The Return of… The Goon!

It's the weekend and you’re on a four hour train journey with two manic twelve year olds, a sixteen month old baby who really doesn’t want to be there and a wife who throws crisp packets at random strangers (you had to be there…), what do you do?


The answer for me was very simple, I’d had the foresight to stop off at Forbidden Planet, the night before, so I was able to totally lose myself in a couple of issues of ‘The Goon’…

Long term blog readers will know that I’ve been a fan of ‘The Goon’ for a few years now and didn’t really know what to do next when the last story arc came to its tragic conclusion. Luckily I haven’t had to wait too long before my favourite zombie hunting gang boss made a welcome return :o) ‘The Goon’ takes place in a strange looking piece of nineteen forties America that may or may not exist; there are zombies on Lonely Street and if you drive down Crestwood then you’re liable to get squid beak all over the bodywork. Anything goes here…

‘The Goon #35’

I’d missed out on #34 (really need to do something about that) but this issue seemed like a good place to start with its tale of a ghostly carnival (the clue is in ‘Brigadoon’) and what happens to it when the Goon and Frankie decide to stop by. You know what happens… Violence, circus freaks and a Nazi worm! The fun is in following the story to its conclusion though as the Goon in particular teaches you a lesson in making assumptions about a character based on his looks. The panel where the Goon sees a picture of his long dead Aunt shows you (without words) that this is a man with hidden depths.

Eric Powell and guest writer Evan Dorkin combine to spin a great tale that has me looking forward to the next plot arc of ‘The Goon’. I think it’s going to be another good one.

‘When Freaks Collide’

I love the one shot comics where you don’t have to worry about getting caught up on the story and this is no exception. Two sets of monster hunters are hired (by different parties) to off each other before getting down to the serious monster hunting business. Cal McDonald will find himself facing off against the Goon and you can guess what happens when they both find out they’ve been set up…

I’ve never read any ‘Criminal Macabre’ but if Cal is anything to go by here then I’ll be searching some of these books out in the very near future. Cal has a line in sharp quips and might just be the only person who can take a right hook off the Goon and live to tell the tale. There isn’t as much to the Goon this time round but that’s balanced out by the surprise appearance of someone else right at the end. Maybe this won’t be a one shot after all but I’m fine with that :o)

All in all, two comics designed with a long and stressful train journey in mind; just what I was after…