[Groop] The Hogs of Horder #1

[Grossmann, Gary (DOR)]

Hey Porter!

 

I agree with every word you wrote.  (Even the big one's that I didn't
understand) 

 

Take care all, 

 

Gary "Can't Wait for HH#2" G. 

 

PS  I like my spit roasted lizard with cheese dip, cuz it Tastes Great
and its Less Filling.  

 

 

 

From: groop-bounces at groo.com [mailto:groop-bounces at groo.com] On Behalf
Of Porter
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 3:30 PM
To: Groop at groo.com
Subject: Re: [Groop] The Hogs of Horder #1

 

I have been thinking about this subject for awhile now.

 

Were one to pick up a copy of Epic #5 ('Slavers') and, well, Hogs of
Horder #1, it is no great difficulty to see differences in the approach
to writing and storytelling and to some degree the art as well (never
mind the printing, layout and general physical qualities).  With that
said, Groo The Wanderer has ever been a social and political critique
set amidst the antics of a fool with swords.  This is one of the primary
qualities The Fool has evinced historically: both veiled and overt
criticism by absurd means, subversion through an innocuous and seemingly
simpleminded medium (this exact same argument, both pro and con, has
been made in regards to comic books in general for decades).

 

The difference between Groo and traditional fools, of course, is that
Groo is a genuine fool, not a scholar in a buffoon's uniform. He, along
with Minstrel and Sage on occasion, exists at various times (and
frequently all at once) as the voice, subject and cause of criticism.
But Groo and the stories themselves are different because the
storytellers are different. After 25 years or so, I would hope their
evolution as writers and artists would not have ended at the age of 30
or 40. One's craft, expertise, ideals, interests and motivations shift -
and for me it is equally interesting watching the creators themselves go
through a metamorphosis as it is to see the changes their characters go
through.

 

But I don't think it so much an issue of moralizing or politicizing the
stories - they were always that (end-of-story moral, anyone?) - but that
they have become directly allegorical, overt and more current-events
based than in previous adventures. In that way I do think they have
become much more relevant, more immediate, and shed light in new ways
upon issues that are affecting us now.  In the same breath though, I
think what has been missing as a result is its universalism and
timelessness, its intricacy in simplistic form.

 

My general preference too is with the older, less allegorical approach -
it is by reading Groo that I discovered the very notion of "relevance
and applicability" in literature - but I do enjoy these current stories
greatly nevertheless. I love them all and like the change of pace but
hope for a return sometime soon.  And so continues the great debate
between applicability and allegory, Middle Earth and Narnia, crackers
and chips, salsa and hummus, pad thai and chow mein, ale and lager,
black forrest and red velvet cake... cheese dip and spit-roasted lizard.

 

Time to eat.

 

 ~ Porter.

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