Four decades after first appearing in print, Groo is on his way to the screen. Entrepreneur Josh Jones has acquired the animation film and tv rights to the cult comics property from its creator, Spanish/Mexican cartoonist Sergio Aragonés.
Groo the Wanderer is a rarity: a well-known, long-running comic-book series that has remained in its creator’s ownership. Having long been reluctant to license it, Aragonés, 84, has now struck a deal with Jones, who will seek to produce an animated adaptation through his banner Did I Err Productions.
The comics follow the adventures of the eponymous hero, a bulky buffoon living in a pseudo-medieval society who’s an ace sword fighter but good at little else. Aragonés, a former Mad contributor, draws them and collaborates with Mark Evanier on the writing. In 2011, IGN ranked Groo as the 100th-greatest comic book hero, calling him “the comedy fan’s answer to Conan.”
