The success of Groot as both a character and now as a
national phenomenon is an astonishing tale. I mean that literally by the way, Groot’s first appearance
was in Tales to Astonish #13 as the
monster from Planet X. Most folks
nowadays know him from his appearance in last summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy but in case you’re unaware here’s the
skinny on the character. Groot is
a prince of Planet X who initially left his home in an attempt to protect from
the villains then ongoing Marvel event series Annihilation. During
the battle he was destroyed, but because Groot is essentially an Ent he was
able to re-grow himself from a single twig.
This new Groot had the major defect of only being able to
say the phrase “I am Groot,” the words that launched a thousand memes. Given Groot’s major success with
audiences Marvel has seen fit to give him his own comic series, one oriented
more towards whacky cartoon misadventures rather than the space opera stuff he
gets into in the Guardians of the Galaxy
ongoing.
This new series is best thought of as a sort of spin-off
from the Guardians of the Galaxy
film. Groot is very much his
character from the film rather than his previous incarnations, a decision I’m
totally fine with. The tone of Groot is firmly rooted in the camps of
absurdist comedy and buddy road trip story so giving the chipper optimistic
persona is more appropriate. The
premise is that Groot has convinced his best friend Rocket Raccoon to go on a
road trip across space to Earth.
At the start of said journey their ship explodes and the rest of the
book is just the two trying to hitchhike their way to Earth. It’s a good set-up for the kind of book
Groot is, using the road trip as a
steady goal for the characters as their stumble through various episodic shenanigans. It also helps that Groot and Rocket are
the ideal comedic duo. As I
mentioned Groot is portrayed as optimistic and chipper, often smiling and
willing to make the best of any situation. Conversely Rocket is more curmudgeonly and grumpy while being
very much ‘along for the ride’ though still fiercely loyal to his friend. They also fill the perfect dichotomy of
initiative and ability. Rocket is
the one to always direct the pair out of a given situation, usually making the
decisions about how to deal with their problems. Meanwhile Groot is more willing to accept a situation
because he’s also thoroughly able to deal with pretty much anything that’s
thrown at him.
I mentioned earlier that Groot
is a very cartoony comic but don’t let that dissuade you from reading it
because Groot is also hilarious. The secret to Groot’s success compared to similar offerings this week such as the
half-hearted misfire Bizarro or the
grating and abysmal Bat-Mite is
simple; the creative team on Groot
care about what they’re doing and are very good at it. Author Jeff Loveness strikes just the
right balance between comedic standards and character dialogue so that neither
part ends up worn out while also intertwining both aspects perfectly. Rocket and Groot straddle the line
between lovable losers and selfish jerks in a supremely satisfying way. A lot of this ties into that character
balancing I spoke about earlier.
Groot’s optimism and skill is great for throwing the two
into situations where they’re doing the right thing but get no reward so that
Rocket can pick-up the job of grumping over their situation. Conversely Rocket is allowed to be more
self-serving despite Groot’s discontent.
It let’s enjoy the best of both worlds nicely, Rocket’s self-indulgence
is just relatable enough to provide a good source of vicarious release and
Groot is so chipper and optimistic it’s infectious.
A lot of credit also has to go to artist Brian Kesinger for
how well he manages to infuse Groot’s neutral mask face with subtlety and emotion. In a lot of previous works Groot is
generally depicted with the same expression on his face, a mix of neutral and
marginally angry. Kesinger’s
exaggerated approach to the cartoon aesthetic means that Groot gets to display
a much wider array of emotions that really enhance his character. It’s an interesting blend of simplicity
and detail that a lot of other artists have struggled with. Rather then try and depict Groot’s face
as overly covered in roots and detail Kesinger opts for the more simplistic
wood block type look that the film had.
Where he changes it up is in how much Groot’s face is able to move and
rearrange itself to express things like wonder, concern, disapproval,
exuberance, fear, and more. A lot
of the time you don’t even need Rocket’s translations to understand what Groot
is trying to convey, his facial expressions do that job all on their own.
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| Groot & Rocket may, or may not, steal baby Superman's spaceship in this issue |
In a time of year dominated by shifting status quos and
Earth shaking mega-events a comic like Groot
is an incredibly refreshing change of pace. It’s nice to read a comic that knows that you don’t need a
gargantuan or byzantine plot to tell a good story. It actually reminds me a lot of Moon Knight; only in this case whacky misadventure is the
overriding aesthetic rather than action-horror. Groot is light,
fun, and written by people who care a lot about what they’re making and put a
lot of effort into, I recommend it.
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