The reason I am reviewing it as a "series" and not a issue or graphic novel is because I recently went to my local Bookmans were Tim and I noticed that all comics were 50 cents each no matter what the comic was. The first comic I noticed sticking out of a long-box was The Goon issue #26. I had known about this series for a number of months now and wanted to check it out but was always stopped due to it being rather hard to find issue #1. Well I was lucky to find a slew of issue going all the way back to issue #3 original print too. But they were not in order, I found #3, #12, #16, #19, #22, #23, #25, #26/26 (same issue but different prints) #27, #29, #? This one was strange. It was unlabeled in the time line. its a full color high print and a first edition at that, it was labeled as a 25 cent issue instead of a number. It was the first one I read outta the bunch thinking it was possibly issue one. I was wrong but in good way. Issue "25 Cents" is what I assume a Issue to help people lost in the series find out whats going on.
The Story:
The story is about anti-hero The Goon and his sidekick Frankie. The goon is the right hand man of the biggest "boss" ever to rule the city. I couldn't seem to find out what he was in terms of being a boss so I just made the guess of him being a mob boss, but without the mob. Um, yeah. Or a hard core loan shark.
Anyways, Goon and Frankie are highly feared in the city by the living and the undead. Anything that the boss Labrazio says for them to do, they do it. And like most mob story's one boss wants the other dead, so they send their men to attack Goon seeing how he is the only one who has full contact with the boss. Only to reveal that Goon killed the boss in issue #3 and has been hiding this fact for over 20 years.
There, now that you know the story I gotta say, it was rather hard to explain that without just saying, "The Goon rules the streets and everyone is scared of him". I feel a strong need to talk a little about the Goon and his half pint sidekick.
The Characters:
The Goon Is a huge, thick jawed, short tempered, little worded anti-hero. I love this guy, he is the perfect build and style for when I think of anti-hero's from the time era given to us, which I think is somewhere between fictional 1850-1920's. He is the strongest, baddest mug and if you mess with him he will bust more than just your jaw in a single punch. His style of clothing suits the era and build perfectly making him look like a badass as well and someone that would be fun to drink with at a bar. (Odd way to phrase that if I say so myself)
Frankie, oh man. This guy is just insane. I don't think anyone other sidekick would have worked. Any other choice would have just been stuck in the hero's shadow, But Frankie? Hell no! Frankie jumps at the chance to make you remember him whenever you think of the Goon. Making himself noticed at times of pure silence, with acts of bi-polar love/furry like the heart touching vampire that was beaten nearly to death (ha, funny because the pun of, vampire, being, dead.. shut up) by the Goon and Frankie yet stands to help the Goon in time of need! To which Frankie responds with a heart filled Thank you, and "Knife to the eye!". Frankie's short temper and over abusive life style really grabs you by the hair and screams "LOVE ME!"
Eric Powell does such a good job on these characters that I even liked the sub-story with the Goon's foe about reviving a human head to figure out information on The Goon's boss.
The Writing:
Eric Powell did such a fantastic job writing this comic, he really brought you into the era and made you enjoy everything being said and made you feel at home. The characters never feel out of place or stale, with new foes and new plots, the story seems fresh after every issue and leaves you wanting more. Like I said above I even enjoyed the villain talking to his zombie butler about reviving a human head for information. None of the writing feels dull or phrased in a strange way, just perfect.
The Art:
The art in this comic really stood out to me, but not at first. I had walked right by this comic a number of times while at Atomic Comics while thinking "I really wish I could find the first issue so I could review that" but I never saw it as to much of a reach out, so I let it be. Once I got a hold of these issues though, I noticed that my choices of not searching hard enough was a wrong one. The style changes every few comics but really holds onto your desire of the comics. I can't really put to much detail into how it all looks because how much it changes. One thing never changes, the way the color is. It is always bright and eye catching, thick to the tip. Eric Powell doesn't do his own color (all the time) but his drawling style always stays the same so when the inker changes the color style it always flows perfectly because it still holds his style. Lovely.
The ink is mainly heavy with bright yet muted coloring, making it perfect for pop-out-combat. From issue to issue I grow more and more into enjoying the style changes that take place in the color and outline levels.
The final say on the comic is a must read. I highly suggest this comic, might be better if bought in the graphic novel section though.
I give The Goon a 4 outta 5.
Cody~Out
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