contrary-luck (it’s not necessarily “bad”, it just doesn’t work for anyone but Groo).
Of course, the enemies of Grooella do just that. Well, maybe not quite “harnessing” it, but they figure out how to make it work for them. Which is more than Grooella has ever done, hahahahahaa.
I’ve included the final panel where the enemies make use of Groo’s particular disability 😉
★★★✬☆
From Bookstooge.blog
Groo tries to help Grooella again and just makes things even worse. As always. To the point where the enemy uses Groo. Finally Groo decides to get help from the Sage, who helps Groo destroy the castle, because Groo forgot to tell him that the castle belonged to Grooella. The comic ends with both the Sage and Grooella chasing Groo down so they can kill him.
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Title: Asterix and the Great Crossing Series: Asterix #22 Authors: Goscinny & Uderzo Rating: 4 of 5 Stars Genre: Comics Pages: 53 Words: 3K
Asterix and Obelix end up in America, where Obelix almost gets hitched to a fat indian girl. Then they escape by getting kidnapped by Vikings. Then they rescue a fellow Gaul and make it home. All for fresh fish.
This was just light and breezy and it fit my need exactly. I needed the silliness, the lightness to help me out of a bad mood. This was not particularly better than any previous book, nor was it as mediocre as some of them had been, but it hit me just right at just the right time and that is why I’m giving it 4 stars.
★★★★☆
From Wikipedia.org
Unhygienix has run out of fresh fish. Since his stock has to be transported from Lutetia (modern-day Paris), it will be some time before the next delivery of fish. However Getafix says he can’t wait since he needs some for his potion. Asterix and Obelix volunteer to resolve the issue by going fishing, to which end they borrow a boat from Geriatrix. After a storm, they get lost, but despite Obelix’s concerns, they do not reach the edge of the world; instead, following a brief encounter with the pirates, they arrive on an island (which the reader surmises is Manhattan Island) with delicious birds that the Gauls call “gobblers” (turkeys), bears and “Romans” with strange facial paintings (Native Americans).
The Gauls wanting to return home, and the Vikings’ eagerness to prove their story of a new world, results in a trip back to Europe to the Vikings’ homeland. The Vikings’ chief, Ødiuscomparissen, greets them and is skeptical of their stories, until he sees the Gauls. They plan a celebration, then attempt to sacrifice the “natives”, much to the chagrin of the other Vikings (“Why? They haven’t done anything!”).
Before this can be carried out, a Gaulish prisoner called Catastrofix, who can understand both Gallic and Norse, stirs up Ødiuscomparissen’s suspicion that Herendethelessen is a liar, causing a fight between the Norsemen with the assumption that Herendethelessen has simply gone to Gaul rather than to a new world. Meanwhile, the Gauls escape. This escape is conducive to their original purpose, since Catastrofix is a fisherman and hence able to procure some fish for the magic potion. Unhygenix, however, prefers the scent of his own stock; a preference that explains why his product is such a delicate topic.
