New Groo on the brew, coming in September from Dark Horse

By John Freeman on May 22, 2024

Groo: Minstrel Melodies #1 (of 4) by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier

US publisher Dark Horse Comics will launch Groo: Minstrel Melodies, a new miniseries by Eisner Award-winning creators Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier in September. Written by Aragonés and Evanier, illustrated by Aragonés, lettered by Stan Sakai, and colored by Carrie Strachan, this new series follows the Groo-verse’s hapless wandering minstrel and his smart daughter, Kayli.

Traveling from town to town, the minstrel and Kayli sing tales of Groo wherever they go, bringing laughter, joy, and lessons to the townsfolk…and hopefully some kopins to their pockets! Groo’s foolishness is endless, so there will be four issues of entertaining stories that both celebrate Groo’s unique idiocy and warn others of his deadly deeds.

Sergio Aragonés is the most honoured cartoonist alive, having won every major award in the field, including the National Cartoonists Society’s Reuben Award, and the Will Eisner Hall of Fame Award. His first contribution – “A Mad Look at the U.S. Space Effort” – appeared in Mad #76, cover-dated January of 1963. For that same issue, he also contributed the cover gag (the first of many) and his first “Marginal Thinking” cartoons to be printed in the magazine’s margins. He has since appeared in every issue of Mad except for one and has done thousands of his unique pantomime cartoons. He also produced 16 best-selling original Mad paperback books.

Sergio teamed with wordsmith Mark Evanier to bring forth the adventures of Groo the Wanderer. Groo quickly became one of the longest-running “creator-owned” comic book properties, outlasting many of the companies that published it.

Sergio and Mark have also produced other comics, including Fanboy, Boogeyman, Magnor, Blair Witch? and an acclaimed series in which together, they trash famous characters: Sergio Aragonés Massacres Marvel, Sergio Aragonés Destroys DC, and Sergio Aragonés Stomps Star Wars. For their comic book work, they have received multiple Eisner awards.

• Groo: Minstrel Melodies #1 (of 4) will be available in comic shops on 4th September 2024. It is now available to preorder from your local comic shop

Groo: In the Wild (Collection, Dark Horse Comics, 2024)

• The latest Groo collection, Groo: In The Wild, is available now from all good book and comic shops | ISBN 978-1506739526 | Buy it from Bookshop.org (Affiliate Link) | Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

And if we can’t figure out how to do that, what chance does the guy with cheese dip for brains have? From the hilarious mind and skillful pen of Sergio Aragones, with scripts by Mark Evanier, colours by Carrie Strachan (Mad Magazine), and lettering by Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo)! Collects Groo: In the Wild comics #1 #4.

• Check out The World of Groo at groo.com

• Mark Evanier is online at newsfromme.com

• Sergio Aragonés is online at sergioaragones.com

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.