Also, here is a page from what I—seriously now—truly think is probably the greatest serial comic book ever created, Groo, by Sergio Aragones with Mark Evanier. It’s funny as hell, drawn with a level of sustained technical expertise totally unmatched at its length on any other title, and it even manages to pack a real satircal wallop in its later issues. I love old-fashioned swords-and-sandals adventure stories, and Groo manages to both fulfill that genre and add immeasurably to it at the same time.

Don’t get me wrong, there are better graphic novels, better story arcs and maybe even funnier humor titles (if you can think of one, by all means tell me), but pound for pound, no series has ever managed to maintain such an incredibly high quality for so long. Read the early issues (back before computer coloring), and you can practically hear colorist Tom Luth screaming across the drafting board, “FOR GOD’S SAKE, SERGIO! AFTER THE THIRD TIER THEY’RE JUST ALL GOING TO BE FUCKING BROWN!”

Author: samthielman

Sam Thielman is a reporter and critic based in Brooklyn, New York. His blog is samthielman.com, his twitter handle is @samthielman, and if you can't find him you should check The Strand. View all posts by samthielman