I Am Groot

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 stars

I Am Groot is a miniseries written by Christopher Hasting (love him), so naturally that means I absolutely had to read it. And as a bonus: It’s focused on Groot, but even better than that! It’s Baby Groot! Need I say more?



So as a huge fan of Christopher Hasting I would just like to say that I really wanted to fall in love with this series. But the truth is, I liked Dr. McNinja and Gwenpool (which if you haven’t tried, you absolutely must!) so much more. So I think because of that I perhaps had some slightly raised expectations for this series, which probably wasn’t fair of me.
As mentioned above, this is a miniseries; as such it’s only five issues long. So it’s a pretty quick read on the whole (though I read it issue by issue) and doesn’t require that much of a time sink to get into it. I’m not usually a fan of miniseries, as I prefer longer term and buildup plots, but hey, I’m willing to give anything interesting looking a try! Especially given the author and publisher (not the mention the adorable character).
As you can tell by the cover, the Groot in this series is Baby Groot. This is likely due to the popular reaction to Baby Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and trailers. Which is really no surprise. The problem with Baby Groot is he’s an absolute trouble maker. He gets into everything, listens to no one (including Rocket), and sasses everybody (which is actually pretty cute, but that’s not the point).
Obviously A miniature version of Groot that gets into everything is going to push some buttons…and I mean that literally. The little idiot (I say that in the most loving way possible, let me assure you) manages to eject himself from the ship and into some sort of portal, thus separating himself from the rest of the group. Not good, because if there was ever anyone in the group that could use constant adult supervision (can you count the rest of the Guardians as that? I’m going with it), it’s Baby Groot.
The world that Groot gets dumped on is pretty insane, but it also reminds me of a planet we’ve seen somewhat recently in the Marvel movie verse, but more on that in a minute. The planet is covered with portals (which are represented as doors), but they’re all closed and locked. Additionally there are storms that can create time and space distortions, so needless to say you do not want to get trapped in them. Most of Groot’s time on this planet is spent making friends, fleeing enemies, and trying to find his way back home. Things can get pretty weird at times, making it sometimes a confusing read (which really is my biggest complaint about the series).
So about that Marvel movie connection I mentioned; did anybody else notice the similarities between the planet Groot landed on and the planet Thor landed on? Portals/doors that can go anywhere? It’s all in control of one corrupt being (even though he’s not supposed to be the one in charge on Groot’s planet). Sound familiar? Yes, they look totally different; but remember the movies and the comics don’t actually synch up perfectly, and that they frequently reference each other in odd manners.
All in all while this wasn’t my favorite Christopher Hastings series, I still fully feel that it was worth reading. And I’m totally not just saying that because I love Baby Groot (though I absolutely do). I hope Christopher Hastings continues to expand his writings to affect the Marvel comic verse, I’d be incredibly curious to see what he does to it, given a chance.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks