Introducing The Goon
These past few weeks I’ve been reading the volume collections of The Goon, a bi-monthly comic from artist-writer Eric Powell and Dark Horse Comics (I’m currently on Volume 2).
The Goon is really for people who are tired of standard superhero comics. It follows the adventures of a thuggish, buck-toothed Depression era gangster who spends most of his time using his fists to keep the sinister, nameless zombie priest and his undead minions (who have formed a kind of rival mob), as well as assorted other monsters, in check.
If it sounds wacky, it is. And deliberately so. The Goon’s sidekick is a tough-talking midget called Frankie, and reoccurring characters include a hillybilly werewolf and a card-shark spider. The Goon himself is a kind of cross between Sin City’s Marv and Hellboy, with a more retro feel.
In terms of pencilling and inking, the comics have a borderline cartoony style, which is visually very appealing. Flashbacks are usually sketched and shaded in pencil, and this is really where a sense of Powell’s artistic skill comes through most strongly.
The Goon is probably something of an acquired taste, particularly in terms of how its zaniness and irreverent approach twists comic conventions. My biggest problem with the series is the way fantastic characters (like ‘inverted zombie’ The Buzzard) and situations (haunted houses; demonic Christmas elves) are handled. Very often characters are dismissed or events resolved within 2 pages, without ever having been explored to their full dramatic potential.
The Goon is well worth dipping into for something new and refreshing, particularly in the horror genre, but if your comic tastes are more traditionalist/serious, truly appreciating the series will require lowering your resistance to silliness.
The Goon is really for people who are tired of standard superhero comics. It follows the adventures of a thuggish, buck-toothed Depression era gangster who spends most of his time using his fists to keep the sinister, nameless zombie priest and his undead minions (who have formed a kind of rival mob), as well as assorted other monsters, in check.
If it sounds wacky, it is. And deliberately so. The Goon’s sidekick is a tough-talking midget called Frankie, and reoccurring characters include a hillybilly werewolf and a card-shark spider. The Goon himself is a kind of cross between Sin City’s Marv and Hellboy, with a more retro feel.
In terms of pencilling and inking, the comics have a borderline cartoony style, which is visually very appealing. Flashbacks are usually sketched and shaded in pencil, and this is really where a sense of Powell’s artistic skill comes through most strongly.
The Goon is probably something of an acquired taste, particularly in terms of how its zaniness and irreverent approach twists comic conventions. My biggest problem with the series is the way fantastic characters (like ‘inverted zombie’ The Buzzard) and situations (haunted houses; demonic Christmas elves) are handled. Very often characters are dismissed or events resolved within 2 pages, without ever having been explored to their full dramatic potential.
The Goon is well worth dipping into for something new and refreshing, particularly in the horror genre, but if your comic tastes are more traditionalist/serious, truly appreciating the series will require lowering your resistance to silliness.
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