Groo: Minstrel Melodies #3 Review

 

Writers: Sergio Aragonés & Mark Evanier

Illustrator: Sergio Aragonés

Colorist: Carrie Strachan

Letterer: Stan Sakai

Cover Artist: Sergio Aragonés

Editors: Philip R Simon & Rose Weitz

Designer: May Hijikuro

Digital Art Technician: Adam Pruett

Prepress: Darby McCann

Publisher: Dark Horse

Price: $4.99

Release Date: November 13, 2024

 

The minstrel regaled customers in the inn with tales of Groo’s kindness to orphans. As they left Boyce, his daughter requested he tell his ode about the teachers next. So, when he and Kayli discover people seated in an Amphitheater, the minstrel offers to entertain them until the scheduled guest arrives. Will the audience welcome a song about the minstrel's favorite wandering barbarian? Let's tune up our lutes, leap into Groo: Minstrel Melodies #3, and find out!

 

Story

The crowd tells the minstrel that they await a great teacher. Yet when the minstrel tells them about Groo’s adventures in teaching, they jeer. Undaunted, he mentions a teacher once tried to teach Groo how to read and write. Like the minstrel, Abecedario doesn’t give up when Groo fails to progress. But then, Groo is so amiable. What could be more pleasant than devoting his final years to helping the wandering barbarian?

 

In Groo: Minstrel Melodies #3, our hero recognizes a word on a sign and misinterprets the writer’s intent. Still, Groo is grateful for Abecedario’s teaching. He wants to repay Abecedario’s kindness by passing on his skills. First, Groo shows people how he does things. But they can't replicate what comes naturally to him. So, Groo decides to teach people how to fight. He’s good at that, right?

 

Most generals know that an army wins more battles by working together and following strategies. Groo’s response to conflict injures friends and foes alike. So, Groo teaches townspeople a skill that will protect their livelihoods. Strangely, they don’t ask him for another lesson either.

 

Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier’s story reminds us that mastering skills doesn't mean you can impart them to others. It also reveals some interesting responses to education. Adults readily assume they know enough to get by. Even when someone demonstrates skills that could improve their lives, they prefer doing things like they’re used to. Yet all too often, they will empty their leather pouches of Kopins to hear a speaker with credentials and a reputation for excellence, even if they learn nothing of value.

 

Art

The minstrel sits on a broken stone pillar, evoking the ruins that impressed Groo in Restos. Birds flutter down upon the arbor to watch. Sergio Aragonés uses puffy cloud dividers to showcase the Minstrel and Groo in the same panels. Adults respond to Groo with dumbfounded expressions or run away in terror. An exception is a woman with Princess Leia hair and a similarly fiery temperament. Children return Groo’s smiles. Were they orphans, they would likely welcome him as a parent. The minstrel’s magical song conjures a dragon, a volcano, an octopus, a character close to a certain letterer’s heart, and other delights to dance upon the neck of his lute.

 

Carrie Strachan lavishes a loaded palette on Groo: Minstrel Melodies #3. The minstrel's hat and collar match Groo’s toga, while the coins spilling out of his treasure chest match Rufferto’s coat and the minstrel's lute. While Groo sports yellow and small amounts of red, he trains an army clad in red with small amounts of yellow. A school teacher’s lavender dress matches the distant hills and the top of the great teacher's wagon. Yet the blue banners in the Amphitheater are a perfect match for Abecedario’s headband and robe.

 

Stan Sakai fills white balloons with generously sized uppercase black dialogue and adorns the minstrel’s lowercase lyrics with red music notes. Rufferto and people's thoughts appear in cloudy balloons, and raised voices appear in stars and tan. After banners bookend Groo’s adventures in instructing, a silent one-page Rufferto story reminds us that people may not always appreciate our help (even if we don’t burn down their village to make them rich). Thanks to Dark Horse Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

In Groo: Minstrel Melodies #3, Groo learns that because you excel at something doesn’t mean adults will want to learn from you. Still, if you embrace life with a positive attitude, children may welcome you as their mentor.

 

Rating 9.6/10

 

To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.