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A review by tristansreadingmania
The Goon Library Volume 1 by Eric Powell
3.0
There is a predilection I have for comedy of the slightly infantile, politically incorrect, gross-out variety. I admit this fully. It's a cross I've borne for aeons, having to keep telling myself I was beyond this, that I was an adult. That I should really stop consuming the stuff. No Sir, prestigious it most definitely ain't, which explains why for a while I've revealed this part of myself only to my closest friends.
Of course, I do prefer subtle, multi-layered, witty humour - after all, it is the more intellectually stimulating of the two - but sometimes a man just wants to regress, to go back to that very primal place. Where everything is simple. Enter Eric Powell's The Goon, a perfect gateway for just that.
Now I've heard about this series for quite some time now, yet have never had the chance to pick it up. So when Dark Horse announced it was reprinting the entire thing in oversized, hardcover library editions I pounced, ready to get a part of the action.
And boy, is this comic dumb. I mean, real dumb. It's everything a pubescent child could ever hope for. I'm almost sorry for not having encountered it sooner, it would surely have been my rock all through childhood. Containing a healthy assortment of risqué, lowbrow humour and cartoony violence, The Goon takes EC Comics, 50's Sci-fi, pulp fiction and blends them into a delightful purée which is wholly unique.
Powell is a maniac, folks. Nothing is sacred in this. Yet, underneath all of the goofiness and dark comedy, there lies a heart, a poignancy, which I didn't expect. It's definitely something I hope to see more of.
The biggest selling point of this volume is undoubtedly the art. While his skill as a writer isn't really there yet (after all, Powell was but a mere whelp when he started The Goon), the art truly shines. Clear, vibrant and totally in sync with the subject matter. The covers especially are all worthy of being framed and hung on a wall in a museum dedicated to popular culture.
Nothing would please me more than to give this tome a generous 4 stars, but honesty commands me to scale it back to 3, because of the inconsistency in certain places. Powell was still experimenting, after all. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that the second volume will rectify this. Hail the Goon!
Of course, I do prefer subtle, multi-layered, witty humour - after all, it is the more intellectually stimulating of the two - but sometimes a man just wants to regress, to go back to that very primal place. Where everything is simple. Enter Eric Powell's The Goon, a perfect gateway for just that.
Now I've heard about this series for quite some time now, yet have never had the chance to pick it up. So when Dark Horse announced it was reprinting the entire thing in oversized, hardcover library editions I pounced, ready to get a part of the action.
And boy, is this comic dumb. I mean, real dumb. It's everything a pubescent child could ever hope for. I'm almost sorry for not having encountered it sooner, it would surely have been my rock all through childhood. Containing a healthy assortment of risqué, lowbrow humour and cartoony violence, The Goon takes EC Comics, 50's Sci-fi, pulp fiction and blends them into a delightful purée which is wholly unique.
Powell is a maniac, folks. Nothing is sacred in this. Yet, underneath all of the goofiness and dark comedy, there lies a heart, a poignancy, which I didn't expect. It's definitely something I hope to see more of.
The biggest selling point of this volume is undoubtedly the art. While his skill as a writer isn't really there yet (after all, Powell was but a mere whelp when he started The Goon), the art truly shines. Clear, vibrant and totally in sync with the subject matter. The covers especially are all worthy of being framed and hung on a wall in a museum dedicated to popular culture.
Nothing would please me more than to give this tome a generous 4 stars, but honesty commands me to scale it back to 3, because of the inconsistency in certain places. Powell was still experimenting, after all. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that the second volume will rectify this. Hail the Goon!