By Stan Sakai
Publisher: Fantagraphics
ISBN: 978-0-93019-335-5
You've no doubt seen Mad magazine at some stage in your life, and the brilliant Mad Marginal cartoons by Sergio Aragones. Well Sergio produces an on-and-off comic called Groo The Wanderer, and it's coloured by the author and illustrator of this particular collection (and have fun spotting the nods to Groo as you read it).
The individual comics have been around since the mid-eighties, but I've never given them much attention as they're a strange fusion between Japanese fables, a child-friendly cartoon style, and relatively serious storytelling, with the lead character being a samurai rabbit. I always felt it didn't quite know what it's market was. But over the years I've read increasingly positive reviews for it, and the collected works now reach volume 20, so Sakai must be doing something right, so I decided to get a copy of the recently republished Book 1.
It's interesting to watch Sakai's craft mature as the stories progress, adopting styles and techniques and then abandoning some if they're not quite working (he can't make up his mind how to draw his characters' eyes so tries all sorts of methods throughout), and although it's essentially a serious read, you'd still say it was humorous rather than humourless. I have to say I rather enjoyed it and I rather suspect that he probably hasn't hit his stride yet, so I'll certainly be getting Book 2.
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