Groo the Wanderer

Groo the Wanderer is a fantasy/comedy comic book series written and drawn by Sergio Aragonés, rewritten, co-plotted and edited by Mark Evanier, lettered by Stan Sakai and colored by Tom Luth. Over the years it has been published by Pacific Comics, Eclipse Comics (one special issue), Marvel Comics (under its Epic imprint), Image Comics and Dark Horse Comics.

Groo was one of the first widely successful creator-owned comics, one of the few successful humorous comic books in the United States (outside Archie Comics) during its time, and one of the longest-running collaborations in comic book history. In 2011 IGN ranked Groo 100th in the "Top 100 comic books heroes".

The characters

Groo (the epithet "the Wanderer" is informal and rarely mentioned within the stories) first appeared as a parody of the brutal sword and sorcery heroes who were popular at the time of his creation in the 1970s, especially Conan the Barbarian as presented in Marvel Comics. Groo is a large-nosed buffoon of unsurpassed stupidity who constantly misunderstands his surroundings. Possessed of superlative skills in swordsmanship (the only task at which he is remotely competent) he delights in combat but otherwise is a peaceable and honest fellow who tries to make his way through life as a mercenary or by working odd jobs. He is incredibly accident prone, and despite generally good intentions causes mass destruction wherever he goes. Most of his adventures end with him either oblivious to the mayhem he has wrought or fleeing an angry mob. His penchant for destruction has become so widely known that just the news of Groo approaching is sometimes enough to cause chaos among the population. Groo occasionally meets with respect and good fortune, but it does not last. Businesses, towns, civilizations and cultures have all been unwittingly destroyed by Groo. Such is Groo's incompetence that so much as stepping onto a ship can cause it to sink.

Wanderer

Wanderer, Wanderers, or The Wanderer may refer to:

• A homeless man or woman who trolls dating websites for lonely people in order to find a free place to stay

The Wanderer (Donna Summer album)

The Wanderer is the eighth studio album by Donna Summer, released in 1980. It was her first release on Geffen Records and became a Top 20 album in the United States, with the title track single reaching the #3 on Billboard's Hot 100.

This album had been out of print but was re-released on December 9, 2014, on the Driven by the Music label (remastered/bonus tracks).

Background

Summer had made her name the previous decade as the most successful female artist of the disco genre, releasing a vast selection of hit singles and albums on Casablanca Records. During this period however, Summer had felt that the label had exploited her and made her portray a sexually orientated image ("The First Lady of Love") with which she never felt comfortable. The label had also taken over other elements of Summer's personal life, to the point where she felt she had no control over her life or career. Having come out of a period of depression and rediscovering her Christian faith, Summer had made the decision to break away from Casablanca and file a lawsuit against them. After the lawsuit was eventually settled, Summer became the first artist to be signed to the newly established Geffen Records.

The Wanderer (Maykov poem)

The Wanderer (Strannik, Стра′нник) is a poem by Apollon Maykov, first published in the No.1, January 1867 issue of The Russian Messenger. It was dedicated to Fyodor Tyutchev and subtitled: "First part of the drama The Thirsty One".

History

In his commentaries to the first, magazine version of the poem, Maykov explained:

In the same commentaries the author mentioned several of the sources he used: The Historical Sketches of Russian Priesthood by Pavel Melnikov (part 1, Moscow, 1864), Stories from the History of the Old Believers by S.Maksimov (Saint-Petersburg, 1861), Songs Collected by P.V. Kireevsky (4th issue, Moscow, 1862), works by the raskol scholar N.I.Subbotin. Working upon the language, he studied Avvakum's literary legacy and some old Russian Bible-based texts.

The plot of the poem (or the Scene, as Maykov has defined it) was based on Melnikov-Petchorsky's novel Grisha. Maykov omitted many trivial scenes as well as the episode of his ‘temptation by romantic passions' but strengthened the final, adding a scene of arson which was absent in Melnikov's novel.