Groo Bumbles His Way Through History | This Week in Comics

This week’s comic roundup features plenty of steady-handed comics from big(ish) publishers Marvel, IDW, Image, and Dark Horse. While there aren’t many surprises in terms of form or presentation among these issues, they all get one thing very right: the story. Though this column is always appreciative of an artistically-minded, challenging indie comic that focuses on form over function, sometimes it’s nice to read a solid plot from the big-league comics creators. Dig into these comics about a girl genius and her dinosaur friend, Judge Dredd finishing up an adventure, a classic creator-owned buffoon barbarian, and a new take on the crusades.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a series about a young pre-teen named Lunella Lafayette and a giant, mutated, prehistoric dinosaur named Devil Dinosaur. Lunella’s a genius, Devil Dinosaur’s a giant T-Rex, and they’re buddies, so naturally they work together to fight crime and save the Marvel universe. This issue, Moon Girl’s solved a puzzle that says she’s the smartest person in the world, and she’s hanging out with the new Hulk and fighting crime to prove it.

Judge Dredd #12 finishes a year-long arc for the Judge and his cohorts, and this isn’t the best issue to jump right into. Normally, Judge Dredd comics follow the titular lawgiver in a futuristic world where everything is nasty and chaotic, and where crime has gotten so bad that Judges act as judge, jury, and executioner. In this comic run from writers Ulises Farinas, Erick Freitas, and artist Dan McDaid, Judge Dredd wakes up to a post-apocalyptic Mega City covered in vegetation and devoid of most life. There’s a lot of story to swallow to get to this issue, but if continuity isn’t a big problem, then this comic is highly recommended for McDaid’s expressive artwork and color artist Ryan Hill’s exquisite, non-traditional color work.

Groo is a character that’s been kicking around the world of independent comics since 1981. The character’s a bumbling barbarian so accident prone he causes chaos wherever he goes. In this miniseries, Groo’s being used by a local ruler to bring favor to a god the ruler created in his own image. As Groo causes catastrophe (by bumping into things, eating all the food in a town, and other silly misadventures) the locals run to pray for help from this newly created god. The most interesting thing this mini-run accomplishes is its depiction of the gods. The series shows a pantheon of gods from different theistic traditions all lounging in the clouds, and as this new god begins to get more popular, they begin to get edgy and cranky. Recommended for good, old-fashioned comic fun and the religious twist.

If there’s an award for the best premise of the year, it should absolutely go to Lake of Fire. The year is 1220 AD, and the Crusades are going strong. Suddenly, an alien spacecraft full of flesh-eating monsters crash lands in the French Pyrenees, and it’s up to a group of crusaders (who think the beasts, and crashed ship, are from hell) to destroy the aliens and save the world. But this isn’t done for big laughs or wild melodrama, the story’s told with the heft and gravity of a classic tale of knights and “holy men.”

What were your favorite pulls of the week? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @CreatorsProject or tag us on your favorite illustrator on Instagram.

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